Sunshine in Alice Springs

The beauty of the landscape of Alice Springs is showcased when the sun touches the MacDonnell Ranges with light like fire. Sunshine is elusive, and the blinding light of the Central Desert changes over time. In summer, it comes with a breath of heat, and in the winter it mingles with the touch of a cool wind. Over the course of a day, it progresses from the freshness of dawn to the falling dim of the evening.

The light of the sun is not something you can touch or contain. Is it an illusion? We feel it as it illuminates the darkness, exposing a place made of ghost gums and red earth. We feel it on our skin, life-giving and comforting, sometimes burning, other times mild. It fills the huge spaces of the Northern Territory, blotted out only by storm clouds, and then only momentarily.

                                                        Afternoon Sunshine in Alice Springs

The good things in our life have the same impact as the sun’s light. We feel them, expanding within us, giving us the strength to go forward. Some we can touch; others we feel. They are real to us, although often no more tangible than the light on the ranges. We may not be able to hold them in our hands, but we know they are true, and we see our lives in their glow. When they disappear in a time of darkness, we have faith they will return.

The dawn ushers in the new, and the sunset closes a day that has passed and is finished. The beauty of the evening light tinges the soil. It shows life slowing down and is a time for reflection and relaxation. It gives us time to pause. The gold of a dying sun creates the last dregs of daylight in the Central Desert. We are reminded of the gift it is to have spent that day in such a stunning place. End-of-day shadows have played on the desert for eons, yet still, we look at their beauty anew every time they flare from the disappearing sun on the horizon. May we never take for granted the gift of sunshine, and the life it lights up.