I'd woken up from a nightmare at 3am.
It took me about 2 hours to settle back in to the present.
I got up, ate breakfast, and put on some walking clothes.
The dawn sky was a dusty pink as I left my house.
The grass was crisp under foot from the night's frost.
The air, fresh.
The river appeared as a sheet of glass, with mist that rose and then hung above its surface.
The trees were filled with a chorus of birdsong.
I walked towards the East as the sun began to rise; a sliver of golden light appeared above the hills in front of me and then grew, until the full sphere had broken free from where it had lain over night.
At times there were others walking near me.
And other times I looked around and there was no one in sight.
I held my arms out to the side and lifted my head toward the sky.
Feeling the sun's warmth upon my skin, I took a deep breath of fresh air and thought to myself: yes, life is beautiful.


