Lightminutes, not Lightyears away

This afternoon I had a strange, almost metaphysical experience. But in fact, it was a physical experience mediated by my mind. It was at about 5 pm, and on my way home I came across this very plain field that offers a undisturbed view on the western horizon. And just at this moment, the sun was still two fingers above the horizon and by some rarely occuring atmospheric conditions, it appeared completely sharp but with reduced intensity. So one could look right into the sun without hurting the eyes. And at the same time, the sun was still strong enough (maybe at least its IR component) to warm the face. And the ball of the sun appeared subjectively much larger than usually. I could imagine that the ancient Egyptians who worshiped Ra, and the Mayas in South America who also warshipped the sun, both had this experience more frequently. A good chance to remember once again that this years has been declared "International Year of Light" by the United Nations.