Adding Color to My Sunset Sky

CarolynCares Clouds

I love this quote by Rabindranath Tagore…”Clouds come floating into my life, no longer to carry rain or usher storm, but to add color to my sunset sky.” How many times do we feel the storms of life, or feel like the clouds are hanging over our heads? Flooding, planting delays, stress, anxiety, depression, chronic illness, life changes…all can be the storm clouds that seem like they’ll never part.

Tonight, I am thankful for the parting of the storm clouds, and the brilliant sunset. I am thankful for the rough patches in life that help me to see the beauty in the good times. I am thankful for the promise of a new day. A new start. A new opportunity to be a blessing. Tonight, I am thankful for the clouds that add the color to my sunset sky.

“People Are Just as Wonderful as Sunsets….”

CarolynCares Sunsets and People

This quote by Carl R Rogers was so fitting today. Sometimes we encounter people who drive us crazy. When we see these people in person, we just want to hurry the conversation along so we can escape and go chat with our friends. Then again, there are those conversation on social media, where you swear someone will argue with you over the color of the sky, simply because they have it in their minds that you’ll never have anything in common.

I love the opening line – “People are just as wonderful as sunsets if you let them be.” If you let them be…wonderful. If you let them be…human. If you let them be…imperfect. They are still just as wonderful as sunsets. Just because I think a woman is going to be crabby and whining after church doesn’t mean I shouldn’t take the time to really listen to what she’s saying, and what she’s not saying. Is she crabby about someone not talking to her ever because her memory is going, and she cannot remember the last conversation? Or, is it her way of saying she’s lonely?

When we’re typing rants, comments, statuses, or sharing other posts online, do we let our biases about certain people or groups of people dictate how we respond to them? For instance, if the conversation is centered around whether PB&J is better with grape jelly or strawberry jam, are the grape jelly fans going to treat the strawberry jam lovers as if they are just as wonderful as sunsets?

People are just as wonderful as sunsets. Just as every sunset is different, people are different. Don’t try so hard to change everyone to fit what you think they should be. Just sit back, and enjoy watching your relationships unfold. After all, social media is about relationships just as life is about relationships.

 

30 Days of Thanksgiving – Day 14: Sunsets

CarolynCares Sunsets

One of the things I love about living where I do are the wide open views. I love to run out to the edge of the yard and watch the brilliant colors as they constantly change while the sun is sinking. This fall, there have been breathtaking sunsets, where I’ve paused just to drink it all in.

Some think that it is cliche to take photos of sunrises and sunsets, but I disagree. Our goddaughter’s Chinese name meant Beautiful Colors in the Sky. Her favorite colors were purple and pink. After she was killed in a bus accident, I think about her every time the sunset is full of purples and pinks. Sometimes I take photos of those sunsets, and other times I just pause and watch. I think some professional photographers forget that some of us find inspiration and joy in sunsets. It is not cliche if it means something to you.

I am thankful for beautiful sunsets that make me pause, and appreciate the painting God is putting on display for us.

I know I may be biased that my Minnesota sunsets are the best, but I have a couple of friends from North Dakota who would beg to differ! Head over to [j.l.d.] photograph blog to see her sunsets, then check out the Pinke Post for more.

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