Noon Mul

” The sun rises. I walk. The sun sets. I walk.“

By using the sun as a time stamp for my day, I form a stronger connection with my time. I rise with the sun, then I watch the sun set. This is as reliable and constant as the earth’s orbit around the sun.

watching the giant star do a 180 into and out of your life will become the immovable image from which you base the stresses of life as truly what they are, insignificant.

“Sunrise” and “Sundown” are markers for the start and end of a day, and it’s remarkable to observe this phenomena. It’s taken for granted that this life giving orb is the basis for our western calendar. It’s presence is both astronomical and systemic. So why not bracket our lives with its observation?

From atop a modest hill, I can see the faint light hugging the east mountains. What awaits me today? The sky is brightening. I spend a good proportion of my time attending obligations. I go for my second walk approximately sixty minutes before sunset.

No music. I observe sounds, my body moving footstep by footstep. The crunchy loamy sand, the dusty dirt. I stretch my arms. Try to lose. Loosen and lose attention and stuffiness of structured life.

This is like a walking meditation or a debriefing of the day. A time for reflection, but not a brainstorming session. I let thoughts dissipate.

After months of this daily practice, managing stress is less tedious. The practice of walking and observing the sun rescales my life. Watching the giant star do a 180 into and out of your life will become the immovable image from which you base the stresses of life as truly what they are, insignificant.