I stayed inside today and, bored out of my mind, hit up facebook and msn. So when my mum asked me if I wanted to go with her to pick up my brother I surprised her by accepting. By then I was feeling a little nauseous from staring at the glowing screen.
It was very late afternoon and the sun was just beginning to sink below the horizon. I was about to climb into the car when I stopped. Really stopped and took a good look around.
I can't describe it properly, but the street was divided into two. One side was steeped in shadow, and the other?
It wasn't yellow, or pink. It was bathed a brilliant gold. The leaves of trees were moving slightly in the wind, and they glinted like golden bracelets. The driveway looked as I had always imagined the city of Atlantis, the streets paved with gold.
It was like living in a dream world, and it was beautiful.
I couldn't stop staring after that. I kept finding new things to look at - how my neighbour's plain roses looked blood-red under this new golden light, how alive everything was. How had I never seen it before?
And I realised I had never seen it because I'd never appreciated it. Because I was inside most of time, on the computer or doing work. And okay, watching sunsets is right up there on the lame list next to long strolls on the beach, but somehow I'd been so caught up in things that didn't matter I'd missed something right in front of me.
We live in a world that tells us we need money, beauty and amazing career to be happy. But watching that gold melt into the shadows, all those things seemed completely irrelevant.
Now I'm afraid. Because I wonder how many other moments like that have I missed? Simply because I never bothered to actually open my eyes and look. How many more will I miss?
So starting from tomorrow I'm going to stop letting things money, beauty and facebook rule my life. They won't last - but I'll never forget that sunset.
On the way home I saw a rainbow, so I guess that was a sign I got my treat! Happy Halloween everybody, and remember if a horrible rotting monster shows up at the door....
... give him your best, brightest smile and run for your life!
Happiness Equals Bracket =)
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