Each evening, residents and visitors along the western edge of the Florida Peninsula gather on balconies and beaches to watch our sun disappear behind the Gulf of Mexico. No doubt, such vigils occur on west-facing shorelines across the globe.
Always beautiful, ocean sunsets are never quite the same, influenced as they are by atmospheric conditions, the weather, the season and the state of the sea itself. Nevertheless, this natural spectacle is also tinged with an element of fear, acquired from the collective experience of our distant ancestors who had no knowledge of astronomy and had many reasons to fear the darkness.
While we no longer light bonfires or make sacrifices to bring back our life-giving sun, its daily disappearance does unveil the disturbing truth that our civilization is relatively insignificant. Countless suns shine from the night sky, challenging the delusions that fuel our personal comfort and self-importance.
