Sunrise in PA

Sunrise in the hills of Northeastern PA

I walked along a country road this morning just after first light. It is my habit to take a little time most mornings to escape technology and connect with the beauty and quiet calm of the morning sunrise. 

This was a cool early Fall morning with a slight chill in the light breeze. I pulled on my old, soft, brown leather jacket and grabbed an old baseball cap as I walked out the door with a mug of hot coffee in my hand.

I walked alone along the lake road.  Only the sound of my footfalls on the hardpacked gravel disturbed the quiet hush of the morning.  The fresh, crisp air tickled my lungs, and I took a deep breath, slowly releasing it and enjoying the refreshing feeling.

I sipped my coffee as I walked, looking through the woods into the eastern sky.  There was an iridescent red backdrop to the tangled grove of pine trees and scrub brush growing from the road and up a small hill. The forest was dark, but the rising light in the sky silhouetted the trees and highlighted their tops with the crimson hue of predawn light.

It took me only a few minutes to walk to the main road and up the small hill, where I had an expansive view of the land. The sky had already changed character, but it was beautiful nonetheless. I stood on the crest of the hill, mesmerized by the spectacle of the morning sky, now a pastel pink, subtly morphing to blue with pale pink and bright white clouds. The horizon in the distance had the bright orange color of the rising sun beginning to crest the distant hills.

I stood quietly, a lone spectator of nature's opening act. The coffee mug warmed my hands, its steam mingling with my breath in the chilly air. The rich aroma of fresh-brewed coffee blended with the earthy scents of damp leaves and moist soil. As I gazed at the horizon, the wonder of this beauty settled upon me, a daily miracle often taken for granted.

I imagined the earliest inhabitants of this land witnessing the same sunrise, their lives tied closely to these rhythms of light and season. At that moment, I felt a connection across time, a shared awe at the grandeur of the natural world. But the ever-present pull of today's responsibilities and tasks stirred me from my reverie.

The cool breeze nipped at my reddened cheeks, and its chill began cutting through the warmth of my old leather jacket. It was time to move. As I walked back, I finished my coffee and felt a renewed appreciation for the quiet power of mornings like this, small moments that ground me in the beauty of nature, maybe the antidote for the craziness that has become modern life.