a good start

I used to be among those people who never knew a part of the day that wasn't filled with chatter and bustling people and traffic. I didn't realize what I was missing. I considered sleep to be too precious to wake any earlier than absolutely necessary. I now realize that no amount of sleep has ever done more to rejuvenate my mind or body or soul, than being alive and present in the secret hours God gives us before 7 am.

A good start to the day for me means waking really early, slipping out the back door (undetected) into this little backyard bathed in twilight, putting on my running shoes and setting off on my run as the sun rises along the trail.

I get home just before 7 and spend the next few minutes cooling down as i water the potted flowers, soak in the silence and say prayers of gratitude for the blessed life i live. Gratitude for a life that starts each day with ease, possibility, and the sound of birds; not with strife, or violence or fear. No matter what else happens all day, i've had this hour. It is a good start.