Heroes Not Zombies

I took this photo many years ago while on a teaching trip to Tokyo. It captures the setting sun reflected in the windows of one of the many tall glass and steel skyscrapers which crowd together in the city.

My first thought is, this is a beautiful image. It catches my attention and makes me pause to look at it more closely,

Then I’m struck by the fact it’s something man made overlaid by something natural. To see both in the same place at the exact same time makes this the delightful scene that it is.

We humans have made some astonishing objects. From homes, to palaces, castles and cathedrals up to today’s modern, seemingly impossible tower blocks. From works of art, to computers in our pockets. But still, nothing we make seems to match the astonishing power and beauty of natural creation, and is there any common natural phenomenon that attracts more attention than the setting sun?

We are drawn to sunsets, whether we see them happening over oceans, beaches, mountains or cities. The last house I lived in was a great place to be to see sunsets. Evening after evening I’d be drawn outside, almost compulsively, as the whole sky turned shades of red and gold. Irresistible.

And not or. This was one of those moments where the built environment and the natural one interacted to create a unique experience of beauty and awe.