Sun worshiping

When I drink in the sunlight with all my senses, I can’t help but be enamored. Sparkling on the water in a vibrant dance, dappling through the trees as branches rustle in the breeze, lighting the emerald green on the underside of a breaking wave, warming the sand beneath my feet, lifting the ocean’s salt so I can scent it and taste it in the air, brightening an energizing walking path, spotlighting the tops of cotton-tuft clouds, refracting through departing storm mist to create a rainbow, deepening the saturated colors of a tulip bed in spring, and showcasing the gold and maple colors of the leaves in fall, ripening the tasty corn and wine-making grapes in nearby fields, shining through the windows making my condo feel like a tree house, painting the sky with its every rise and set, and still reflecting off the moon when it is gone in the night.

Beyond what we perceive directly, the sun enlivens processes critical to our health and survival. The sun regulates our circadian rhythms that give us good night’s rest and triggers the vitamin D production that strengthens our bones and immune systems. The sun powers photosynthesis that makes plants grow and catalyzes the water cycle that generates rain. The sun warms the air that gives rise to winds and emits gravitational forces that move the tides. Those same gravitational forces keep the earth in an orbit both just close enough in and just far enough away to allow for the evolution of life on this planet.

It is no wonder that the sun has lived large in human imagination and religiosity throughout history. The sun gods in their many manifestations are said to create order out of chaos, provide life-sustaining light and warmth, give guidance to kings and seekers, and embody the soul of the world. They are elevated to the highest level of the pantheon for peoples throughout the ancient and modern worlds: Ra (ancient Egypt) Apollo (Greece), Sol Invictus (late Roman Empire), Surya (Hindu), Kinich Ahau (Mayan culture), Jóhonaaʼéí (Navajo), Xihe (Chinese), Sunna (Germanic peoples)… and on. In the Judeo-Christian tradition, the Book of Genesis tells us that “God said, Let there be light: and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good.” All peoples have recognized the sun’s life-sustaining powers and have ascribed its power to the gods.

Our sun is most certainly a divine gift. In addition to mystical powers and life-sustaining benefits, the sun offers us actual power – the kind we can tap to generate energy across the entire planet. Through experiment, invention, and iteration, we now have the capability to convert the sun’s rays and to capture the power of sun-generated wind and tides to produce storable electricity. These green energies have become inexpensive, efficient, and sustainable if we just have the will to put them into play.

September 21 is Sun Day – a day of action in support of green technologies. I believe moving to sustainable energy production is an existential project for our planet. We can have a more healthful environment, slow climate change, and raise people’s standard of living across the world. Other writers are able to make the case for clean energy better than I am, and I’ll link to some of their work below. I would applaud seeing solar panels on the roofs here, be grateful for the ingenuity that allows for wind energy farms off shore, and advocate for investment in transitioning to green energy production everywhere. The sun isn’t just decoration and bonus for outdoor activities – it can keep our planet going for many generations and thousands of years to come – if we make use of its power.

On my daily walks, I am constantly awed by the sun – relishing how it enriches everything I encounter. In music and poetry, sunshine is often code for happiness and good vibes; odes to it are countless. Sunshine is a metaphor we use to describe the loves of our lives, that feeling when our dreams are realized, the energy that we dance to. Every time the sun rises on the horizon, it ushers in a new day of awesome possibilities. Let’s count the sun’s blessings and make those blessings count toward a sustainable future. Today, I’ll be humming the understated Sun Day theme song: “Here comes the sun, and I say, it’s all right.”

• The Future Is Coming and It’s (Literally) Sunny: Notes on the Solar Revolution by Rebecca Solnit
• Here Comes the Sun, Bill McKibben interviewed by Chris Hayes on the Why is this happening? podcast (on Apple, on Spotify)
• Here Comes the Sun (2025) by Bill McKibben
• Sun Day: Rise up for a sun-powered planet 

In The Sunshine
by Louisa M. Alcott

Far away there in the sunshine are
My highest aspirations.
I cannot reach them,
But I can look up
And see their beauty,
Believe in them, and
Try to follow where they lead.