It was a beautiful day! I was flying back home … after experiencing the beauty of an Himalayan trek. The sun was setting, on the other side, with a riot of colors lighting up the sky.
I kept looking out the window on the other side, secretly wanting to take a photo, and thinking … that maybe this time around I would have to be content with capturing it only in my memory. But then something magical happened. The girl sitting by the western window … supposedly mesmerized by the same sunset … suddenly turned around and looked at my direction. I looked in her eyes and smiled. To my surprise … she smiled back … a lot cheerfully than you would expect from a stranger. The last rays of the sun seemingly rekindled my hope of capturing a photo of it.
I got up, while still holding onto the smile, leaned across the aisle and asked her whether she would take a photo of the sunset for me. She smiled radiantly and nodded in the affirmative. I handed over my phone to her and hoped for the best. She kept on clicking one photo after the other … seemingly trying to capture every breathtaking moment of the soul expanding sunset.
When she handed back the phone to me, the sun had already set, and only a faint glow of light was left on the sky. “I tried my best,” she said, with the same radiant smile. “It’s much more than I wished for. Thank you for that,” I replied.
I never got to know her name … and would probably never bump into her again. However, in that brief moment we had found each other’s bright side. Even when times are dark, we all can find bright places … if we only take the time to look. And even if the sun has already set and there is no bright spot outside; we can always look inward and find our very own bright side.
May we all find our bright sides … today … everyday!
