First it was dark...

When you arise in the morning, think of what a precious

privilege it is to be alive – to breath, to think…

- Marcus Aurelius, Meditations

Molly said, “Before you get started this morning, come out here and look at the moon.  It’s humongous!"

She was right, for this is the season of the super moon...the time when it is the largest it will be in the sky all year.  While it is, no doubt impressive at night, it is equally so in the early morning hours.  The ‘show’ is a little more dramatic this time of year, because the elliptical motion of the moon brings it closer to the earth, making it by some estimates 14 percent brighter.  That may not exactly be ‘super,’ but if you take the time to look at it – it is beautiful!

Any morning – any day…

There is something about the morning sky, as the rhythm of the earth begins to shift in the early hours of the day.  Watching the darkened sky making transition to light brings a sense of renewal, rebirth, revelation of that which has been in darkness finding its way into light.  One has a greater appreciation for the richly poetic language of the opening chapter of the Bible (Genesis 1:2-5):

“And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep.  And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light and there was light.  And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.  And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called night.  And the evening and the morning were the first day.”

“…the evening and the morning were the first day.”  This is the language that follows the creative process of each day in this seminal chapter of the first book of the Judeo-Christian spiritual text.  It is always the evening first, suggesting that darkness precedes light…or one might argue as a metaphor for our lives, we begin all things ‘in darkness,’ and become ‘enlightened’ as we encounter and process the ‘new’ or unknown.

A little less – possibly more whimsy…

Our little home in Oro Valley faces west.  This means, the cactus filled back yard faces east providing, as the sun trudges unrelentingly toward us in the early morning hours, subtle shifting from darkness to light.

Being outside while it is dark kindles a quietly energetic anticipation as the surrounding hills become alive “…with the [sights and] sound(s) of music…” Sitting on the patio, in the early hours when there has been no moon…when there appears to be nothing but a void, brings revelation as morning magic reveals the unseen.

As old Sol pushes the darkness away, the distant peaks, of the Catalina Mountains become framed on the Eastern horizon.  Slowly, the back yard presents itself alive as the Yuccas, Barrel Cacti, Texas Ranger, Mexican Bird of Paradise and miniature grapefruit trees begin to appear…at first grey and shapeless forms looking for all the world like ghostly apparitions in the dreamy landscape.  It isn’t long, however, before they take shape…crisp and colorful images in their now brightly lit glory.

I never tire of experiencing the unrelenting cycle of the earth’s movement around the sun, and the cycle of light that begins in darkness. 

There is something self-renewing about meeting the day as it gets itself ready.  It is nice to feel that while I am shaking off the cobwebs of a good night’s sleep, the earth is doing the same.  As I become more fully awake, with a cup of Molly’s strong coffee, I feel as though I am part of the same cycle of renewal as that of the earth, and in some ways, not fully grasped…the rhythmic of replenishment of the universe.

- ted