November 3, 2009

gratitude: day 2 of 30

winter guest it's a simple thing really. waking up in the morning. sometimes it seems as though it is all that we can do some days. and yes, there are days where perhaps it's almost too much to do even that. i know that feeling intimately. but then i think, and realize, i should be grateful that i do wake up and face the day. that the courage is somehow found within on dark days.

i'm waking up earlier these days because of the time change and i see the beauty around me and i'm thankful for that. the sun strikes the trees in my backyard with a special lemon-colored gold the first thing in the morning and slowly, steadily, the gold travels down until it lights up all around it. and i drink in the light with a big, big cup because i know that winter is coming and the silvery-gray light is not always what quenches me. so i store up these memories to cherish during january and february.

38 comments:

  1. An early peaceful morning can be so special. My waking before the sun, quietly tiptoeing out of our room, and waiting for it to rise during a September trip to Calistoga, CA is a favorite memory of mine.

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  2. amen....me too !

    love the photo !!

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  3. Hooray to you for counting your many blessings!

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  4. I really love the photo. The colors are really calming. And your words are just beautiful. I am going to remember them when my little one gets me up early tomorrow. To soak in all the sunlight and save it for days when I know I will struggle (january, february). We wake up in the morning because we have a purpose. You've reminded me of that today.

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  5. funny...I too find myself waking earlier and noticing the sun. It is such a beautiful thing...I am glad to just be aware. Happy Tuesday!

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  6. i love morning...is it easy to get up, no not always but the image you share makes me love it all the same~elk

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  7. Char!! So beautiful, and beautifully written words as well :)

    Have a wonderful day!
    xo Laura

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  8. Char, you are one of the most positive people I know...even when times were dark, you always managed to find the light...keep finding the light. :)

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  9. I don't wake up all perky so I cherish the mornings that I can sit in my chair and look out the big windows until I'm ready for the day. But I am so happy that it's daylight when I wake up again! Daylight is my friend.

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  10. Most definitely, every day is a blessing. I love not only the change in light's color, but the change in the slant of it as well, as winter nears. It illuminates the rooms differently, softly.

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  11. I love this time of year too. Beautiful evening in London :)

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  12. Lovely post, dear. That extra hour in the morning has been making me happy this week.

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  13. you sure have a great attitude. mornings are pretty much torture for me to get out of bed. i could stand to work on my attitude! ;)

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  14. Oh and I am grateful that you show us such beauty everyday...not just with the sights you see through your camera lens...but with your oh so very calming and grounded words.
    I feel terrible that I haven't visited this past week...I know I should have taken a bit of time every day for me...and this is why NOW is my time...but it's been CRAZY organising 57 vendors.

    HUGS and I look forward to tomorrow's Gratitude.
    Char

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  15. This is such a warm and inspiring image Char. The wee bird looks happy to get his photo taken. ;o)

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  16. Without the promise of tomorrow it is good to wake up to each new day and see what it has in store for us!

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  17. Oh Char what a wonderful way of reminding us to remember gratitude. I go on my walks in the morning and recite my gratitude. Beautiful post!

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  18. I am not a morning person so I envy you. I can't do it. I would do it when I had a job but not so much when I do not.

    =]

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  19. I absolutely love fall mornings. I get to work just before 10 so I get to be up and about just as things are starting to thaw out for the day.

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  20. What a gorgeous, cheerful photo! And the words were just as special!
    Brenda

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  21. What an outstanding photograph! The composition is exquisite.

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  22. so calm, so beautiful early walks are the best time to be in the present and relax!! Love this shot!!

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  23. It's a beautiful thing to be enlightened by the simplest things.

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  24. i like this "drink up the light with a big big cup"
    i wish that i was more of an early morning person. i think i would enjoy it but the bed feels so good too.
    i am getting up a bit early since the time change and it's nice.

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  25. char i love love love the photograph. its so evocative and so are the thoughts.

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  26. Thanks Char. Gratitude make me complete...I feel more human.
    Wonderful shot.

    ann

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  27. I love the feeling of morning -- of endless possibilities... Beautifully said and what a wonderful image!!!

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  28. ...I wish I were a morning person because I do believe it is especially beautiful...when I worked I had to get up at 5AM and it took very little time to get out of that habit!

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  29. Beautiful words to accompany a most incredible photo, Char... I can't stop staring at it - it is gorgeous... I hope you have a wonderful, wonderful weekend, dear.

    xo,
    -maria

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  30. I could have sworn that I already came here and told you how very much I love this image. This has moved to the top spot on the list of my favorite of your images.

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  31. you know, i adore this! such truth. simple truth. : )
    xo

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  32. Justh te other day I was thinking of how I'm seeing hte world anew since I'm getting up earlier! Not really, but the time change gives things a new look! And in hte evening, I'm walking mags in the dusk... again seeing things differently! LOVE this shot!

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  33. love your blog, your photos, your words, your gratitude!

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  34. I'm loving all of your posts...but this one...this image... just plain stopped me. The colors... muted, yellowed, vintage yet modern, softened backdrop and crisp subject and detail, lovely segments of stillness, beauty and warmth...and perfect for waking up to and wrapping myself in.

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  35. "and i drink in the light with a big, big cup"

    oh.
    love this.

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i feel as if each comment was between us as we sat and sipped something warm....i love to hear what you're thinking.