My Breality: sky appreciation

Friday, September 9, 2011

I'm here. Now.

It's been a week or two of gorgeous summer weather here...which is actually welcome here in Seattle. I imagine that the inhabitants of other areas of the country have been praying for the rainy season for a good while now...especially those in Texas.
I am soooo grateful for where I'm living right now. The sun is shining, the air is warm (but not too warm), and there are plenty of ripe blackberries for instant snacking everywhere I go, it seems.
This sky-centric photo is a bit unusual for me...I mean...there are only like...4 whispy clouds in it! Who wants to gaze at a blue sky for longer than a minute, right?!
Well...I do. Today, anyway. I'm feeling what's here, and appreciating the present. Or trying to, anyway...
Some people run every morning, some treadmill at lunchtime, and others sit in silence each night before bed. Whatever you like to call it (exercise, clearing your head, releasing energy, meditation), it gets you back in your body and focused on the present moment. I don't have a have a regular activity like this scheduled for myself. I am now realizing just how beneficial it could be for me, though. A daily ritual, even if it changes form from time to time, would have more potential to keep me grounded than sporadic unplanned bike rides across the city.
Seems logical, anyway.
So today's get-out-of-my-head exercise is a long bike ride. Tomorrow's will probably be something else. And as long as I have a core commitment to myself (and my sanity), I'm ok with some uncertainty.

Thursday, September 8, 2011

Sunrise, Sept. 8, 2011

Sunrises and sunsets are probably my favorite part about living on this planet. But really, the sky, in general. And clouds. Especially when large bodies of water are also visible beneath the sky.

These are images of this morning's sunrise, which, as always, don't do the real thing justice. My jaw dropped when I got my first glimpse of the eastern glow. The way the light was hitting the clouds made them look two dimensional and exaggerated their shapes...so much so that it reminded me of paintings and drawings that I've seen, but which I always considered to be exaggerations and romanticizations of what was actually seen and what was actually possible in the sky. Unfortunately, I didn't get a very good shot of the clouds, so you'll just have to take my word for it. ;)