In Pursuit of Sunsets
In honor of the summer solstice, which is soon upon us.
STORY BY
DR. NURIT ISRAELI
Photo courtesy of
Dr. Nurit Israeli
“SPLENDOR of ended day,
floating and filling me!”
—Walt Whitman
It took less than an hour to
choose our North Shore Towers
apartment. The Western
exposures made it too tempting to
resist. As soon as I saw the Manhattan
skyline and envisioned it
warmly lit by the glow of sunsets, I
was won over.
I’ll admit, I have been drawn to
sunsets for as long as I can recall.
Growing up in Haifa, a city by the
sea, sunset memories are etched in
my mind. As my mother had for me,
I too tried to instill an appreciation
of the wonderment of sunsets in
my children, attempting to cultivate
their sense of awe. For the grandchildren,
I came up with a sunset
ritual. We would face a departing
sun, watch it slide down toward
the horizon, and—attuned to its
promise of renewal—recite aloud
together in melodious tones:
Good night, sun… Sleep tight…
See you tomorrow…
Memories have been my best
investments. They don’t lose value,
tend to appreciate over time,
and can be retrieved on demand.
In years of ardent travel, I have
filled my archive of memories with
images of sunsets from around
the globe. In bed, in the dark of
night, I often retrieve an image
and revisit a memory. I also rely
on remembered images when practicing
meditation.
My absolute favorite sunsets?
Even the short list is long…
Years ago, the editor of a travel
magazine wrote about his favorite
sunset-watching locations. At the
top of his list were Moorea and
Bora Bora—utterly stunning South
Pacific islands in French Polynesia.
Although getting to these remote
paradises wasn’t easy, I traveled
there once, then couldn’t resist
going back. My French Polynesia
memories include enthralling
images of the sun receding into
the clearest, most turquoise water.
No wonder Paul Gauguin went
there and chose to stay…
Sunsets at the North Cape are
equally memorable. There, in the
land of the midnight sun, at the
northernmost tip of Norway, I was
mesmerized by ethereal sunset-sunrise
combinations: The summer
sun, hanging low, never fully set. It
dipped and immediately rose again,
without a break.
Somewhat similar were sunsets
on the other side of Earth, in
Patagonia, at the southernmost
tip of South America. By the edge
of land, amongst glacial fjords,
sunsets were shared with penguins,
sea lions and other iconic
inhabitants. The intense shades
of sunset against the backdrop of
white/bluish icebergs were captivating.
Even the science fiction
and fantasy writer Ursula Le Guin,
whom I met in Patagonia, came
there to be inspired.
Away from water, sunsets over
the Serengeti national Park in
Tanzania made me tear up in disbelief.
Sunset hues stretched endlessly
across the Serengeti’s wide
open skies. Sounds and silhouettes
of elephants, zebras, giraffes, and
other wild animals made Serengeti’s
sunsets unforgettable.
Among mountains, Nepal sunsets
compete for primacy in my memory
archive. There, snow-capped
mountains and ancient temples
offered majestic backgrounds to
setting suns. Nearby in India,
sunset over the Taj Mahal in Agra
became my most indelible sunset
memory. I was spellbound by the
sight of this exquisite monument,
which the Nobel-Prize–winning
poet Rabindranath Tagore describes
as “a solitary tear suspended on
the cheek of time,” enveloped by
a fiery glow.
Favorite runners-up include
island sunsets: Santorini’s sun
setting into the Aegean Sea, epic
sunsets in Lipari at the Aeolian
archipelago, Fiji sunsets, Arctic
sunsets in the Lofoten islands and
sunsets in Antigua—my favorite
Caribbean island.
Oh, and sunsets over lakes and
rivers have made it onto my list
of favorites too: Lake Taupo in
New Zealand, Emerald Lake in
the Canadian Rockies, Lake Bled
in Slovenia, the Sea of Galilee,
Ireland’s Sheen River and so many
more. My memory archive is overflowing
with images…
No, I never tire of sunsets. I am
dazzled by their colors and luminosity
time and again. They prompt
me to step out of my routine, let
my breath be taken away, be astonished
anew.
Sunsets are fleeting. Light fades.
All beautiful things come to an
end, and there is sadness in saying
goodbye. Still, sunsets are followed
by sunrises, which are followed by
sunsets. Beginnings and endings are
intertwined, and there is comfort in
these continuous cycles. The world
keeps spinning, and I am grateful
for its offerings.
Like right now, in front of my
balcony, behind the trees, a red
ball of fire is gliding slowly towards
the Manhattan skyline, casting a
warm orange glow across the sky.
This day is departing so gracefully,
gallantly giving way to night, and
I find myself whispering yet again:
Good night, sun… Sleep tight…
See you tomorrow…
No words...
6 NORTH SHORE TOWERS COURIER ¢ June 2018