The Window Seat Perspective: Blue Skies and Sunshine

It’s no secret that 2021 has been a bit turbulent so far. We hadn’t even made it one full week into the new year before we saw a siege on our nation’s capital by a group of domestic terrorists. In the days that followed, we have seen arrests, a rising death count, and the rightful suspension of multiple social media accounts of the President.

As I’ve taken these events in, I’ve kept in mind my decision to focus on tiny wins in 2021. One reminder of that focus came at the hands of my view from the window seat on a recent flight. 

When the flight took off, the weather was pretty gloomy. We were experiencing a cold, overcast day with a pretty consistent mixture of rain and snow on the ground. After we took off and reached our cruising altitude, however, I looked out the window to see this: 

The first thing that popped into my head was a line from a song in one of my favorite Disney movies: The Princess and the Frog. The song is called “Dig a Little Deeper” by Jenifer Lewis and The Pinnacle Gospel Choir, and the line that came to mind was “Blue skies and sunshine, guaranteed.”

Blue skies and sunshine aren’t actually always guaranteed — at least based on what we can see on the ground. But when I shifted my perspective from the view and feel on the ground and started to focus on the view and appearance of the sky, I noticed that there was a choice to be made: focus on the gloomy afternoon on the ground, OR focus on the beauty I was witnessing above the clouds. One was dark. One was brighter; more hopeful. 

Someday, people will ask us to talk about how we got through this past year. Documenting the wins — or capturing aesthetically pleasing photos — will be a reminder of how we tried to focus on something positive in trying times. 

So often when we are going through those tough times, it is difficult to see past our immediate circumstances. My view from my window seat on the plane reminded me that regardless of what is happening on the ground (rain, fog, gloom, etc.), the sun is always visible and the skies are always brighter above the clouds.

I’m hopeful that we are all headed for the other side of the clouds soon; I hope you share that optimism, too. 

Find joy in the small things for now, and there will always be blue skies and sunshine — guaranteed. 

Keep blooming.