After I got home I realized I needed to go to the Credit Union to make a deposit, so I thought I'd hop on the bike and clear my head a bit. It was a short but wonderful ride -- reminding me of the freedom I feel on the bike as I took my little scenic loop home. At the top of the hill I looked back and saw Mt. Rainier glowing in the sunset on a totally clear evening.
Sunsets present a bit of a dichotomy of sorts. They signify an "end", in this case the end of the day. At the same time, they are almost always one of the most beautiful parts of the day. How can something that symbolizes an "end" also be so beautiful at the same time? After all, "ends" are generally not good things. However, if one is truly to start something "new" one generally has to "end" whatever came before it. Maybe in the beauty of the "end", in this case the sunset, we can find hope for the next beautiful thing along the way. The next most beautiful thing to follow a sunset is of course a sunrise, and a sunrise, always indicates the start of something or at least or a rebirth of sorts and a new beginning.
As Tony
But it will be a new beginning -- a new year, and maybe a better one.