Perspective

I've been working on a painting project for several months now.  I just just haven't hit the right mood to finish it up.  I started back this summer right after we got the new building and I got space to work on things.

Time keeps moving swiftly,  I've hit the stage where I can recognize that it seems. Life doesn't slow down to let me catch the same light on the hillside behind the house for more than a day or so in a row.  What started as a summer view has quickly turned to fall and soon winter.

I went out the other morning to get a picture of it before all the leaves are gone.  It's going to be too cold soon to stand with the back doors swung open to see it anyhow.  I was up early and thought I'd have decent light but everything still lay in shadows. About thirty minutes later,  after heading back in and begrudging the subdued shades I looked out again from the warmth of the house to see in that short time everything had changed.

Like I said, life moves swiftly and doesn't care about my mood,  the weather or if I have time to capture or even recognize it. If I want to be aware I have to be there and make time to see it.

The view is about a lot more than light though.  I did go back out to take pictures of the better light but the colors of summer are gone and the farm field behind me has been harvested and moved on to new crops. It's up to me to fill in the spots that I think are lacking.

It reminds me of something Dennis said the other day about the color of fall leaves. He told me that the color we see in fall is always there, even in spring and summer. It's just that they are so full of chlorophyll that we only see the green.  When fall comes the chlorophyll is drained away as food so they can survive the winter and we are left to look at all the beautiful shades that were always there.

Life is definitely moving fast.  I'm not the same green leafy specimen of my youth but as that fades I'm left to find my true colors.  I know it's not likely I'll get to slow down much but I can try to keep it all in perspective.