Sunsets and sunrises can be stunning and beautiful. The red, oranges, and yellows combining into brilliant shades and colors, and have inspired artists and photographers to capture these incredible displays of beauty. Drop in some clouds, and the images can inspirational. A quick search of the Internet will show dazzling photos that often can seem surreal.

In terms of science, sunrises and sunsets are from the light from the sun traveling through more atmosphere early in the morning and late in the day. The increase amounts of atmosphere scatters more light, leaving behind the reds and yellows. During the day, the sun is higher in the sky, and passes through much less atmosphere, which causes very little scattering of the light. The science behind this phenomena is quite clear. Some may wish to think a gorgeous sunset or sunrise is a miracle, a sign of God’s hand at work in the universe. Some may only see the science behind the fiery red sunset. I choose to believe in both.   A small miracle of creation that we can fully understand.

I get up with the roosters, and on many days I would be waking them up. Some days I may crack the 5:00 AM threshold and always find the mornings peaceful. Nothing beats a brisk morning walk, seeing the final stages of the night sky, transitioning to the light of day. Today, as I write up this blog entry, I was able to see a bright red sunrise through the trees as I walked Gretchen, our dog. It was a moment of inspiration and beauty, which I found quite pleasing. We as humans tend to degrade the natural beauty of the earth, but it seems that we can always count on the sun to provide moments of beauty.

The early riser will see two miracles of nature’s beauty per day. I often look at the sunrise, and also the sunset. Inspirational beauty for many people, but for the early riser, we are blessed twice a day with this beauty. So I say to everyone reading, get out of the bed and be inspired by nature’s beauty. Most will be up and around for the sunsets, but why not get up a little early and experience both. A beautiful way to start the day.