I Woke up For The Sunrise For an Entire Week

The idea of time tends to scare me: How much time do I have left? Am I using my time right? Am I wasting too much time sleeping? Getting up for the sunrise helps put everything into perspective and force me to slow down for a moment. 

So I decided to do a whole week of it.

saturday.

sunday.

This morning was exceptionally chilly. Probably warm for the rest of the country on a November morning, but cold for Florida. Shivering cold even while wearing leggings and a sweatshirt. Just when I was about to call it quits and drive back home, a pair of dolphins breeched out of the water in front of us. ___.

monday.

I wasn’t sure if I was going to get up for the sunrise this morning. I have a class at 8:20 and it was cold but I was already up and knew I would have regretted not going. There’s something so reassuring yet unordered about the sunrise. You know it’s going to happen every morning, that’s constant, but its always going to look different and feel different. I decided to stay in my car this morning after memories of yesterday were stuck in my head. I played my favorite music (a mix of Ziggy Alberts, Jack Botts, and Jack Johnson) and drank iced coffee. Although it was fairly cloudy and the sun was blocked for a bit, it didn’t stop a few rays from poking through. 

tuesday.

wednesday.

Some mornings are a bit harder to wake up than others…even when you get enough sleep, when it’s chilly outside and your bed is warm, it’s hard to leave. but so far, this week has taught me that at the end of the day it’s so worth the early mornings. I find myself excited to get started on the day, I’m so much more productive, and I’m sleeping better at night.

thursday.

There were too many clouds today for there to be color in the sunrise this morning so I decided to walk along the beach instead. I didn’t have a plan, other than that I wanted to walk for as long as I felt like I needed it. I ended up walking around 4 miles along the shoreline while listening to podcasts and the wave crash against the sand. It’s indescribable really. The feeling you get when it’s just you and the ocean in the morning. You begin to feel one with the sea. A feelings of calm rushes over me whenever I do this. Maybe it’s the negative ions that are released from the water that have this great affect on my mind, or the fact that everyone who I awake is so grateful for this moment that you can feel the energy in the air, whatever it is, I never want to loose it. 

friday.

Being awake before the world, it connects you to nature in a way I haven’t felt anywhere else. It’s just you, the sun, the birds and the occasional dolphin. 

____

Sure this would have easier to do when the weather was warmer and the sun rose later in the day, but i’m not planning on living a life determined by the weather or the time, so here we are. 

Most of all, I learned that setting time away in the morning for yourself is so important. There’s something about sitting in the sand, wrapped in a sweatshirt, staring in awe at the world around that sets a beautiful intention for your day.