Saturday, January 23, 2010

The meaning of the Sun

This morning I go for a walk on the first sunny day on which I do not need to be at the office. The possible warmth pulls at the edges of my skin as I walk within the house. My retinas are full of the attraction of light. They burst as tangerines will upon one’s tongue. I tug on my hiking boots and fleece to step outside under the orange orb and a black wool cap that immediately cools in the air but then begins to warm again. The dark material absorbs the light and converts it into heat.

There is a reaction between the body and the natural sunlight that produces vitamin D which is of great importance to calcium production and bone strength. I start walking East through the village in order to have the sun directly on my face. I can almost feel my bones growing in density but not quite.

All week I have been rising and going to work in the dark, and coming home at dusk. The sky has been gray for weeks here on The North Coast. To be out under blue, to feel the warmth of the yellow blaze, to hear a lively cluster of birds in the bare branched tree, is all so glorious! I glance over at the corner of a house at the sound of soft wind chimes and see that ice melt is cascading over the edge of the roof and onto the chimes making them gently twist and reverberate.

A huge gaseous ball of fire in the center of orbital chunks of rock takes dullness in the brain of a lumbering biped and creates sensuous repercussions of joy. This is the meaning of the sun. This is photosynthesis.