Perspective in a Sunset/Sunrise

With all the turmoil in the world, the viciousness of political divisiveness, the violent dogma of religious zealotry, we can learn something about perspective,

From a sunset.

At any given point in time the sun exists in all it’s various phases simultaneously. Sunrise, midday, sunset, and all the permutations in between.

Depending on the time of year and hemisphere, some of those states do not exist, yet do exist elsewhere.

How can this be?


As I watched a beautiful Aruban sunset, it occurred to me that some 180 degrees of longitude away, someone was watching a sunrise.

At precisely the same moment, on the same planet, viewing the same star, our perspectives were at once totally opposite, completely different, yet equally accurate.

We were both right.

If we fail to appreciate another perspective, insist on our point of view being correct, deny the validity of a different point of view, we all lose.

In this world where religious zealots of all denominations and creed (almost exclusively dominated and controlled by men) justify genocide on instructions from some god (again exclusively interpreted by men) it is because they lack empathy for different perspectives.

In this world where a grief stricken son can shoot and kill a doctor because, from his perspective, the doctor was the cause of his mother’s death, perhaps if he had taken a moment to look at it from the doctor’s perspective, or even his mother’s, those two men would still be alive and a young family’s grief avoided.

In this world where those that disagree with the policies of the sitting President, describe him as a Muslim as if that alone should disqualify him as the President, perhaps if they understood the perspective of the Islamic world, as long as the Islamic world returns the gesture, this would be a better place.

So, next time you watch a sunset/sunrise, remember that somewhere in the world another human being is watching a sunrise/sunset. Both of you have different, yet equally valuable, perspectives.

By appreciating the difference, we can grow the commonality of our existence.


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