Last night during my flight home from Florida, I witnessed a sunset unlike any I have ever seen. Ember-bright streaks of orange bled into a brilliant yellow swath of sky, creating the illusion of an ocean on fire. Magnifying the effect were clouds saturated in black and dark grey that read like an ominous, smoky shoreline. The resulting scene was so truly unbelievable I closed my eyes and opened them again to be sure it wasn’t my imagination.

I didn’t look away until the illusion vaporized into night, its fleeting magnificence leaving me full of emotion.  Watching it was like hearing a movement of extraordinary beauty at the symphony or sharing an unforgettable kiss: the quiet vacancy felt afterward was almost as powerful as the experience itself.