According to my mother, I was born a morning person. Apparently, even as baby, I awoke with a sunny disposition. To this day, I awake at 4:30 in the morning, with or without an alarm clock. It takes about 5 minutes to shake off the fog of sleep and then I’m ready to go. This poses a problem as my wife and son do not embrace the same enthusiasm for the start of the day. This usually means that while on vacation, I am dressing in the darkness and sneaking out of the room in relative silence, camera in tow. I can’t bear to waste even a minute of the photo opportunities available at this prized time of day.
To me, the morning is like the first day of school. It is a blank slate. I get to forget about the botched exams and disappointing grades from the last semester. For all practical purposes, I’m starting out with a new pair of shoes and a report card of straight A’s.
Each morning the world awakes to a new opportunity to get everything right. The news has yet to be written. We all have the opportunity to make a positive impact by the 11 o’clock news broadcast. Sure, there is much beyond our control. However, we at least get to establish the attitude we will use to embrace these unexpected challenges.
Mother Nature also greets us with a fresh reset. The footprints on the beach have been erased by a new cycle of the tides. The virgin air has yet to be tainted by the exhaust from man’s machinery. Even her musical score is a silent sheet until we choose to add our discordant refrain. There is no time to waste if we want to experience her fleeting perfection. Once the sun fully raises it’s head above the horizon, we awake and add a myriad ripples to the once placid water.
This image from Dead Horse Point captures the magic that reveals itself to those that are willing to brave the darkness and position themselves in a front row seat for the morning spectacle. I consider myself very fortunate to have shared this exhibition with my wife, cousin and his bride. I know that we were all generously rewarded for investing just a negligible bit of slumber.
