Watching For Glimmers

Crossing the bridge from darkness into light

I was browsing through a beautiful book yesterday and found this quote.

“Patience is not sitting and waiting,

patience is foreseeing.

It is looking at the thorn and seeing the rose,

looking at the night

and seeing the day.

~ Rumi

The book is called The Sun, The Sea, The Stars by Iulia Bochis. Her illustrations are simple yet powerful. I like to open it randomly and let the image and the words reframe my day. This particular passage by Rumi has stayed with me.

I wonder how often I see the thorn instead of the rose, or get caught up in the darkness forgetting that night does eventually yield to day. When we are faced with challenges (and life offers many, doesn’t it?), do we see the obstacle or the opportunity that lies beyond?

Change is inevitable. We have no control over many things that happen, but we can always choose our response. Admittedly, even that is difficult under some circumstances. For me though, a slight shift in perspective or focus helps me find the hidden glimmers, the silver lining in the darkest of clouds. And once I find that glimmer, I can follow it as if crossing a bridge into the dawn of a new day.

I offer this gentlest of reminders that, no matter how dark the night, glimmers await. All we need to do is watch for them.

Photo: J Wise

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