Today I watched blue skies become grey and then once again return to blue. I watched the day become night through a beautiful display of light. As I watched the sunset it made me think about how the transition from day to night and night to day is the most beautiful part of the day. In photography it is the first and last few minutes of the day that reveals the best light. Then I thought about my life and my own transitions. And I remembered how hard those transitions are, but I also remembered how beautiful they are. We all have transtions in our lives.
I have so many friends that are in currently transitional times. They are thinking about moving to a new cities, what to do after graduating from school, looking for a new careers, etc... And as you know its just hard, really damn hard to figure it all out. But watching the sunset tonight made me think. It reminded me even though transitions are hard that their is also beauty in transitions that can't be found so easily in other times of our lives.
We all know that tough times are often the ones that shape us the most. They are the times that make us think about who we are and force us to become self-aware. Transitions not only force us out of our apathy, they force us to confront our emotions and fears. To think about our priorities - to face our deepest fears. And there is something beautiful about that.
The sunset also made me think about priorities in our lives. In my own experience what we all desire most is community. We may not always realize it, we may pick a job or even a city over true community. I may find a city that I love, but if I can't find an authentic community to live in there - the city becomes dead to me. A city is almost a material good, we often shop till we find one in which we want to live and then in the end are disappointed when it doesn't fulfill us. Not that there is anything wrong with moving or experiencing a new city, because there isn't. I probably think of moving to new cites and places more than most people. However, I have to remind myself that they only thing in this world that fulfills us is relationship. I search for it like a diamond in the rough. True community is hard to find, but it is easy to know when we have found it. And that is beautiful.
Transitions are hard, they suck, and we all get sick of them. Nothing is going to change that. But today I was encouraged to watch the sun fade away in an awe inspiring spectrum of colors. Because it reminded me those tough transitions are also beautiful. So hang in there my friends, hang in there.
I already posted this song on my other blog, you can find that post here. This song is just to perfect for this post. It's sad but hopeful; Beautiful yet tragic.
Ron Sexsmith - "There's Gold Them Hills"
