THE EVENING AND THE MORNING in my garden are magical times. They both express such vibrancy. The morning comes alive with the dewy freshness of a glorious new day; the evening bathes everything in a tender glow. Rabbit families come out to nibble away at their grass suppers. Birds have a final, fleeting visit to the bird feeder before settling in for the night.
There are many different views of evening, and Mrs. Eddy's definition tells us that they often tend toward a human sense of life—a time of drawing in—of "mistiness," "weariness," and "obscured views." An inevitable progression towards an ending and darkness. The "weariness" of the day could perhaps close with the need for the "cocktail hour"—a drink to lift one's spirits. "Mistiness" might settle around the idea of aging, loneliness, or melancholy—a yearning for the future or the past. "Obscured views" sometimes reveal unfulfilled life ambitions that have become shrouded and concealed. How we perceive the concept of evening will be manifested in our lives, for as the Book of Proverbs in the Bible says, "As he thinketh in his heart, so is he" (23:7).
The highest sense of evening is "peace and rest," and by keeping this concept in thought, every moment can be an "evening" moment. When we watch the sun setting, we know that it is rising for our brothers and sisters on the other side of the world—at that very moment, they are experiencing morning! Evening becomes a settled, unhurried time to mentally gather all the blessings in our lives, to savor and rejoice in them.
