Noticing (Purple)

It was a great gift this week to have my noticing and my week line up perfectly - at my daughter’s graduation from college!¹ Her school’s primary color is purple and so the color was EVERYWHERE this week. One of the photos of this week was from her graduation while the commencement speaker was sharing her address with the class of 2026. Hers was an excellent message but there was one graduation message that went viral the last few weeks that has really stayed with me - Harrison Ford’s address to the Arizona State University class of 2026.

Two parts were notable for me. First, was the point when he came to recognize that the people he had formerly dismissed as “misfits” and “geeks” were actually “his people.” His comment was “My classmates were people I had previously discounted as geeks and misfits, but I soon realized I was a geek and a misfit. I had found my fit. These were my people.” That is a purple statement. What I mean by that is that purple is a color that is made by the mixing of shades of red and blue. Here’s a great page that describes how that happens. Purple is something currently that is used to refer to places where people of different perspectives and worldviews are able to be in community with one another, especially politically. When Ford was dismissing the people in the drama classes, he was functioning more in a place of separating himself but when he came to know them, he began to realize that there was more similarity than difference. Those who were previously “those people” became “his people.”

Purple.

The other part that stood out for me in the speech was his comments about passion and purpose. After sharing how his persistence eventually paid off and he made it big with his role as Han Solo in Star Wars, he said, “the load lightened. I had freedom, opportunity, but something was still missing.” He continued with this:

Passion and purpose are not the same thing. Passion brings you joy. Purpose brings you meaning. Passion gets you out of bed in the morning, but purpose allows you to sleep at night. And I hadn’t found purpose higher than my job yet.

He had passion for his acting career but the purpose had not yet been found. The rest of his message shares of how he found his purpose in working for conservation and care of the earth.

This reminds me of why I do what I do. I have passions - I have a passion for my family, for my friends, and for my work as a pastor. But those aren’t my ultimate purpose here. I have come to see that my purpose, which I primarily live out through the lens of my camera, is to see and share beauty and to inspire wonder. And that purpose then informs each of the ways I live my life - as a husband, father, brother, son, friend, pastor, etc.

Is it this purpose that had me seeking to notice purple this week - in a coincidental moment with a flower and a pollinating bee, in a photo my daughter shared with me, in a table where I was stretching out after a long drive, in an epically frosted cake, in the beautiful diversity of the graduating class, in signs on walls, and finally in Tuesday morning’s sunrise.

Wednesday - I was photographing this purple flower and this wonderful bee just flew into frame and buzzed around for a while. It was such a lovely coincidence!

Wednesday bonus - From my daughter. She and some friends went to Ruby Falls and she shared this beautiful photo with me. A purple-lit underground waterfall!

Thursday - Long drive over two days and needed to stretch out and rest while I waited for my daughter to meet me

Friday - THE CAKE - truly an incredible tasting cake that we purchased for her graduation. The best part was that they not only got the purple EXACTLY right but they also put a TON of frosting on (cakes and cupcakes are simply frosting delivery vehicles after all) and they also managed to make the "red velvet" a "purple velvet" cake

Saturday - Commencement. Not only was there such a wonderful contrast between the green grass and the purple chair covers but also there was such a beautiful diversity of the humanity of those graduating. Skin color, backgrounds, hair color, courses of study, faith backgrounds, languages, countries of origin, and gender. It was beautiful

Sunday - Managed to sneak in a great workout at Planet Fitness before the moveout of the dorm began. What a beautiful message on the wall of that particular PF location. Why can't churches have statements like that, especially with the lines in yellow - anyone, judgment free zone, tool, you, evolved, accepted, respected, and You belong

Monday - Technically this was photographed on Sunday afternoon but Monday was a LONG driving day. This is on the wall in the lobby of my daughter's dorm. So every time the students walk in there, they are reminded of this truth. We are ambassadors, leaders, change agents, citizens, and residents not just of that school, that city, that state, or a single country. But of the world. Yes. A reminder for all of us but especially so for those who have grown used to the world telling them that they are otherwise powerless

Tuesday - Sunrise. Got to walk with Scout again for the first time in five days and we were treated to a beautiful sunrise. Not a "true" purple but definitely in the spectrum of purple.

And speaking of Scout… one of the students at my daughter’s school had left this plush shark in the giveaway room. We didn’t feel it should be abandoned so the shark came home with us and Scout has a new friend!

How did you see purple this week?

What was your favorite purple moment from your last seven days?

This next week is green! I wonder if I should try to see green in things other than trees and grass? Nah…

Grace, Peace, Love, Hope, and Joy,
Ed

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1. My wife and I had the unique experience of having our twins graduating on the same and at nearly the same time several states apart. So my wife and one daughter were at one graduation while my sister and I were at the other!