I made a mistake...
Upon take-off on an early morning flight home leaving D.C., I realized that I will be in the air when the sun comes up. I thought it would be really serene to experience the sunrise from the sky.
As the dawn gradually brightened, to set the mood for a true magical sunrise, I put on Above & Beyond's new album "Common Ground." Just after I started the first track, the first blip of sunlight crested the horizon and grabbed my attention.
Excited to experience my first sunrise from the sky, in a moment where I am truly present, I quickly pulled out my sunglasses so I could really take in the whole sunrise.
It was magical... All that I hoped it would be, enjoying the glowing orange disc slowly lift into full view as Above and Beyond permeated my eardrums.
It wasn't until I'd finished absorbing the experience that I looked away, back into the plane, and realized I'd made a terrible mistake. I'd completely neglected to remember the reason why they give you special glasses to observe the solar eclipse.
When you directly view the sun, the image if light essentially burns into your eyes (not sure if it's your cornea, retina, or other anatomical part). I know this now from the painful, ruthless lesson of experience, because now I have a permanent small dot of light in the center of my field of vision, no matter where I am looking.
When I was in college, I went shooting firearms with a friend. It was a fun weekend, but we were stupid enough to fire shotguns, pistols, and a "Tommy gun" without any hearing protection!
Ever since that weekend, I've lived with a permanent, subtle ringing in my ears. And now, it's the same experience, only with my eyes. The subtle dot of light in the center of my field of vision is akin to the subtle, ceaseless ringing in my ears. Two mistakes with lasting effects on how I will experience the world for the rest of my life.
I share this in the hopes that you, dear reader, will demonstrate wisdom by learning from my mistakes.
Wear ear plugs at concerts, when shooting firearms, and are around large machinery. It sucks having a constant ringing in your ears.
Don't ever look directly at the sun. You will regret it when you're stuck with a little patch of light interfering with whatever you want to view --- for the rest of your life.