The morning golden hour. There’s something so encouraging about sunrise and the morning. (Especially in the summer, specifically while camping). The joy that can be found in the time when sleep still hangs over the world but the sun is shining. There isn’t much movement – there’s peace. It almost feels like stolen moments. They are precious and fleeting. You don’t want to waste them but instead drink them in. It’s a time you’re allowed to be quiet and still and let your mind (and sometimes your feet) wander.

The peace of the morning brings with it profound and tangible hope. It truly is a fresh beginning. Moments when yesterday is gone, it is in the past, but today has yet to be written. All the possibilities remain. We have a chance to wonder and dream and hold on to ourselves before we’re given over to the responsibilities of the day. 

You can almost get lost in the silence. Lost in thoughts and dreaming. In our daily life we have so much to distract us, so much that’s pulling our attention away from contemplating, pondering, dreaming; so much that threatens to crush us. These moments are necessary for the vibrancy of life. They are the balm to our soul in this life that demands so much of our time.

The sun grows brighter and the stirring of the world holds you to reality. It reminds you that today must be lived. But for now, these moments, this part of the day, it belongs to you. Soak it in before it disappears. 

Because all too soon, as if a snap of the finger, it’s gone. The world wakes up, the noise of the day breaks through the silence. In an instant, you know that the golden hour is gone and the day is ready to be lived.