My Sunrise

My trip is losing something. It is no longer means as much when I share about it. I no longer know how to share about it. There is so much that I always wish I had shared each time I sit down after sharing. Every time I share I feel like I am doing it less justice and ma failing the cause and the people I rode for. It seems like I leave out the important parts and people do not get what they should out of the trip. But how can you explain two months of such amazing adventure in anything less than a week long conference or a series of novels? And who I am to control what people do or do not get out of my stories? While driving back from our hills workout on a Thursday morning for Cross Country we were gifted the most glorious sunrise: a sky of neon pink peeking through a curtain of lavender clouds spread behind the city skyline. It was breathtaking. And as I sat in the van and watched it change and shift as the sun came up, I realized that is what my tour has become. It is my sunrise.

It began slowly. I could not see the impact it was having or imagine the effect it would have on everything in my life. But as it continued and then reached it’s end it was like those few minutes of perfect, brilliant color in the sunrise. You cannot exactly point out when it appeared and when it reached that point, but you suddenly realize it is the greatest thing you have ever seen. But even as you look at it, point it out, and try to soak it in, it is fading and changing. It continues to shift and face, losing it’s brilliance and it’s awe-inspiring beauty. Instead, as the sun continues to rise, it becomes the light by which you see everything else around you.

As much as we would like that moment of perfect, breath-taking beauty to stay forever, we come to realize we cannot see the rest of life and cannot continue walking or see new things until it faces. We cannot allow ourselves to be forever distracted by what we saw, but we also must never forget how beautiful it was. We must also accept that no matter how many words we use, how many ways we explain, how much detail we put in, not matter how many photos we take, the only people who will ever be able to truly and fully understand the beauty of what we saw will be those who were standing there with us. Some may be able to relate, may have seen their own sunrise. But there will also be some that have no frame of reference and cannot begin to fathom what we are trying to describe.

Does this mean we should not bother in sharing or trying to explain? Absolutely not. Sunrises are not a secret and beauty was not meant to be kept hidden. So share your memories, tell your stories, describe in detail. Knowing that some will not understand and will leave unchanged. But knowing too that others will be inspired to pursue their own sunrises.