The Moral Vision
Another Day! How Wonderful
~ 85 ~
Other heavenly bodies are either too hot, too cold,
too gaseous, too windswept or too fiery, or can be
like Jupiter and the moon, proceeding in their
respective orbits without rotating on their axes, so
that one half of the globe is permanently
illuminated while the other is for ever plunged in
darkness. The denizen of such a sphere would have
no rising sun to stir his enthusiasm and no peaceful
sunset to signal the moment for rest. He would
have no periods of vigour and achievement
alternating with soothing periods of repose. For the
human being, accustomed to his diurnal-nocturnal
alternation, such an existence would be one of utter
staleness and weariness, with no refreshment ever
in sight. Yet this pattern, to which all living things
on earth have been attuned from time immemorial,
is something which we take for granted, and for
which we do not consider it necessary to offer up
our thanks. But this unique ordering of day and
night is God’s own doing, for the especial benefit of
man, and we would do well never to lose sight of
what an extraordinary blessing it is. (116:15)
