Perspective.

I'll be honest here, I've had a pretty awful few months. 

And it won't be getting better any time soon.

Inside my heart has been a strange, intense brew of 

excitement, fear, joy, rage, and anxiety.

For many reasons that I won't go into here.

But isn't it funny how right in the middle of it all, 

right when you think you just can't take another moment 

of the unrelenting emotional burden,

you find yourself awestruck by the sublime, stark nakedness of a cold winter day. 

And it takes your breath away.

It makes you stand back from your life a bit, and take in the largeness of the 

regal simplicity that surrounds us.

The history of things that have seen tremendous tragedy 

cozied up to unspeakable joy.  

And yet, still they stand. 

Etched with stories lived and the promise of stories yet untold.

It helps you understand that our lives are small in comparison.

That as time passes, things and circumstances begin to fade with a worn grace, 

a statement of tenacity and endurance thru the storms,

a tapestry of the unique way life weaves itself into us and our surroundings. 

That the cyclical nature of the seasons are just the way of all things, 

and even in the passing on of the old, 

there is immeasurable beauty and elegance.

And hope for the new yet to come.

There is the acceptance that in all things, this too shall pass

....and will come 'round again.

That new perspectives are always just around the next corner.

That an expanded view can bring fresh understanding,

 more appreciation for the simple contrasts that exist 

within the same frame of our lives.

How things that are past being 'perfect' are much more worthy of adulation and a soft glowy focus of remembrance and appreciation just because they continue to BE.

These things remind us that life goes on.  

And on.  

And three weeks, three months, three years from now...

...the landscape of my life right now will gently fade 

to pixelated, grainy snapshots, like old newpaper clippings.

A stark testament to an incredible, messy, difficult, glorious season of my life.

Lived.

These images were captured quickly, 

with the intent of simply documenting the grounds of my daughter's upcoming wedding venue. 

Instead, I was later astonished to find imprinted upon my memory card some rather inspiring shots,

and felt compelled to share how they shaped my heart and breathed on my spirit 

this dark December day, 2011.

cindy

Linked to Laurie Anna's Farmhouse Friday
Katharyn's White Wednesday
Debra's Vintage Inspiration