Morning intentions (plus, my newest painting)

“You can only come to the morning through the shadows”  J. R. R. Tolkien 

I love the idea that there is a time of day when all of us feel most at home in our own bodies. That time will likely be different for each of us, but the concept remains: what time of day do you feel most alive?

My favorite time of the day is early morning, just as the sun streaks gorgeous lines of color across the horizon. I can see hints of the sunrise from my bed, which is just the best reminder to treat each new day as a possibility and a beginning.

I’ve never been a good sleeper, and I was always relieved as a kid when the night ended and I could get up. I was the 10 year old awake at 8am in the summer and reading a novel in bed before anyone else was up. I was the 25 year old doing grad school homework at 7am on a Saturday morning because I wanted to have the rest of the weekend free. I am now the 31 year old who loves the idea of morning routines and the impact they can have on the rest of the day.

I want to feel focused and excited when I start my day, a commitment that I make to myself daily. Now of course this isn’t always possible (hello, stress!). None of us are immune to having too much to do.

Even still, I like to remind myself that morning safely holds my intention to set the tone for the day, and that this intention refreshes every morning regardless of what happened the day before.

The fresh slate can be beautiful in all areas of life, yes?

I’ve also found that making time for a short meditation works wonders (seriously). I love the meditations by the wonderful Erin-Ashley Kerti.

Now on to this week’s painting, Dawn.

As many of my paintings do, this painting began in a very different place. Here is a small section of the original background:

I loved the rainbow of color but couldn’t figure out a direction I wanted to go. Often when this happens I just start liberally adding more color, even if the original design goes away completely. Here’s the final painting:

Totally different, right?

I love how the warmer colors are just barely seeping through the cooler blue surface. When I finished the painting, my very first thought was this is what morning feels like (the first hint of light and warmth as they come into view, the remaining quiet and calm).  

It feels like the perfect homage to my favorite part of the day.

Here’s to living our days with intention,