by Jerilee Wei

Created on: May 14, 2008

Measuring Sunsets - COUCHEE DU SOLEIL

There is an old-timey Cajun way of contemplating sunsets, by measuring and knowing the number of sunsets you've been given. It changes the way you'll look at your personal sunsets. If you were to live one hundred years, you'll only have 36,500 sunsets in your personal century. Doesn't sound like a lot of sunsets for one hundred years of wisdom, does it?

Looking back on my own 21,535 sunsets, I've had ample time to marvel at the breathtaking red, orange, pink and purple sunsets, that I've personally viewed. From a spectacular sunset in an ancient desert adobe mission, to the sky view on a junket boat on South China Sea, or to liquid glow from an Italian beach side by the Adriatic Sea - these are just few that I remember, all personally holding particular meaning and insight.

So, why count your sunsets? What purpose will it serve? What insights will you find?

Well, if you are ten years old, you've only had 3,600 sunsets to get to know the ropes of living life. While you hopefully have a lifetime of sunsets still before you, it's not easy to be ten years old in 2008. If you are lucky, you've only got a tiny notion of what your life purpose might hold. You still have lots to learn, as you race towards those remaining 32,900 sunsets. Sit on the porch in the evenings with someone older and wiser, watch the sunset, and listen to them talk about the mysteries of life. It's also a way to cleverly postpone your dreaded bedtime.

When you hit that first magical milestone of sixteen, you begin to think with 5,840 sunsets under your belt, you know it all, or at least more than your parents. You could be wrong, but might not fully know it for another 30,660 sunrises. At sixteen, you probably don't have time for reflecting on sunsets. The wise young person will try to occasionally slip away from the distractions of young love and having fun to find themselves, and attempt to determine what their true strengths and talents are.

At that bigger milestone of eighteen, with a mere 730 sunsets passing since you turned sixteen, you've only amassed 6,570 sunsets. Wow! You still know it all. However, now that you are an adult, you might wonder why there are so many times, as the sun sets on another day, that you don't feel as confident or together as some of your peers. Life is exciting though, with 29,930 sunsets remaining on your calendar. It's time to start planning your future sunsets, if you haven't already.

The ultimate milestone, of course is

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