Beginnings

Why am I always up at the crack of dawn and also pushing to stay up as late as I can? The two don't seem to work together, but I long as I can remember -- even as a young child -- I have been a bit of a limit-pusher! I love the peace and quiet of the morning, watching my world slowly come to life -- sometimes softly and subtly like a dusky flower opening and sometimes with brilliant "Happy New Year" flare and colour. I also love the enchantment of the late hours, fighting to harness every ounce of matter and detail I can out of each and every wakeful minute, second, nanosecond...

NEW-ness!!!
I think what I crave and appreciate are new beginnings; the opportunity that is innate within each moment of every new day. Each sunrise represents a fresh start, the chance to do and to be my best, to learn and to grow, and to be a positive influence for all those I encounter.

I am thankful that I do not naturally tend to harbour any ill-feeling -- my natural way is to release it and move forward. I cannot imagine, and do not even want to consider, what it must be like to carry forward a dark boulder of vengeance on my shoulders; allowing it to grow mightier and more wieldy with each passing hour. Or what it would be like draw pleasure from harming or frustrating others. Why? What is the point?

Brightness and Light
Our winters are very long on the Canadian prairies and by nature of the time spent cloaked in sparking white snow and ice, they are well-suited to personal introspection.

Autumn, as our transition into the longer winter season, has a sense of winding down -- it is a glorious but elegant procession into the pure white time of light and enlightenment. My focus this winter will be on that purity of thought and purpose as it extends to all aspects of my living and being and also my interactions with others.

The genuine smile freely offered, the intention for well-being for all humanity, a helping hand when it is not solicited or expected, assumption of goodness in others, appreciation for ability and opportunity, and the wondrous miracle of being a vessel who can bring forth a bit of beauty and light by so choosing.