One of my best friends in high school lived in a massive, three story house on The Strand in Hermosa Beach. The strand is a little bike path that separates the houses from the sand and the houses are usually 3m-10m+. These houses are massive and typically wall-to-wall, floor-to-ceiling windows so that the owners can enjoy the gorgeous views. Here's a view from her roofdeck The windows can be a bit of a burden because people walking on the strand can see directly into the living / bed / kitchen areas, especially in the evening. Sometimes it's literally like living in a glass box. Because windows. So you put curtains up. Because privacy. Anyways, I was just becoming close friends with her and her family and one evening I stepped onto the balcony to make a phone call. The curtains were, and had been, closed and so I had no idea that the sun was setting and the entire beach was a gorgeous hue of pink-orange and the sky was pink-purple-blue. It was stunning. It took my breath away. When I got back in the house I was like "Guys guys guys guys guys HAVE YOU SEEN THE SUN SET?! IT'S GORGEOUS!!!" They sorta just looked at me dumbfounded. Yes. We have seen the sunset. And it will set tomorrow. And the next day. And the next. And because of this, they never really bothered to open the curtains or sit and enjoy the sunset. They had seen it and no longer cared. I made a promise to myself that day that I would never take something like that for granted - no matter how often I saw it or how normal it became. This summer, I've spent more time on my family's boat than ever before. I've watched the sunset probably 3 times a week for the entire summer. And every day I thrown my phone inside and sit up top and simply enjoy it. I take it in and let the wonder of this universe wash over me. And I'm grateful for being alive, having friends and family, having a boat to share with my friends and family, and having the fortune to be able to watch it set, on my family's boat. It could be easy to not watch it set, especially when I'm busy. But taking a moment out of the day to enjoy something like that is important. And lovely.
Good for you, that's something I can imagine lil has committed to as well. It seems lil is always seeing the sun rise and set when she corresponds with me. That's awesome. I once wrote a song called The Cubicle in which the conscience of someone that has "sold out" talks to them. Here is the first line: Here's hoping that someday I get to witness a sunset, glass of wine in my hand with lil and insom. That'd be pretty awesome.I made a promise to myself that day that I would never take something like that for granted - no matter how often I saw it or how normal it became.
Maybe I should record it. Might be a good one for the #hubskioriginalmusicclub You are not the car you drive
The days go by and though you are
Dressed up in diamonds now
You can't recall the last time you saw
A sunset that truly looked divine
I should know, I live through your eyes