Good morning, Sunshine. It’s nice to see you.
Most of the year, I’m up before the sun. Don’t hate me, but I’m a morning person. I don’t even set an alarm anymore, I let my body tell me when it’s time to get up.
I love my mornings, when all is silent in the house. I journal or read or create in the quiet. While the world slowly lightens outside, I sit in my comfy chair and am in my own world. To be honest, I rarely notice the light coming on, or see the sun come up. I’m too busy in my internal world.
Until now.
Now I am still up early, but instead of reading and journaling, I am going out first, to hike. Just as I love the quiet of the early morning house, I love the silence of the early morning forest. I love being the first car to the trailhead, knowing the paths are my own. Just me and my dog and my iPhone, exploring the world. I knew I would enjoy the solitude. I knew I would enjoy the movement of my body. I knew I would enjoy the time in nature.
What I didn’t know I would enjoy so much: Greeting the sun.
It’s not just being in the sunshine, although that is wonderful after Oregon’s long, grey winters. It’s not just about the golden hour light, which is a photographer’s dream. It’s that I love to be there when the sun first touches the land. There is something special about being in that place and that time and seeing the long rays of light waking up the earth for the day. Me and the sun and the earth, together for the first touch of light. There is a beauty and a peace and a reverence in it I can’t quite explain. As if I’m part of something special, an ancient ritual that is repeated every day.
The sun and the earth don’t care if I am there, they will greet each other just the same. But when I am there to witness it, to capture it… I get to acknowledge and honor it. I say, Thank you, Sunshine, for bringing warmth and light to my day. I say, Thank you, Earth, for carrying me along the way. It reminds me that I am a small part of something much, much bigger.
I need that reminder. It’s all too easy for me to get wrapped up in my own internal world, living inside my mind. So while I miss my journaling and reading and creating time, I relish in what being outside to greet the sun brings me.
Each and every day.
July was not a prolific month for my photography. As I was mourning the loss of the month earlier this week, in the back of my head I was worriedly thinking, Will I be able to find a Photo-Heart Connection this month?? I had to dig deeper than ever before, but it was there. Finding the photo that made my heart sing, and writing the words that came along with it, makes me see that July is not a lost month. Getting out — being on vacation, gathering with family, going on hikes — and living was the important part of July. I need to exist and experience in the external world in order to fuel the creativity of my internal world. It all works together.
What is your Photo-Heart Connection this month? Did you have to dig deep or was it right there, waiting for you? Either way, the messages our heart has for us are important. I hope you’ll take the time to listen and join in.