“I want people to be overwhelmed with light and color in a way they have never experienced.”

— Dale Chihuly

If you’ve ever been to the Space Needle in Seattle, you no doubt remember that old arcade and the rickety carnival rides which stood next to it. To me, no matter how awe inspiring the Needle itself was, it’s age was always on display in those old rusty amusement park rides. Kind of like visiting the warmth and love of grandma’s house as an adult for the first time and discovering that even though Grandma’s love was still just as generous and her cookies were just as good, her furniture hadn’t changed in thirty years.

Well, it’s still Grandma’s Space Needle, but she got an upgrade on her furniture. On the grounds of that old carnival now stands the Chihuly Garden and Glass, a visual gift to the city of Seattle.

Inspired by the artistic vision of Dale Chihuly, this glass exhibition features some of the most breath taking, colorful, and creative glass sculptures you’ll ever see in one place. Constantly pushing the boundaries of the medium, Chihuly experimented throughout his whole career with glass as a medium and as presentation.

There isn’t a room in the relatively modest space that doesn’t contain a barrage of colors which both assaults you and invites to come in for a closer look at the same time. Auspicious oranges interlaced with vibrant violets, brash reds clash with softer yellows. The shapes come at you and form images in your mind, the sea floor, spiraling towers, and floating flowers. It’s hard to describe with words.

The exhibit debuted this spring on the 50th anniversary of the Space Needle, marking a turning point in the history of the city which now looks forward to it’s next 50 years. From what I saw today, the Space Needle is going to be a good place to visit for a long, long time.

For regular readers of my blog, you may think that this post is a departure from my usual writings about time and the power of giving time. It is and it isn’t.

Clearly, a write-up on a new cultural exhibit doesn’t obviously pertain to giving time. Yet, like the way Chihuly helps us see glass and light in radically new ways, I believe that giving time as a force for self-improvement is such a radical departure from the usual ways of making ourselves better, that it takes a sharp turn in our thinking to open up to the possibilities of becoming the kind of people we aspire to be.

Visiting the Chihuly Garden and Glass exhibition may help you perceive color and light in a new way. I can only hope that this blog helps you perceive giving time in a new way.

Today’s gift of time – Spent the day with my son in Seattle talking and touristing. Also gave a five dollar McDonald’s card to a man who was digging through the trash looking for food.