Each year around this time, CNN.com releases some of the best photographs of the year, and 2015 has had its fair share of captivating images. As I looked through all 166 photographs (yes, I actually looked at each one individually), I was reminded that the most raw and pure emotions are displayed when we are moved by something — whether that “something” is beautiful, unsettling or nearly impossible to look at.
I was moved by images that reinforce my belief in God’s awesome power — images like the beautiful sandstone sculpted by water and wind erosion that had stunning hues of brown, orange and rust; or the total solar eclipse that was visible over Norway. It was also an inspirational moment when I saw how, in the midst of destruction, there is beauty, like in the picture that showed an Indian Air Force plane with a rainbow circled around it as the plane descended upon Nepal carrying relief material following the 7.8-magnitude quake that killed thousands.
CNN’s pictures also showed images that made me smile, such as the soldier who saluted as he jumped off an aircraft in Germany, the weasel that got a lift on the back of a woodpecker or the picture of nearly a dozen lions napping in a Tanzanian tree.
There were other images that were incredibly reflective, like the one in California that showed a housing development that reached the edge of an undeveloped desert due to the water shortage. Another reflective picture was the excavated remains of Peder Winstrup, former bishop of Sweden. The mummified remains from the 1600s are considered the best preserved in Europe.
However, perhaps the most powerful images are the haunting ones that seemed to put everything into perspective. Those images were blatant reminders of the ugliness and devastation in the world — images like the disfigured serviceman who was removed from rubble after a battle over the airport in Donetsk, police hitting a student protestor in Myanmar, a North Carolina officer shooting Walter Scott in the back, a mass grave in Nigeria that stored the skeletal remains of hundreds of people, or the dozens of prisoners cramped so tightly in a Malawian cell that they slept standing up with their heads on the shoulders of fellow prisoners.
The haunting images displayed so much opposition and hatred. It made me wonder why so much negativity exists in the world. I found myself bewildered at how human beings could have such disdain for other human beings that they slaughtered one another, they beat and spat on one another, and they intentionally sought out to hurt others. It is so sad to bear witness to such ugliness.
I find myself being incredibly reflective during the end and beginning of the year. It is during these times that those close to me poke fun at my over-analytical ways, because I am often in such deep thought.
But as I’ve grown older and wiser, I realize that analyzing things is not bad, especially this time of year. We can get so caught up in living life that we forget how truly blessed we are. We go about our days doing work-related things, piddling around the house or even hanging out with friends, yet we forget to simply say thank you for our blessings. We fail to realize how fortunate we are to have jobs, a roof over our heads and people to call friends. I don’t believe such efforts are always intentional, which is all the more reason to be deliberate about giving thanks and acknowledging the blessings in our lives.
Life is short … far too short for ungratefulness and negativity.
In the final days of the year, I implore you to intentionally seek to be positive and display a spirit of appreciation. Doing so will result in a far better quality of life — not only for yourself, but for those around you, too.
Whatever tradition you celebrate this time of year, I wish you peace and a multitude of blessings. Now is the time to rejoice. Happy holidays!
