Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Tinted Twilight



Idaho has the best evening skies. People who move here tell us that all the time. I never really noticed the sky at twilight time until my college years. I was in Anatomy and Physiology. It was a rigorous course with a top notch professor. He expected and usually got alot out of us. There was so much course work to cover that we all became very good at accelerated note-taking. And yet every year, about this time he would say to his class as we settled into our seats, "put away your pencils and just listen".

What happened next was life changing. He talked to us about gratitude. About our wonderful bodies and how they were so extraordinary. How we should be grateful for the way the air we breathe and the food we eat was not only delicious to us, but that the wonderful human machine could turn it all into the resources it needed to thrive. He talked to us about being grateful for our surroundings. For the cold winters in Idaho. He said we should never complain about it because it was the cold that killed many of the germs that made everyone sick. He told us to watch for the winters when conditions were milder and see if colds and flu weren't more prevelant.

And he told us to look up as we hurry home to our apartments after class.
"Idaho has some of the best sunsets in the world. How many of them have you seen in the last 60 days?"

I realized that I hadn't seen any. That very evening I looked up. And ever since then I have been looking up every chance I get.

And boy have I been blessed.

1 comment:

Abby said...

I wish my teachers would do that once in awhile! I really like that lesson. I think that more teachers need to share what they learned about life. Sometimes it is the thing you remember most about the class. And sometimes it's the thing that helps you change your life.