When It Begins

So, today we got up at 4:50. We being Joe, my Mom, and Mike... oh, and me (although, I can't positively say that I was technically awake). Anyhow, we hopped in the van and started off down I-5. Oh yeah, I'm going to Hawaii for a week. 

The point of me tell ing you this is that I witnessed something that my lifestyle doesn't generally allow me to... sunrise. At first I looked eastward and saw a glow coming up... it was pink and orange. It was distant. I began to think about it. I could almost feel the curve of the earth and imagine Minneapolis, Chicago, and New York. I could envision the city. The hustle and bustle, the pretentious business people waiting for their assistants to bring them their Grande Soy Ristretto Lattes. It was a connecting moment. I looked to the east and dreamt of the future and all it held. I had a sense of bigness. The world was big at that moment.

Flash forward 14 minutes. I looked back to the east and had a sense of smallness. As the massive ball of fire (our sun) came into view, a small barn stood next to a slightly less small silo and intruded into the view. If only I had photographed the moment. You would know what I meant.

I guess this 15 minute span of moments kind of represents my view of beauty. I see beauty in bigness. The world of people. An interconnected group of capitalists, peons, liberals, conservatives, moms, and grandparents. That is beauty. But also, I find beauty in the simplicity of the man who owns the barn and the silo. The man who complains about the noise of traffic while savoring the oatmeal his wife of 47 years made for him... just like every morning.

What a Blessing.