“Beautiful” does not do this sunset justice at all. “Beautiful” is ugly in comparison. “Breathtaking” is more appropriate. “Heart-wrenching.” It brings tears to my eyes.

Mesmerized, I slide off my bike and let it fall to the ground. The sound of my expensive birthday present crashing into the dirt—a noise that would normally cause me to cringe in discomfort, has no effect on me. I don’t even notice it. There is nothing but these gorgeous colors spread before me. A scarlet red dripping into the deep violet of the night sky. A dark orange melts into the red. In my eyes these colors are reflected.

I sink down onto the park bench and ponder the wonders of the world. Not the man-made ones like the wall of china or the statue of liberty. No, not those. But the ones Mother Nature nurses into being. The ones we as people seem to lose appreciation for as every day goes by.