a little lesson at sunset

last night the sunset was amazing.  even more amazing than usual.  from my porch i can see part of it, somewhat obscured by trees but still, i can see.  but i wanted to see more.  i wanted to see the horizon, i wanted to watch the process and the colors change in a wide and expansive way, so i ran up the hill behind our house. but as i climbed and turned, i couldn't seem to get above the tree line.  the view became more limited. so i decided to climb a tree (which was slippery and shadowy) and at the top i still couldn't see as well as i could from my own porch.  by the time i got back home, i'd missed most of it.

sometimes i miss what is right in front of me, because i'm trying to get a better view. because i think i have a better idea. because what i have is good, but what if....there is even more?  what if, by not climbing the hill, i'm potentially missing out on an even greater view?

last night i chose to sacrifice my moment to search for a grander moment- and i lost.  i missed most of that sunset, but i did gain a valuable lesson which i quickly realized while climbing down that tree in the dark.

take what is given.
love it. cherish it. savor it. paint it. write it. share it. be still in it.
because it goes, and it goes quickly.

there are times to climb for more.  there are times to search for the better view. but i need to  be careful in the search. that i don't lose the gifts, the beauty, that's right in front of me - what is out my window, the people i live with, and their lego houses, their fish drawings, their endless games of "littlest petshop pets", their garbled english, bedtime songs.  because usually, the things, the people, the moments right in front of me are the most precious.

a blurry picture of kampala at night

last week at the equator

bryn's dolphin

“If you surrender completely to the moments as they pass, you live more richly those moments.”
― Anne Morrow Lindbergh