I took this photo less than a month after moving to Albania. We had visited a small village a little way up the mountain just outside Pogradec. The border between Albania and Macedonia cuts right down the mountain, and right next to the border is this building. It’s a bit old, but looks older because of how dilapidated it has become over the past few years. I wandered around the inside of the building with my camera trying to find some interesting things to shoot. This frame stood out to me mostly because of the jagged glass shards obstructing the view of the forest on the other side. When I took the photos, that’s all I thought about. When I got home with the SD card and started editing, I realized that it seemed to represent something more…
If you don’t know the history of Albania, I’d urge you to do some quick research. But an extremely brief overview is that the entire country was ruled by a communist dictator for over 40 years. Despite being overthrown almost 30 years ago, the lasting effects of the regime is still found in different places around the country. That being said, there is a beauty that is able to shine through. There is beauty in the natural landscape, there is beauty in the people, there is beauty in the culture, the traditions, and even the language. It is an undoubtedly beautiful country. But, you have to be able to see through the brokenness. I’m not saying to ignore it but rather to see it, accept it, and choose to see the beauty as well.
So, when I pulled this photo up in Adobe Lightroom to edit it, it hit me. This photo represents Albania. Beauty through brokenness. It’s impossible to look at the view without seeing the shattered glass. We can spend all our time talking about how terrible it is that this window is broken, or we can choose to accept that and look past it to appreciate the beauty on the other side.
Hopefully, over time, the window can be fixed. But let’s not let the fact that it’s broken cause us to forget the beauty on the other side.