Depending where you are in the world right now, you might be looking at a sunset or a sunrise.

One of the few things we as human beings all have in common is that we share the same sun. Most of us have been transfixed by the beauty of a sunrise or a sunset. It is a unique experience each time, and it changes our perspective of the world.

It seems to me that the sunrise and sunset are very similar to personal change. Sometimes the dark envelops us for a time. Sometimes the light awakens us to something new. Sunsets and sunrises are inevitable, they are constant. They are always there to signal the beginning or end of a life phase.

Being a man of frequent philosophical musings, I’ve spent a good amount of time this week thinking of how to best send off 2016. The most important idea that I learned this year was this: with every ending there comes a new beginning.

Just like sunset and sunrise, there is little we can do to stop the world changing. We can choose to embrace the new or try to cling to what once was. 

I know that for many people in my life, 2016 was a year of difficulty and struggle. Speaking for myself, it was the most challenging yet invigorating year I can recall in recent memory. More than anything else, I’m grateful for who it helped me become.

Perhaps the greatest gift we have is time. Perhaps the greatest power we have is the ability to actualize, and to embrace change.

For me, sunsets and sunrises signal another chance to become exactly who we want to be. They remind us each day that constant change is here to stay. They bring us the chance to reinvent and recreate in both small and large ways.

In 2017, I plan to continue doing exactly that.

It’s time to embrace the change.
It’s time to begin again.