A Sunset on Life
“Perfect happiness is a beautiful sunset, the giggle of a grandchild, the first snowfall. It’s the little things that make happy moments, not the grand events. Joy comes in sips, not gulps.” — Sharon Draper
Standing on the edge of a cliff high above the powerful waves of the California coast, you see the bright orange sun slowly fade behind the horizon, you feel overwhelmed by the numerous colors that change as the seconds go by. Each second is another perfect surprise filled with a uniquely sensuous experience.
Hearing the powerful waves crash against the coast, you breathe in, smelling the salt in the air, you get a feeling of ecstasy and feel yourself smiling.
Looking out over the ocean, seeing the scintillating water, everything is perfect for a moment in time. You cannot imagine a moment better than this. You look down and see someone with their fingers interlaced in yours; looking up, you see them smiling, rewarding you with the reassurance that they have the same feeling as you. Who is holding your hand in this moment?
You are in the waiting room and you look down at your leg and see that it is shaking, you do your best to try to stop it, but it persists. You look around and realize the colors of the waiting room seem a dull grey; looking up you see the doctor walking towards you with a clipboard in hand.
He informs you that your father has just passed away and they did everything they could to prevent this devastating event. Everything around you slowly becomes an echo as the cold cloak of all the emotions washes over you. The chair feels frigid, and you close your eyes and cannot believe that this day has come. Everything seems hopeless, and you have the sense that life will never get better as you succumb to this all-encompassing grief.
Despite the hopelessness, someone walks up to you and wraps their arms around you, giving you a glimmer of hope in the cave that is your sadness. Who is this person that is comforting you during this traumatic experience?
Do you want it to be someone you met at a party last week? Or do you want someone who understands you, loves you, and whom you trust to always be there for you?
The answer for me is the person that I trust more than anyone, always makes me laugh, whom I find interesting, and whom I always love hearing what they have to say.
This person makes the greatest of life’s moments somehow even better.
They regulate the horrible moments in your life and help you find the hope that you thought would never return during your darkest moments. They do not shy away from comforting you; rather, they are there for you whenever you need them in a perfect example of love because they know you would do the same for them.
There are obviously many factors that go into finding the person to spend the rest of your life with, but this is an important characteristic that is easily overlooked while in a relationship.
It is easy in a relationship to get caught in the flow of normal life without looking to see if this person you are dating is making life’s moments more pleasurable. Whether these are some of the greatest moments you have lived through, the worst, or everything in-between the person you spend the rest of your life with should improve them all.
There is no greater feeling than looking at your significant other, realizing that every moment with this person is a mini-adventure.
If you are lucky enough to find this person, it paints a beautiful picture later in life:
You are sitting on a swinging bench; your joints and muscles are aching from the many years in which they were well used. Looking over you see your two beautiful grandchildren, one boy, and one girl.
Next to them, holding them both is the person that you shared life’s most momentous moments with, whether it was the worst or the best moments, they were there by your side the whole time. If given the chance you would not change any of those moments and you are superfluous with gratitude for every moment knowing that each was a blessing.
You lean over and give them a kiss. Pulling away you have a huge smile and see they have a smile that is filling their whole face, from their cute dimples to every wrinkle on their face — the same grin that you saw many years ago after that first precious kiss. The grandkids say, “Yuck!” and everyone laughs.
You think to yourself if only they knew what spectacular moments they have in store for their lives.
The sun slowly sets, filling the air with a brisk feeling, and you think that while the sun may be setting on the greatest moments of your life, the warmth of the sun will be back with the sunrise of the breathtaking moments in their lives.