Sunset at the Grand Canyon

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Grand. Walk up to the edge of the Grand Canyon at sunset and what do you feel? Can you speak? Probably not, at least not right away. Are you overwhelmed with the beauty of it, the immensity, the grandeur? Do you feel emotional, as though you are seeing something you have waited fifty years to see? Do you get a sense of witnessing the aftermath of the massive forces that created the earth? Do you have sudden awareness of something bigger than yourself? Do you feel the connection to this place, and by extension to all of creation? Looking at this scene you become a child again, full of wonder and imagination and promise. When was the last time you felt these things? Did you not even realise until this moment that these feelings were still there? All of these threads of thought and more run through your mind, the first-time observer.

At the South Rim, you have lots of company witnessing the sunset with you. At Mather Point, on this late June evening, there were maybe 100 folks in attendance. There were cameras, yes, but not much conversation. This was understood to be a solemn moment, one that we wanted to savour for as long as possible.

The shadows creep across the huge expanse, highlighting the nooks and crannies and crags. The colours in the rock faces become vibrant, the contrasts sharper. Alternating layers of white and red and tan give testimony to millions of years of creation of this landscape. The suns dips lower slowly and deliberately and relentlessly and the shadows grow longer. In a short time, the canyon is clothed in darkness.

And I am grateful.

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