Winter sunrises are magical.
First of all, they happen late enough that I have time to get out to see them happen.
Second, the gradual growing and emergence of light builds it's own sense of suspense, turning to awe once the sun finally peaks over the horizon and bathes the forest in orange, reflecting off snow bejeweled branches...
Everything is hushed and still, other than the constant moving, changing, growing light... I can almost hear the landscape whisper "Welcome!" ...and we are blessed with a new day.
It's truly a gift.
As we head into the high holidays and shopping and family and friends and politics and food and faith... I hope you can all take a moment to STOP...
And feel the earth supporting you beneath your feet,
And the air sustaining you, moving into and out of your body,
And if you listen really carefully, feel the rhythm of your heartbeat that connects your inner landscape to a planet full of rhythms and cycles of life and vitality and love and suffering...
We can hold it all, the joy and the challenges, in the arms of compassion and awe.