The Sunset of Your Life!

They say the "sunset of your life" is when you have finally reached old age. You've probably heard someone say "he died while in the sunset of his life!" Some people probably do relate sunsets to old age but I'm not sure anyone can predict or know when the sunset of their life will be. The one thing you can predict is that the sun will set each and every night regardless of your age!

I am getting older and I may be in the sunset years of my life but I've decided not to sit around waiting for the end. Instead I am filling my sunset years chasing sunsets. I started taking pictures of sunsets almost 30 years ago. I oftentimes flip the pages of the albums trying to choose one sunset over another but it has been impossible. As a result I don't have just one sunset hanging on my wall. They are plastered with pictures of sunsets all too beautiful to merely file away.

I guess my love for the sky started in 1978 when I first climbed into an 18-wheel truck.
The view from a truck is great for sky watching. You sit much higher in a truck than you do in a car and your view is oftentimes unlimited. As we toured the Pacific Northwest week after week my ex-husband, who was oblivious to anything of beauty, was driving and you guessed it..I was the one doing the touring!

After the northwest tour was finished we spent all our time driving from one coast to the other, and after traveling most of the 48 states I can tell you there's nowhere else in the USA like the Pacific Northwest. Forests, mountains, volcanos, ocean deserts and rivers offer scenery you've only dreamed of and the beauty of the sunsets on the Oregon and Washington coast is like none other.

It was a night in 1978 while waiting in Blaine, Washington to cross the Canadian border, that set the trap for me. We were going to have a long wait. I got out of the truck and stood breathing in the clean, fresh air. For the first time I realized I wasn't only looking at the trees, mountains, etc. but also the sky. I had never seen anything like it. The colors were spectacular. I don't think I'd ever spent much time watching the sun set until that night.

What an experience. This sunset was like nothing I'd ever seen before. The sky was gold. The clouds, also various shades of gold were casting glimmering shadows down on the bay below. Any artist would have chosen to paint this masterpiece. I couldn't stop looking at it.

Since that night I guess you could say I have become a professional sunset chaser. I drop everything to go watch the sunsets. Chasing sunsets is not only cheap entertainment but it's good for the soul. Let's face it..sunset chasing is recreation that the government obviously hasn't heard about yet because there's no license to apply for!

The sky seems to have many personalities. For instance, there are calm skies and there are violent skies, and even a calm sky can suck you in with its clouds of intense colors which are sometimes hypnotizing. I remember standing in awe of the Grand Canyon for six solid hours. I couldn't pull myself away. The colors were hypnotizing. Sometimes the sky does the same thing to me.

At the same time a sunset can become vicious as the sky fills with rolling black clouds. The power is obvious. These clouds can take over the sky but never fear, the sun will set in spite of them. Sunsets like this are also a great place to dump your stress. You can yell and scream all you want but nobody other than Mother Nature will hear you.

You soon realize how small you are standing there with burned out vocal cords. You also realize how petty your problems are, and soon you feel a revitalization like none other. You are filled with a new energy and motivation and in viewing the pictures you have just taken you realize you are finally doing something worthwhile..for yourself!

As a new sunset chaser let me just tell you there are a couple of things you must
remember. One, you must always have your camera with you, and two, don't miss a minute of the sunset you have just chased down because let's face it .. it could end up being the sunset of your life!

While you can easily become lost in the sky's beauty a sunset is something different.
A sunset is an experience. I have compared it to life itself. It starts, it builds to its brightest and after a certain time it fades away and ends ends. Watching a sunset can be an experience too. When you finally find the place with the best view your digital camera goes crazy shooting pictures here and there. There's a feeling of excitement. The beauty is awesome with each sunset unique, and you stand there thinking, "Oh my God, just look at it! What did I do to deserve a seat for this show?"

Oftentimes other photographers and sometimes neighbors whose curiosity gets the best of them join you. They usually can't figure out why the sam hill you're standing on their corner, but soon learn why. You're a sunset chaser! Some people admit they've never watched the sun set before but one neighbor told me one night the sunsets were the reason they bought the house on the corner!

Because most sunsets are beautiful it would only be natural for people to expect the sunset of their life to be beautiful as well. Does this mean seniors are done too?
Some seniors might say they have reached the sunset of their life and there's not much left. For myself I'm not done yet. The sunset at the top of this page is spectacular to say the least and also like none I've ever seen before. You might even think there couldn't be any sunset more beautiful than this one so why bother to chase any more. Well, I'm determined not to give in to the sunset of my life and merely fade away..at least not until I've chased down the sunset of my life!