I have copious amounts of sunrise and sunset photos, those forays at the start and end of the day trying to capture the quintessential moment of the sky in all its glory. The attraction is natural. We are drawn to these short lived spectacles of beauty, some bold and awe inspiring, others diffused in subdued pastels which greet the day or say goodnight softly and gently.
Today was such a morning.
Not a breath of wind, the only sound the chirping of birds and the occasional
vehicle heading up or down the mountain on the main road. With a complete cover
of grey cloud the only evidence of the sun’s appearance was the faintest sliver
of molten gold and pink. Heading away from the sun on my walk the grey clouds
were tinged with the palest pink, a deft touch but enough to soften and
warm the steely grey.
This morning’s sunrise may
have been soft and mellow, but yesterday’s revealed another gem when I took the
time to look in the opposite direction. The usually dark mountain range was awash
with coloured light, even the stately gum’s mottled trunk was picking up the
reflected light to great effect.
Which turned my thoughts to
another moment captured last week as I headed home just as the sun was setting.
The western sky was aglow, but what grabbed my attention was the colour reflected
in the eastern sky, highlighting the remnant of a rainbow on the horizon. I was
fascinated. Rarely had I seen such a beautiful sight when looking away from the
main attraction.
It was a reminder to me that
sometimes the source of light, both physical and metaphorical, as attractive as
it might be, is not all there is to see. Focus on it alone and you can find
yourself stumbling blindly along as the details around you are lost. Instead, see
it as a way of illuminating your surroundings and the response can be very
different. Suddenly you can see where you’re going.
