Looking at the Sun

by Stephanie F. Earls

I recently had a birthday. On that day I decided to look directly at the life giving, cleansing, guiding light of ours: the sun.  Might not sound like much to you but for me it was symbolic, one of those things I was always told not to do, and I never really knew why and not sure I believed the scary stories I was told about what would happen.  I wondered if I did not look at the sun for my own good or someone else's.

Well that day while sailing in the Caribbean, thinking I could live my whole life and never really know what it looks like to look at the sun - maybe the feeling of another year gone by, maybe the thrill of being in such vibrant light, I thought, what do I have to lose? (Ok, I hear you all, I could lose my eyesight....I know...my dad made sure to detail the process of burning a hole in the retina when he heard I did this.) Anyway,  I took matters into my own hands, uh, eyes and looked. Yes, right at the sun. Multiple times.

And you know what? I can still see.  (thank god)

Setting aside the momentary rebellion, the cool thing is, as volatile as our minds can be, debating on whether or not to do things, rethinking what we just did, or contemplating what we have been told by others, the body is a perfect back up. The body is always talking to us, giving us feedback about how things around us feel, whether they are healthy for us or not.  Our bodies protect us. It takes a bit of practice and tuning in for more subtle situations, but for many things the message is clear, just like a gut feeling.

In the case of looking at the sun, the eyes start to water and reflexes shut the lids. As strong as the urge to look comes the urge to look away. And I admit, I pushed it a little, my mind challenging my body and the light, desiring to SEE it as much as I feel it. But my body won out. The eyes, the body protects itself.

So, bring the  mind and body together. Listen to your body.  If you feel tired, take it easy. If your belly fills up, stop eating. If your eyes hurt looking at the sun, close them.  If you push it to an extreme your body will give you extreme signals. Trust yourself. It's just like it feels.