The window of my bedroom faces west, and every morning the sun rises into my room from the west. When I discovered this, I was very surprised. Could it be that my bedroom window was not facing west but east, and I hadn’t realized?
No, no. When I went to the living room facing east, I saw that the sun was rising from there as well. How strange! Had our world acquired two suns?
Of course, there were not two suns. The sun that seemed to rise from the west was a reflection. There were glass-clad towers in the west. The sun reflected from them and rose into my bedroom. The striking thing was that the reflected sun, just like the real one, had both warmth and light — almost indistinguishable. Even though it was a reflection, it carried all the qualities of the real sun.
Of course, every morning before the sun rose, I would wake up and, as the Lord of the universe willed — the One who created me, gave me life, and blessed me — I praised Him and performed my prayer. Then I would read His book sent to humanity, reflect upon the events of the universe, and contemplate their meaning.
Meanwhile, I noticed that the sun rising from the east reached the glass table in the living room and winked at me, as if it wanted to say something.
I lent it the ear of my heart.
“I am a messenger,” said the sun. “Our Lord created me too and gave me this duty. My mission is to serve people and all other creatures, to be useful, to remind those who forget while living in the Creator’s dominion. To awaken sleepers to the truth. Therefore, wherever I find a bright surface, a pure heart to reflect me, I go there immediately, shine, and try to light and warm the corners left in darkness. That is why, through reflection, I rise from the west, from the north, from below, from above — in short, from everywhere. As long as no heart, no being remains without meeting its Lord.”
How beautiful were the sun’s words! To spread its beauty, it used reflection. Wherever it was reflected, it appeared as if it were the original sun. How important bright, clean surfaces were! If not for the glass towers, I would never have seen the sunrise from my west-facing window.
“All right,” I said to the sun. “I understand. You want me to reflect your words to others.” So I did. That morning I wrote and reflected the first Sun’s Counsel to our family group on Whatsapp. Or rather, I shared it.
The first Sun’s Counsel was:
“Good morning, I have come. I chased away the darkness and yesterday. I have brought you a brand-new fresh day. Whatever you experienced yesterday has passed and been recorded. Do not dwell on yesterday, it will not help. Look at the day ahead of you. The opportunity is in your hands, play your role as you wish. Remember, your hours are numbered. The sleep that will end this day is near. Your today is very precious, appreciate it. Do not carry the worry of tomorrow. Tomorrow I will come again. Now, I have work to do. Enough chatter for today.”
Since that day, I have continued my duty of reflection every morning. Each morning, I write a Sun’s Counsel and send it to my family. I hope the mirror of my heart does not become stained, and that I do not reflect false or wrong things.
When the Sun’s Counsels I shared in the family group reached hundreds, my daughters said: “Dad, these should not remain only among us. We too must become mirrors and reflect them to others. Let’s make them into a book.”
When I agreed, my granddaughter Zeynep Alya Dede designed and illustrated the cover, and my grandson Mehmet Sabri Gece designed the back cover. The book was published by my daughters’ company, KidsNook.
Now, in my law office, I also use it as a book of divination (tefeül). For you, the number thirty-six has come to my heart. Shall we read it?
* Taken from Abdurrahim Dede’s book Sun’s Counsels.