Gossamer thin wispy cirrus cloud on a huge blue background this campervan morning. A welcome cooler start to the day, though no complaints about the warmth of summer. Fading and solid contrails criss cross the sky, the passing of aeroplanes the occupational hazard of suburban Surrey. The far off motorway sits in the background. Stillness in the air, not a breath of wind, branches and leaves hang motionless. The sun is up and the light bright and powerful. A single magpie atop the ash, blackbird song in the near distance and the usual accompaniment of robins and garden birds. A couple of starlings in the oak, starlings have been scarce the last few days. The usual morning breakfast dance of a pair of blue tits, or they could be great tits, I don’t have my glasses with me. I love the sense of the rising energy of the morning. In his book Walden, Thoreau talks of the morning as its opportunity :
“ Every morning was a cheerful invitation to make my life of equal simplicity, and I may say innocence, with Nature herself.”
Along with my coffee these mornings are my morning cup of therapy, my grounding, my space and my opening of the day. There is a calmness in nature reflected in me, the trick is to keep it that way for the rest of the day.
The poet Viteslav Nezval wrote :
I will sit on a stump by a forest stream to gather strength And drink dawn.
And so I sit on my own stump, in my own landscape, by my own forest stream and gather strength and drink in my morning. The calm before the storm of the day. It’s self care Sundays, do something for yourself today. I close with a quote from the wonderful Parker J Palmer. Lovely days people.
“ Self-care is never a selfish act - it is simply good stewardship of the only gift I have, the gift I was put on earth to offer others. Anytime we can listen to true self and give the care it requires, we do it not only for ourselves, but for the many others whose lives we touch.” Parker Palmer.
The photo was taken on the Shetland tour, a few weeks ago.
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