It’s been the same, these last three mornings. At 4:15, the coming dawn appears as a peachy-coral smudge on the horizon behind the Cascade mountains. The fingernail moon reclines lazily against the branches of the tallest firs and Venus brazens with clear light when the other heavenly bodies have fled into slumber.
It is the time of day that I’m closest to solitude, closest to silence. The time when I have, though often fleeting, a few minutes to retreat with my thoughts to a private place of contemplation.
Of course, living near a big city, I’m never really alone and silence is, at best, relative. Absolute silence would be maddening and I can happily share my quiet moments with birds and honeybees and other morning creatures without resenting their presence or feeling distracted.
But spaces of solitude and moments of silence are rare, aren’t they? Yet I find I cannot function without them. Oh, yes, one can soldier through the days, juggling demands and fielding distractions and batting down a battalion of (mostly other people’s) problems, and not notice that a week, a year has gone by without pausing for a true time of reflection, looking up at the road ahead and considering back to the road behind and making sure the path unfolding is really yours.
Some days you can’t hear yourself think, can you?
And what happens when you can’t hear yourself dream? When you lose your connection with your own universe, what matters most about you, that wellspring from which pours the essence of what you can create and give?
Well, then, you begin to matter less, to yourself and others.
And the world needs you to matter, especially to yourself.
So for this coming week, when the universe demands just that bit more of you than you can give and still hear your own voice, demand of the universe a place of solitude and moments of silence.
And listen to your dreams speak to you.
You deserve it, you know.
xo
–g
Well said! Thanks for sharing your thought and beautiful picture!
Dearest g, such a beautiful post and your words are so sweet! Early morning dawn is also the time i find spaces of solitude and moments of silence. Very inspiring! Have a lovely merry happy sunday and love to you!
This post is EXACTLY how I feel, but worded more beautiful than I could every say. I've always found the early morning, when most others are still resting their heads, to be the most magical time in the world. Even the air is different. You breath in and peace just fills your soul. Thanks for sharing! ~Stacey
Hi Georgianna,
I enjoy my moments of solitude in the garden each day with only the sights ,sounds and scents of nature but I realize it is a busy world we live in and many don't have that quiet time.
You are making me want to get up earlier in the a.m. to catch some of those beautiful sunrise shots though!
Thank you for sharing a beautiful reflective post.
Carolyn
Beautifully written, Georgianna. And so true. It is so easy to let our time be filled with noise and tasks. Your post inspires me to stop and make sure I have time to listen.
xo
Claudia
such a poetic reminder to just be quiet…
i am listening……..sigh
What a lovely post. Thanks for reminding us silence is restorative.
Such lovely words G, you are a poet as well as a photographer :) It's good to be reminded to take those lovely moments of solitude, I so often forget them and end up worn out and unhappy. What an enchanting photo of the dawn light too, thank you for sharing it, I haven't seen that time of day in quite a while and it's such a wonderful thing to see that rich light & colour. xx
I love the early morning hours before dawn for these very same, wonderful reasons.
Lovely post, G!
Well said G. A few years ago I wrote an article about the hustle & bustle of our everyday lifestyles.
I encouraged readers to sit in their garden every day for a short while to seek solitude and just watch the bird & insect activity that goes on.
Beautiful peaceful sunrise to accompany your post.
Judith
This reminder is exactly, exactly what I needed to read right now. I know that I need quiet time to myself to restore my heart and soul but sometimes I find it so hard to carve it out for myself. I think my blog provides me with some space for reflection and I need to be sure to spend more time in this virtual room of my own again.
As always, your lovely space fills me up – beautiful images, beautiful words, beautiful thoughts… thank you! k xo
so so beauiful to match your beautiful words……thank you!
Georgiana! I did not know you had a blog and shop! HOW WONDERFUL!! I am so excited for you – what a talent you are!
XOXOXO, Dee
I absolutely agree with your beautiful and so inspiring words, dearest Georgianna!
I too, noticed that early morning hours have a special magic in them, when we could wake up our true self together with the energies of the Earth!
Have an amazing week!
Lots of Love,
XO,
Zara
hi sweets. thank you so much for this lovely reminder – very timely, in fact. :) and such coincidence, the photo i took had the peachy/orangey colors as well!
during my younger days, i used to hate the quiet me-times and loved to go out anytime and everytime! but now that i'm getting older, i'm slowly appreciating all the me-time that i can get – just to be silent, and dwell in my own world of thoughts.
thanks for sharing, love! absolutely enjoyed this post. :) xx
I hear what you say and you say it so beautifully.
What a beautiful and thoughtful post! I have often felt over the past few years that my dreams are receding. Thank you for showing me the way to find my own path…
xoxo
Beautiful…thank you for reminding me. It's so easy to forget to stop and just "be" when life seems so demanding, relentless and busy.
A gorgeous post, wishing you have a lovely week,
Love from London xo
Thank you, my friends! May you all have a week touched by your dreams. xo
I have not been awake at Dawn for a loooong time- but reading this takes me back. Thank you for a refreshing and peaceful post…xo Mary
Just gorgeous! Thanks for stopping by!
You are so talented I wish for just a little dab of your talent!
Thank you Georgianna. These words go straight to my soul… you are truly beautiful… xj
I LOVE your words, Georgianna ! I live on my own and I enjoy / cherish so much my moments of solitude and silence … I can hear my soul whispers better :)
beautiful, darling. very lovely.
xo Alison