How differently might we react or respond to one another if we were allowed to peek through a hazy looking glass into a past that reveals others, like us, are simply trying to figure things out, heal wounds and find a sliver of an answer?

From behind the Austin stones they come, three hops and long pauses as they crane their necks, vision on both sides of their heads. Occasionally, you'll hear the quick releasing and retracting of a tongue against the air searching for the same insects the bats glide for.

Maybe that's what the summer reminds us of – and why it weakens us. And why it strengthens us. It was a time when we were free to strike out to the wildest place we could reach on foot or by single speed bike and, with scraps of lumber and forest debris – build the answers. Construct the truth.

Why do those auras of courage choose to shine the brightest in the last moments? Why do our most powerful, dangerous and important human emotions and traits – compassion, reflection, honesty, courage, patience – only surface when on the precipice of change? 

The things we're passionate about just don't work out right away. In between the excitement of shipping a product and the joy of making one comes the work and sacrifice required to support something new.

I think when we transition, the excitement comes with the possibility of change. There is always potential for the life we want, but we're met with the same barriers we have now, they're just in a different place. After all, we are the same person. Our locale can't change us on its own.