Life at No.22, Musings

Savouring those Sunrises in Spring

Suzanne

As we sit in our temporary abode here in Auckland gazing outside on a spring morning, I’m reminiscing about our coffee dates with the sun on the balcony back home.

Here is something I wrote a while ago to celebrate those sunrises and now acknowledge how much more important they are in our lives.

Down here in the southern hemisphere, we have passed winter and sprung into spring. The days are becoming warmer; the bright green leaves are beginning to adorn the trees like Christmas decorations. Our nights are becoming shorter than our days. The good news of all is that it is still easy to wake up a little before dawn, brew some coffee, and head outside to watch the sunrise.

Some mornings are more colourful than others.

Wrapping up warm, we take our coffee out into the cool grey pre-dawn and settle down in a comfy chair on the balcony with a clear view of the sky facing the direction of the sunrise. Wrapping our hands around the warm mugs, we inhale the steam and be still.

This solitude is why we have always preferred witnessing a sunrise to the sun going down. Sunsets are too easy, commonplace, strewn across social media. But mornings are different. For most of us, they are rarer to see than sunsets because they require a little more effort, and therefore we are more likely to have the whole spectacular show for ourselves.

“Be patient where you sit in the dark”, encouraged the poet Rumi: “the dawn is coming.”

Then there are those sunrises that motivate me to be fully dressed to view the beginning.

As we wait with our coffee for daylight to seep slowly into the world, I try to pay attention to how I deal with sitting still and doing nothing—just being together. I’m a fidgeter and rarely keep still, so lately, I have been trying to be in the moment. I try to focus on the real now, not what will happen today and my anxiety to get on with my day.

For the remainder of our life’s allotted weeks, the sun will rise every day. But no matter how beautiful they are, we can’t cram in any extra dawns. Rushing will not help. Savouring the ones we do have, on the other hand, may well help a great deal. So for a short time, it’s just us and our coffees.

Early morning is our sacred time.

It’s worth the wait to watch the sunrise—one sure thing in life. And as the world floods with sunlight, we take the memory of the calm, the rising sun, and the steaming cup of coffee into our new day that awaits.

Published by Suzanne

Travel and Life Musings from New Zealand and Beyond. . . . . . .

38 thoughts on “Savouring those Sunrises in Spring”

  2. Beautiful sunrises Suzanne – I have to confess to being a late riser (especially now I’m no longer working) so I rarely see them – I have to settle for sunset – at least we get to have sunsets over the ocean – which are always lovely.

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  6. Gorgeous sunrises! And you’re right, many people (including me) find it too much effort to get up before dawn and watch the glorious start of a new day. Another advantage of watching sunrise is that you have a much longer day ahead of you. And, who doesn’t want more hours in a day? 🙂

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        1. Friends/family have spoken about having dreadful weather in Devon. Winter has arrived early, though who knows with the weather Gods you may get a few more autumn like days in December. Humid here in Auckland making my morning walk a smitten harder 🙂

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          1. The East coast suffered the worst of the gales especially here in the north. We, are between the coasts but quite high up, so usually get the first snow and the awful gales.
            Sorry about the humid weather, that gets to me too.

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            1. Humid weather is all part and parcel North of the divide; the weather’s enjoyable when reading a book out of the sun 🙂 We still enjoyed North England even with the challenging weather as the homes we cared for were warm and dry.

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  8. What a stunning view. I love sunrises and sunsets. I don’t get to see them much as we are kind of in a hole where we live surrounded by trees. But they are some of my favorites to catch a glimpse of.

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  9. I love that you do this together, Suzanne. Michael would shrug and pull the covers over his head if I tried to get him up for sunrise. But I love them. I’ll join you from afar, with that cup of coffee.

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  10. Lovely thoughts Suzanne 🙂 I agree there’s something more special about watching the sun rise than a sunset, however beautiful. Maybe it’s partly because the sky gradually brightens rather than darkens?

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    1. Even enjoying the early morning in pitch black is still worth the effort of getting out of a warm bed. For me, it’s a brilliant time for thinking, reading and writing. Less distractions 🙂

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  14. Your post resonated soundly in my being, Suzanne. I love sunrises & sunsets – but it is only now that I realise that your observation is spot-on … so many images of sunset but so much fewer of sunrises, and the reason why. The contemplation & energy that comes with this early part of the day is what sends me out running at dawn, even when I am pretty much asleep. You have given clarity to my behaviour and feelings.

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    1. Thanks very much, Ju-Lyn. For me it’s not an arduous task to get up early and not every morning is rewarded with a colourful display. I too enjoy the early hours to head out exercising.

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