Coffee in hand, I headed off to the lake. Foregoing breakfast and having all the cats taken care of, I felt it was going to be a good start to the day and I didn’t want to miss a moment.
I got to the lake about an hour before sun rise, so it was still very dark.
The air was fresh and clear, the mosquitoes were still sleeping, and the coffee was a perfect companion as I watched the horizon trying to define itself.
I just stood there for a moment and said “hi” to the morning. and it said “hi” back.
I set the shutter speed to 30 seconds and then I walked out onto the pier and just watched as my eyes became more accustomed to the darkness. My ears picked up the distant sounds of traffic a mile or two away on the south side of the lake and it quickly became drowned out by the sounds of waking birds.
I genuinely don’t think there is a better way to enjoy a cup of coffee. It is almost like coffee was invented for moments such as this.
As I stepped back behind the lens, the sky became defined and the colors began to slowly wash in, filling out the tapestry of the early morning’s story.
I have attached some images below that show the progression from darkness to light and how the entire palette of colors was pulled from in order to help define this new day.
Hope you enjoy.
As I drove back home I felt happy. Happy for the first time in days. And I made myself acknowledge that I was happy.
Because too often we only acknowledge the sad feelings and give no voice to the happy.
Part of the reason for this is that some of us take solace from the pity and so we feel we have to voice the sadness so that others will witness it and give us the pity and consolation that we need in order to restore.
The other part of the reason is that the moment we feel happy, we take the feeling for granted and so it becomes a non-issue.
It is kind of like pain. The moments we are in pain, we feel them and they become a huge factor in our existence. We medicate for them, we tell others of the pain, we might even seek remedy at the doctors.
But when we are in no pain, there is no such action. We don’t call up the doctor’s office and say “I feel fine today.”
No, the absence of pain is very similar to the absence of sadness and they are both very much taken for granted.
With respect to happiness and sadness, there is also a very large middle-ground where we are neither. And I think a lot of our time is spent in this unfeeling state.
Which is really unfortunate, because our lives would be more complete if we could shift the norm into where most of our time was spent in a state of happiness.
The absence of happiness is not sadness. It is merely nothing.
Yet, the absence of sadness can and should be happiness.
We should remind ourselves that we are not sad and turn it into a source of happiness. But first we need to acknowledge the change of state.
Acknowledge that we aren’t sad. Not just take it for granted.
So, today, if you aren’t sad, acknowledge it. Grab a coffee, breathe in the day, and tell yourself that this is a good day.
Because, frankly, that is the first step in making it one.
… just a thought!
