Sunrise, Sunset

Pain, in its many forms, causes me to skid to a stop. To pay attention. To change plans.

When I want to be free to soar, I am tethered by pain. Sometimes mine. Sometimes another's.

Physical pain. Steps toward healing.

Emotional pain. Conflicts, poisoned words. A hope for healing.

Time. When I want my priorities to be chosen - by me. But they are chosen by others, with needs beyond mine.

Instead, I find a different path to soar. The time to slow down, to breathe, to set aside my agenda, my busy doing. To appreciate the guys gathered around the game table. To look at their faces, hear their laughs, be together, in this moment, here, now. To be grateful, awake, alive, now.

Today.

Sunrise, sunset. I never get tired of sunrises, sunsets. Each one is unique. The ordinary, the gradual wash of blue to gray to dark, or the cycle from dark to milky to pale blue. The brilliant, exploding colors, or a subtle change, each day, each night in its time. Time revolving, blending day into day, reminding us of light and dark, happy and sad, health and pain, strength and weakness. A cycle, day in, day out. Even in the days when it seems everything is all wrong.

For now, for today. Pay attention. Listen. Breathe. Be here. Watch the sunrise lighten the world, and accept the darkness as it falls.