Rat Race

Each morning that I work my alarm goes off at 5 am, I groan and roll over to hit the snooze button. I generally get out of bed before it goes off again, but I rarely enjoy the experience. On the flip side of this coin are the days that I DO NOT work. I rarely sleep past 4am and awaken without any assistance from that stupid clock. When I do set an alarm for my days off it is generally set for 3am or earlier in order to get to whichever spot I have chosen to photograph prior to sunrise. This is all in an attempt to not miss the "golden hour" of photogenic light. I do not find it at all painful to rise this early on my blissful mornings off in fact it is quite the opposite.

Several years ago I made a New Years resolution to see at least 80% of the sunrises that year. The entire year I think I may have missed only a handful of them. There is something that is so peaceful to me about greeting the new day in quiet solitude. Often we let our lives and responsibilities get in the way of those small moments of peace that we can find from just getting up a few minutes earlier. Think about how much more productive your day might be if did not need to begin each day racing against the clock. Do you begin your days stressed out because you have 90 minutes worth of morning routine to fit into 70 minutes of available time? Do you let your children get away with "5 more minutes" until they are running out the door half dressed chasing after the school bus? Do you run around like a crazy person trying to find your keys/shoes/pants ect every morning? Think about the peace that could come from giving yourself 15 extra minutes each day. What would you do with that time? Would you read the paper and actually SIT DOWN to have breakfast? Would you take your coffee to your front porch and watch the sunrise? Would you just take a moment to breathe or maybe even show up for work on time?

Our planet wakes slowly. She starts with the lightening silver gray of pre dawn and works her way into a fiery display of reds and oranges. If you are lucky enough to catch her on a day where the clouds hang in the sky she will DAZZLE you with beauty. Try not to miss this life affirming display by letting your rat race get in the way.