My parents and I were in Iceland.
It was the 3rd day of our trip and we were staying in Hvolsvollur (I hope I spelled that correctly) near the southern part of the country.
It was a bright and cloudless evening, and we were going to “hunt” for the Northern Lights.
We were told by the hotel front desk that this evening was the perfect opportunity to see the Northern Lights in its full glory.
Just need to drive to somewhere dark with no streetlights, park the car, stare into the sky, and voila! Sooner or later it will happen.
So, my parents and I drove a couple of miles away from the hotel and parked our car next to a long stretch of farmland, with no other cars in sight. And no other people in sight!
It was super dark on the road, and we needed our iPhone flashlights to illuminate the way outside of the car. We stood in the fields with absolutely no lights except for the glistening stars above us. Besides that, it was pitch black.
I looked up and shortly after a while a green streak of light sizzled in the sky, and gradually got bigger and bigger. It was the Northern Lights and they were right overhead in front of me.
It was an amazing view, and I wanted to catch it with my iPhone XR. Unfortunately, this version of the iPhone did not have good night picture capabilities, so I kept on taking photos to very little success.
Yes, the Northern Lights were amazing and they were staring straight at me, but only if my iPhone had night-time picture capabilities. Then, I would be able to capture the moment and savor it forever!
As I continued to fidget around with my iPhone, the Northern Lights sizzled further in the night sky, as the green wave slowly thickened and it looked exactly like I pictured it to be in the postcards of Iceland!
My mom told me to turn back, and I did, and surely enough the Northern Lights were behind me and above me as well!
The green color slowly gave way to white and red colors, all sizzling and flowing seamlessly in the night sky. It was even bigger than I had imagined.
I looked straight up and stared and the stream of white and red and green all flowing in oneness together, and was truly amazed at the sight to behold.
It made my trip to Iceland that much more unique and exciting. I could recommend anyone to come check this place out.
But if only my iPhone could take the appropriate night-time picture! Why can’t it take that picture appropriately for me to capture the moment?
Yes, there was this amazing spectacle of light right in front of me. And yes, I was surrounded by my mom and dad on an eerie nighttime highway. And yes, it made our visit to Iceland so worth it.
Yes, yes, and yes. To an amazing experience. But if only I could take the appropriate picture to capture it. That would’ve made this experience absolutely perfect.
Don’t get me wrong, I did take a lot of “good” pictures that were passable in terms of being able to show them off to my friends and family.
But still, if only I had the new iPhone 11 (and not the XR), then the night time pictures would’ve been absolutely illuminating and I could’ve captured the Northern Lights in its full green, white, and red glory.
The words that I type out in this entry cannot describe effectively what I saw on that crystal-clear night in October of 2019 in Hvolsvollur, Iceland.
It could not capture the feeling I felt having shared a unique experience together in Iceland with my mom and dad.
If only my iPhone XR had night-time capabilities. But, alas it didn’t.
How many times in life do we have these “yes, but” moments? Yes, that person is amazing in all these ways. But if only he or she could fix that one little flaw about himself (or herself). Then, he or she would be perfect.
Yes, I got almost pretty much everything that I wanted in life (food, shelter, clothing, environment). But, if only I could get that one little promotion at work, then my life would be completely fulfilled.
Yes, I am making enough money that could last me for a lifetime in a third world country. But, if only my boss can be a little nicer to me, then my day would be perfect.
Yes, but this. Yes, but that. Always there seems to be one inkling of imperfection that’s preventing us from having that ideal grand old time.
These “yes, but” moments happen everywhere in life. There always seems to be a need for improvement. A need for absolute perfection.
Sometimes, we just need to step back a little bit and practice acceptance. Acceptance that life will not go 100% the way we want it to go. There will be these little bumps and bruises, that prevent us from having that “perfect” experience.
Many times, we feel that if our friends and family members could act a certain way, then life would be fine. And we don’t spend enough time accepting and loving those people for who they are.
I know it’s easier said than done. And those “yes, but” moments will still happen once in a while. But sometimes, we just need to accept and take in the view around us.
How beautiful is this world that we live in? For all its imperfections and its “but” moments, it is still one heck of a place to explore and to accept for what it is.