The Sun Is Out of (Our) Control
Choices and lessons the sun can teach us
One could say I worship the sun. The sun being out, kind of makes or breaks my day- not to be dramatic or anything. I am a different person when the sun is out. What is it about the sun? The way it lights up the world. The warmth of it on my face. The sun is like magic to me. Especially after a period of cold, dark, cloudy, or rainy weather. I welcome the sun like a long lost relative when I haven’t seen it in several days.
The sun can be tricky though. We can just be enjoying the warm ball of light, only to be left with a reminder of its power — sunburn — leaving you overheated and in pain. The right amount of the sun can leave you uplifted and the wrong amount can leave you howling in pain. I have seen many people get sunburnt, and I’ve rubbed aloe over the shoulders of my loved ones many times. I was blessed with olive tone skin, so I have never experienced the true wrath of the sun.
“Turn your face to the sun, and the shadows fall behind you.”-Unknown
My sister has very fair skin and has had numerous run-in’s with the sun. One time in particular that stands out is when we went to the beach with our father when we were kids. It was a beautiful, cool, partly cloudy day. We spent all day on the beach, enjoying the lovely weather. But oops, we forgot sunscreen. We learned that day that cloudy weather does not mean the sun is not around.
By the evening my sister was bright red everywhere and very sick. We rushed her to the medical center where she was treated for heatstroke and dehydration. It was terrifying. My dad is also fair-skinned and spent his childhood outside with no sunscreen. He ended up having metastatic melanoma as an adult. I felt like my friend the sun betrayed me these times.
But honestly, the sun is going to be the sun. It is on us to respect the sun and know it’s power. The sun is what it is — a ball of fire lighting up the sky. Know your personal limits and act accordingly. The sun is critical to our lives and we all need Vitamin D from the sun which can help our mood and our health. But too much sun can also be dangerous. Maybe this is where “everything in moderation” comes in.
Like life, there are rules to follow about the sun. Easy does it, be respectful, don’t do too much or not enough, wear protection (okay that’s a separate lesson), think before you act. The sun has lessons to teach us. There’s a level of comfort we take in the sun but it can be dangerous if we get too comfortable.
The sun teaches us we are not in control. The sun controls our life but we have no control over it. We have to work around the sun and change our behavior if needed. Sometimes we need to look away and then re-focus. In life, sometimes there are circumstances beyond our control. We can only control ourself, and may need to modify our behavior. Sitting out at the beach all day with no sunscreen on was our fault, not the sun’s.
Too much is not always better. A whole day on the beach vs. a few hours could have changed the outcome for my sister. The sun will feel great in the moment but it could hurt you and let you down. The same is true in life, if you do too much of something, or too much for someone, like a job or a person who does not appreciate you. Why burn yourself out when you may get hurt in the end? (See what I did there?)
I may not have been burnt by the sun much, but burnt by life? Absolutely. Sometimes in life we learn our lessons and move on. Or maybe you are like me — some lessons I need to re-learn multiple times. Life, like the sun, can be tricky. I still love the sun but I have also learned of what to do or what not to do in its presence. Regardless of what is going on in our lives, the sun will continue to be there. The sun will keep rising/shining/come out tomorrow, you know the drill.
“Incredible change happens in your life when you decide to take control over what you do have power over, instead of craving control over what you don’t.”- Steve Maraboli
The sun has taught me to respect it and that we need to sit back and be still at times in life, not doing too much, but doing enough. Just the right amount. We are not in control of circumstances around us, and other people, but we can take care of ourselves. Making extreme effort is not always better, sometimes it’s simply too much and not going to change the outcome. We can give our lives the same respect we need to give the sun.
Watching the sun rise or sun set can give you a perspective on how we are just observers of this magnificent star. I feel calm, peaceful, and hopeful every time I witness a sun rise or sun set. There is nothing to do but just sit and watch. And while we can’t always just sit and do nothing in our lives, I believe there is a lesson that sometimes we do need to be quiet and observe.
Take comfort in the sun, in its resilience, its ability to keep being there no matter what else is going on. We won’t be able to control the sun, or anyone else, but we have choices we can make for ourselves. That is a hard but good lesson I have learned. I will continue to enjoy the sun, as I stumble through life, learning and re-learning lessons. I will use precaution with the sun and life circumstances, but if the sun is out I will be doing that with a smile on my face.
