Gift of a Sunrise

A mid-January morning in North Dakota is not for the faint-of-heart. My phone shows -21 degrees. When I first step outside, the air hurts my face. Breathing feels…different. Sometimes I wonder why we live in this land of extremes.

I love the vivid beauty these extremes offer when I allow myself to stop to appreciate it.

These days, when dawn brings clear skies, my morning commutes are graced with stunning sunrises. The sun’s ascension coincides perfectly with my schedule. Other times of the year, I often miss this brilliant show by Mother Nature. Either the sun is already higher in the sky or it’s still too low to do more than tinge the horizon with light.

Now is when the sun dogs sparkle, halos of bright light to the left and the right of the sun. I think of sun dogs as our “winter rainbows”, spots of light and sometimes brilliant color on starkly cold days.

Sunrises are a beautiful reminder that each new day is a chance for us to start again. By now, some of the excitement we felt as we faced the beginning of the new year, full of high expectations, may have waned a bit. I know it has for me. Planning for success before we start is fun. Once the real work begins, some days aren’t so fun. I already feel like I’m slipping in some of the areas I wanted to improve upon this year.

But here’s the thing, folks. To live our best lives, we have to live in the present. We have to make today the best day we can because we can’t change yesterday and we can’t know what tomorrow will bring. Every sunrise can serve as a reminder to start anew. We can decide to start today with a clean slate and take some of those small steps we know we need to take to move in the direction we know we want to go.
 
If you’re a goal setter, be stubborn and tenacious about doing something every day to move in the right direction, but be flexible on exactly what that looks like. Sometimes life redirects us in unexpected ways, but that doesn’t mean we should ever give up on our goals. It may just mean the path to get there suddenly looks a little different.

My challenge to you, and to myself, is to start each day with determination. Start with a plan for the steps you'll take today. Arrange your day so you can accomplish as many of those steps as you desire. If you want to relax today, plan to do so. Stay conscious as to how you're spending your time. Aim for feeling satisfied at the end of your day. Make a little progress and let go of the idea of perfection.

Mother Nature shows us how a stormy day will eventually lead to a beautiful sunrise. Let go of all the disappointing yesterdays and enjoy today. It is a gift.

Cheering you on,   Kim