Sunsets bring hope

COFFEE WITH WARREN, with Warren Harbeck
Cochrane Eagle, June 18, 2020

Joan MacRae finds peace and hope in PEI springtime sunsets as seen from her deck on Malpeque Bay in the midst of Covid-19 pandemic, economic uncertainty and social unrest.
Photos by Joan MacRae, collage by Warren Harbeck

Former Cochrane live-theatre personality Joan MacRae, residing now on Malpeque Bay, PEI, has experienced a springtime of sunset inspirations for these troubled times.

“The pandemic, ruined economies and social unrest may be ravaging the world,” she says, “but the constant of a sunset in a changing world grounds the soul and brings small joys in its beauty.”

In fact, throughout this stressful spring she has photographed many of those sunsets. For this week’s column I’ve selected one of her eye-catching photos for each of the four months.

“Often, I stand on the deck surveying the landscape, amazed at the beauty of nature,” Joan says. “The view feeds my soul.”

Well, Joan, these sunsets have fed my soul, too. About the one for April 16, you asked if I saw anything in “a Rorschach” sort of way. I did. And what did I see? Why, a pair of hands forming an outstretched heart embracing a bright, mysterious future – so appropriate for times like these.

In fact, I just couldn’t keep my eyes off that image. I asked myself if there was some special significance to the date. And there was!

April 16 is Emancipation Day in the U.S., the anniversary of President Abraham Lincoln signing the Compensated Emancipation Act of 1862, freeing over 3,000 slaves in Washington, DC, and setting the stage for abolishing slavery throughout the country. And why? Because Black lives matter!

Thanks, Joan, for this sunset inspiration.

 

© 2020 Warren Harbeck
JoinMe@coffeewithwarren.com

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