Summer Sun

My favorite time of year has officially begun. Woo-hoo!


This was the first weekend of the summer & the inevitable hijinks have already started.

Anyway, many people know that Friday was the Summer Solstice, the longest day of the year. Like other astronomical and seasonal events, this point in the solar cycle has been recognized & celebrated since the beginning of civilization.

National Geographic:
"Summer Solstice Facts,
for when 'the Sun Stands Still'"

The sun was one of the first physical entities to be perceived as a deity, for obvious reasons. It is the Earth's source of heat, visible light, cyclical time, and of most life.

I've always felt a sense of amazement in the relatively immense power of the sun. As a student at Rowan University back at the turn of the 21st century, I picked our closest star as subject for a fun project in my intro design class:


My only tattoo is a graphic I made of the sun with the Chinese pictogram for being alive. To me, it's a mandala more than a decoration. When I got it in college, I wanted it to be a symbolic reminder of how important each day is that I get to experience life, including all the joy and sorrow it brings.


Besides being a student of sun symbolism, I also simply enjoy basking in the summer sun - doing absolutely nothing and thinking about absolutely nothing. When I close my eyes, I feel the pulsing radiant energy that originated in the depth of a stellar inferno millions of miles away. It is an invigorating feeling that is further enhanced by an ice cold Corona w/ a lime.