Friday, September 27, 2013

Balance

September was a month to think and work towards balance at my Boulder, CO studio.  This focus reached its testing point with the raining and flooding that happened in the middle of the month.  Many people have lost not only their homes, but also the land their homes sat upon.  Whole communities have been broken apart and destroyed.  Others have suffered the greatest loss of losing family members and friends to the violent floods.

I cannot pretend to know the grief that these families and communities must feel.  For most of us the flood has become an inconvenience, a hitch in our giddy-ups.  For the people of Jamestown, Lyons, Estes Park, Four Mile Canyon, Longmont, Coal Creek Canyon, Boulder Canyon and the other communities impacted heavily by these floods, this is their life for the next year or two.

With every tragedy, night comes and the morning wins.  Time presses on and with it brings healing and hope.  The belief in balance, and the circle of life helps humanity overcome tragedy. The sight of seeing thousands of volunteers helping strangers and neighbors get to safety and save their homes and belongings.  The efficiency in which our emergency teams responded to save lives and give people a warm place to sleep.  The belief that the rains will stop, people will reach safety, and we will rebuild. This is the balance of life at its most tested state.  From chaos comes beauty, from devastation comes hope.

Balance has always been a major theme throughout my life.  I believe there is no good without the bad, no success without the failure, no love without the heartbreak.  During times of suffering and pain, I always remind myself that the unbreakable ebb and flow of life will bring me back around to happiness and great fortune.  I have seen such a generous response of love, caring, and giving come from this community in an attempt to bring the area back to a stable, balanced place.  It validates my belief in balance and my belief in the human spirit.

Boulder Flood Relief Groups

Boulder Flood Relief

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