From sunrise to sunset

I went on night shift again when January rolled around, and while I normally don’t like the night shift because I’m a morning person, I am liking it now. One major reason is the cool weather, which my friends and I call the “Philippine winter”. I know it’s not as cold as other places, but being in a country that’s either rainy or hot (and humid) most of the time, this crisp, cool weather and clear skies is one of my simple joys.

The second thing that I like about being on night shift is I get to catch the sunrise. I rarely wake up in time for the sunrise anymore, so catching it every now and then is a blessing. While I don’t really like to bask in the sunshine before I go to bed (I find it impossible to go to bed after the sun’s rays hit me), I like seeing the sky slowly brighten from black to dark blue to purple to a lighter blue to pink and orange and all that. It’s just so pretty and glorious, and it almost feels like a warm hug.

But since the nights are still long and the sun doesn’t rise until past six in the morning this time, I hardly catch the sunrise because I am usually in bed by then (I told you I don’t like being hit by the sun before I go bed). I am up in the afternoon, though and you know what I catch then? Sunsets. Gorgeous, gorgeous sunsets. :)

Beautiful, right? :) I love it, I love it. It makes me want to just stop and watch it all until the sky turns from light blue to orange, pink, and purple and finally, dark. And then the stars and the moon come out, which is an entirely different beauty altogether that my camera cannot really capture.

The past week has been kind of strange for me, and I figure it’s all because of the post-New Year’s blues and some quarter-life crisis (and it feels especially hard this year for some reason). Times like these pass, I know, but sometimes when I’m in the middle of a panic mode, I just…panic. And I try very hard not to lose it, try very hard not to complain, try very hard not to rant or wail or cry. Or, okay, sometimes I cry. I let myself cry because sometimes it’s the only thing that will calm me down. And I usually cry while praying. And then that helps.

Keep calm, keep calm. I always like to think that if a sunrise feels like a warm hug, then sunsets are…smiles. Sunsets are assurances of good things that are now and good things to come. A greeting card, the kind that tells me to stop, to breathe, to relax.

A reminder that tells me everything’s going to be okay.

Okay, I may be reading too much into it, but hey, we all need a little hope everyday, right? But that’s what we need right? An assurance that tomorrow is going to be fine.

And it will be.

Right?