'Sunrise Sunset' is about trying to get to a place where life is

The musician and poet Benny Cassette, speaking not merely of song but of life’s deeper rhythm, once said: “‘Sunrise Sunset’ is about trying to get to a place where life is simple and not letting the stress and happenings in the world get in the way of your happiness.” Though his words are modern, their wisdom is ancient. For they speak of a truth that the sages of every age have known—that peace is not found in the clamor of the world, but in the quiet harmony of the soul. In this quote, Cassette calls us to remember what the rushing heart forgets: that life, from sunrise to sunset, is brief and sacred, and its beauty lies not in its noise, but in its stillness.

The origin of this reflection lies in the very nature of the song he describes. “Sunrise Sunset,” a melody from the classic Fiddler on the Roof, is a meditation on time’s passing—on the tender and tragic wonder of watching children grow, of seeing joy and sorrow follow each other like dawn and dusk. It reminds us that life itself is a cycle of beginnings and endings, and that to live well is to be present in each moment, not distracted by what we cannot control. Benny Cassette’s interpretation, then, draws this timeless truth into our own age: amid chaos, technology, and endless ambition, the soul must seek simplicity—a place untouched by the world’s noise, where the heart can breathe again.

In this teaching lies a subtle paradox. For though the world constantly tempts us with complexity—with the pursuit of wealth, approval, and endless striving—it is often in simplicity that we rediscover happiness. The wise of old knew this well. Diogenes, the philosopher who lived in a barrel, once told the mighty Alexander the Great that all he desired was for the conqueror to stop blocking his sunlight. In that moment, Diogenes revealed a truth that even kings could not grasp: that joy is not found in possessing the world, but in needing little from it. Stress, as Cassette reminds us, is the shadow cast by desire—when we reach too far, we lose our balance. The soul’s freedom begins when we let go.

Throughout history, the greatest minds have sought the same place of simplicity. The Buddha left behind his palace of luxury to sit beneath the Bodhi tree, seeking not new riches but inner calm. In his stillness, he found enlightenment—a state beyond the reach of fear or desire. Likewise, the Stoic philosophers taught that no storm of fortune could shake the one who learned to rule his thoughts. They knew, as Benny Cassette now echoes, that the peace of happiness cannot be built upon things that perish. To find it, one must return to the simple rhythm of life itself: to wake with sunrise, to labor with purpose, to rest with sunset, and to let the heart be content.

Yet simplicity does not mean withdrawal from the world; it means mastery over it. The one who learns to dwell in calm amidst the storm is greater than the one who flees it. Consider Mahatma Gandhi, who faced an empire with nothing but truth and simplicity as his weapons. He wore no crown, commanded no army, yet his peace was unshakable. He refused to let the stress of the world pollute his spirit. His life was a living answer to Cassette’s insight: that happiness and freedom come not from controlling life’s events, but from controlling one’s response to them.

In our own lives, this teaching calls for deliberate practice. The world will not cease its noise, nor will time slow its pace. But each soul can carve out moments of stillness—moments of sunrise and sunset, when the heart is free to breathe, to give thanks, to remember that being alive is enough. Begin each day not by racing toward duty, but by pausing to see the light unfold. End each day not by lamenting what was lost, but by marveling that you have lived it. Let your joys be simple: a shared meal, a kind word, the peace of your own thoughts.

And so, my child, take to heart the wisdom that lies hidden in Benny Cassette’s words. Seek not a life free from trouble, for such a life does not exist. Instead, seek a mind free from turmoil, a heart that can rest even while the world trembles. Learn to live between sunrise and sunset with grace—with gratitude, simplicity, and joy untroubled by circumstance. For the storms of life will always come, but the soul that has found stillness will outlast them all.

Thus remember: true happiness is not won through conquest, but through surrender—through the gentle art of being content with what is already yours. When the heart ceases its striving and learns to dwell in the simple rhythm of existence, the world regains its color, and life becomes once more what it was meant to be—a sacred song of sunrise and sunset.