//SHIFT//
The changing of the season…

It is easy to assume and just as easy to forget the universal truth that seasons change. Even in sunny California, sunshine is brightest after a long bought of rain clouds. A perfectly still day in Chicago is breathtaking after the insistent winter wind. With no rain, there is no harvest. We reap what we sow. These proverbs have sustained the test of time, because experience has found them to be true.

How is it that we still struggle with the knowledge of this universal truth when we are in a challenging season? Is our Yosemite envy so high that we assume camping at the top of El Capitan removes the obstacles of the surrounding valleys?

“Everything must change,
Nothing stays the same.
Everyone must change
Nothing stays the same. 
The young become the old,
Mysteries do unfold.
‘Cause that’s the way of time
Nothing and no one goes unchanged. 
There are not many things
In life you can be sure of
Except… 
Rain comes from the clouds,
And sun lights up the sky,
And humming birds do fly. 
Winter turns to spring.
Wounded heart will heal.
Never much too soon
Everything must change…”

Everything Must Change
George Benson

It was just the other day when I realized that I have been taking the same photo from the view of my window. Each day, inspired by something; light, texture, shadow, whatever… every photo had its signatures… but the vantage point was always the same. I was sitting at my desk, looking out of my window. As the spring blooms are surrounding the city, and I marvel at the beautiful green leaves that have covered my street view, I realized in that moment that every picture I have captured thus far revealed the beauty of this season change. If I only focused on the isolated photos, I would have missed it… but, like a ton of bricks, I saw it… I am literally watching the seasons change.

There are 3 tangible ways I’ve witnessed this…

• in the natural
• in my spiritual self
• in the city of Rome

In transition, we can often ask ourselves this question: How did I get here? Don’t get it twisted! I am overjoyed to be where I am. I am confident I am where I am supposed to be… but that doesn’t resolve the quiet moments of uncertainty, when the road is disguised with debris and delusion. FAITH wouldn’t be faith if the road were crystal clear. Uncertainty could just as easily be that single photo from the window… soaking up every detail at face value, not connecting that even the branches are reaching higher than their current position. When we become stagnant, like a photo, we miss the motion that is propelling us forward on our journey.

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