Tuomiokirkko (Domkyrkan) Church II

Early morning light, combined with the surrounding spotlights, bathe this scene of the Tuomiokirkko Church in a bright cyan hue.

While I was photographing the large central Tuomikirkko (Domkyrkan) Church in a mostly deserted Helsinki at 05 am, I suddenly noticed I wasn't alone. A pale, sickly looking female appeared, silently gazing at the church, marvelling at its architecture. 25 minutes later, as I was done with my own photography, she was still there. At this point curious, I decided to go and introduce myself.

"You watch the church building like a photographer, but I can't see your camera. What brought you here at this hour?" I enquired in a friendly manner. I could see a faint smile on her lips, as she was struggling for words. "I am here.. because I don't feel good." She turned out to be a 27-year-old drug addict, who had wasted the last 8 years of her life on hard drugs. That night she had woken up to her miserable existence, and had aimlessly wandered around the city, finally arriving at the church.

A deep 1.5-hour discussion followed. We discussed her situation in life, her current challenges, and her goals. I offered her my guidance and advice.

Musing over the discussion afterwards, I gained the ability to look back at my own past mistakes in a less critical light. Instead of feeling bad about lost opportunities and situations where I underperformed, I realized that the very fact I was able to make such calls in hindsight was evidence of personal growth and a higher standard, neither of which would ever be worth fretting over.