I saw this Instagram post the other day which depicted a small flower, yet to blossom looking downwards and asking ‘what if the sun never comes out again’ to a larger more developed flower in its steed. It made me think about all the times that we get so entrenched in our sadness or doubt that we can’t see what is inevitable. We tend to get siloed within the thoughts that are consuming us at the time and descend down a proverbial rabbit hole which sinks us deeper and deeper into a never ending abyss.
Perhaps it is the natural tendency for us humans to revel in our despair. It feels like the victim mentality takes hold immediately and we fall trap to the nagging voices in our heads whispering unyielding lies to us about the lack of a tomorrow. But tomorrow always comes. As the rays of a glorious sunrise overcome the clouds to emerge in all its glory, so does the beauty of starting fresh. Watching the sun burgeon on the horizon each morning is sign that every day is a new beginning. It represents the notion that darkness doesn’t last forever, that change is always near.
I’ve had few times in my life when I’ve felt the beauty and at the same time the sheer fragility of this world. Maybe it’s because I always seem to be caught up within the next stumbling block. I have tended to sigh and moan and wonder why I have to keep dealing with these blockages in life. Instead of realising that this is how the experience of living as a human being within this existence will always be. If we choose to focus on all of the bad, on our constant struggles and the harshness of life it will definitely consume us. But that would be the easy thing to do. What’s harder is to look up in these times, acknowledge the sheer harshness yet at the same time magnificence of this world we live in and close our eyes and be grateful.
I remember one particular instance where this occurred naturally and truly caught me by surprise. I was in the Solomon Islands and had just endured a tough day in the field. My body was aching from all the walking and I was emotionally spent from hearing the stories of those I met. I am an emotional sponge so at that point I was on the verge of tears. But as we headed back to Honiara I recall being on a boat and feeling a cool breeze of wind on my face. I remember instinctively turning my face up at that point towards the sky as I gazed into the wonder of the clouds above me. The sun was just starting to set and a burst of sunlight came peeking out of from the clouds. The only thought that consumed my mind at that point was that I was part of something greater, that the splendour of that skyline and the emotion it sparked in me was what life was all about.
It’s easy to get caught up sometimes. I refer to that sentiment as having tunnel vision in which all we can see, all we can feel and imagine for the future is that emotion that we are currently stuck in. We tend to get lost without seeing the bigger picture. We forget to be grateful to just be alive; to be able to see those beautiful, breath taking sunsets that represent the glory of this planet. We forget to breathe, to inhale deeply and reconnect with our spirits, with our souls. It escapes us at those times with just how connected we are to nature, to the environment around us.
What that Honiaran sunset made me realise is that no matter how dark the day is today or how difficult it all feels, the only constant in this life is change. A new day will dawn tomorrow and it will still pose its difficulties but also presents us with a chance to reset, to start new and bask in the awe of those rays of that sunshine on the horizon. I am reminded that life is all about perspective and sometimes in order to draw us out of our self-pitying puddles of doom all we need to do is look up to the sky. To be reminded that we are but a small part of greatness. Of an overarching entity in which clouds blow across the horizon every second to reveal a different view of the sky. To understand that the greyness of the sky, of our spirit at times will subside and reveal something truly astounding.
Sx
I blog for Change. 