Sentiments on Sunrises

Monday morning (when I am writing this intro bit) has reared it's head upon me after I enjoyed some late night Sunday reggae and revelry, leaving me somewhat disorganised for the week and also hunting down an almond croissant.

I awoke to the 8am heat stifling through the bedroom, and went about my business.

I don't really get the Monday-itis as weekends are usually as work filled as every other day for me, and I also mostly enjoy what I do for work so this picture kind of does and doesn't apply but I hope it gives you a chuckle.

Below are my sentiments I wrote last week when I was riding to an early morning meditation class and got to experience what I feel is one of the best parts of the day. 

Sunrise gives a special sense of optimism.

The potential for a new day is smeared across the sky in mandarin hues.

A time of the day reserved for tradies, joggers and shift workers, the morning haze lifts on the night before like blurry eyelids lift their gaze to others on the first tram.

The hustle and bustle is slow to wake, snoozing till the last minute then suddenly having to go at record speed to get to work in time.

I have been a fan of sunrises since I was young. I remember getting up super early to head to the mountain to go skiing. Sitting in our sleeping bags and thermals in the car, making our ascent up Mt Ruapehu and seeing the weak winter sunrise yawn over the snowy but sludgy peaks. 

In Cambodia last year my room had 3 walls, and one open side onto the Kampot river. I could glimpse the subtle indigo to peach kaleidoscopic changes through one eyelid and roll over to snooze till the heat crept up on my back and kayakers started becoming a more regular presence. Sigh.

Earlier this year on our road trip from Byron Bay to Adelaide, we saw sunrise atop Mount Warning, just outside Mullumbimby. The ascent in the dark was challenging, and the incoming light was the main motivation to plod with pace to the summit. The clouds distinctly swept away like a magician pulling a table cloth out from under a table and leaving everything un-disturbed, except in this case revealing a stunning view. A few days later, on boyfriend's birthday his first present I gave him was waking him up to sleepily poke our heads out of the skylight of the van to see the vast dry outback sunrise. With no other company but the bugs and birds, he went back to sleep and I enjoyed the coolest (in all senses of the word) part of the day. 

In India for my Yoga Teacher Training, I probably experienced my most consecutive sunrises in my life. We had to be up at 5.15am to have tea before morning Yoga Asana practice. That time in the morning, can be a bit shocking for some and rarely experienced unless going to the airport, waking an extra 30 mins earlier was completely worth it when I could go to the rooftop and watch the morning rouse itself over the base of the Himalayas we were below. The subtlety between each day, the sounds of the birds and view of other rooftop dwellers, some local families or other early morning yogis, are a few of the things I will never forget.

There have been times when I have stayed up all night till sunrise, read my post- "A Vampire's Diary"  to hear how seeing sunrise after seeing daytime, nighttime, daytime, has this strange energy to it that masks your sleep deprivation and makes it all worth it. 

As my Monday rolls on to the rest of the week, I'm going to consciously cherish the mornings, the smiling sunrise and sunbeams shining out of my smile from seeing it.

In the words of Roald Dahl : 

"If you have good thoughts they will shine out of your face like sunbeams and you will always look lovely." 

I hope I have painted some pretty pictures for you. All it takes is setting your alarm for 5.30am (or probably 10am if you are in the North Pole) and you can experience them for yourself. Trust me, it is magical.

Jj