It happened to me last week.

After moving out of my parents’ house to go to college and now to live on my own, one of my favorite parts of returning home is the view from the deck. It’s beautiful regardless of the time of year. It looks out into the countryside and you can often see deer roaming around in the distance. It’s perfect for viewing the sunrise and sunset.

Last year, my friend Emily Blobaum, who is a photojournalist, made a New Year’s resolution to try and catch the sunrise or sunset each day (she often took photos of them). You might recognize her name from some of our photos of tornado damage because once she heard what happened, she came that night to help us with coverage — that’s the type of friend she is. But anyway, she got me into trying to catch the sunrise or sunset. For me, it’s one part of the day that I can control and find peace in because the news doesn’t always offer that.

When I’m at my parents’ house, it seems like the sunrises and sunsets are always perfect. One morning last week, there was a pretty incredible one. On a scale of 1 to the best sunset I’d ever seen, it was somewhere in the middle. What made it incredible was something else I noticed because of it.

T-R PHOTO BY EMILY BARSKE - The sunrise as seen from a reflection on a painting.

On the wall adjacent to the deck windows is a framed painting of a kitchen (fitting that it’s in the kitchen). I noticed that as the sun was rising — it was still low so the sky was still dark — as you looked at the painting, you could only see the reflection of the sunset on the glass.

Again, not a scientific revelation, but still pretty cool. Why? Because there’s always a new perspective, even in things we’ve seen hundreds or thousands of times. It’s a reminder to keep an open mind. While we can hold firm to our values, our views and perspectives should be ever-changing because of our willingness to take in new perspectives.

We often think that doing as much as we can all the time is the most productive. But moments we do get to slow down can be some of the most enlightening, especially in today’s fast-paced world. Make time for those moments.

Oh, and try to catch the sunrise or sunset.