Let's Start At The Very Beginning

I've always loved watching the sun rise over the ocean. As a child, my family often went to the beach for our summer vacations and I can still remember the first time I went out to the surf when the world was still dark and witnessed the majesty that is the sun rising from seemingly out of nowhere over the waves. I fell in love with sunrises then and that love has remained steadfast (much to the annoyance of my beach companions, who are sometimes cajoled into waking up at ungodly hours to trek down to the beach with me to see the sunrise). 

My camera roll is full of sunrise photos from various beaches over different periods in my life. When I look at those photos, I can still remember where I was at the time the photo was taken. And by that, I not only mean where I was located physically, but also where I was in life - emotionally, mentally, spiritually. I can recall reflecting on my life as the sun rose. To me, watching the sun rise has always been a natural period of reflection and contemplation.

That is what I've always loved about sunrises. Each day is a new beginning and an opportunity to look at your life and ponder your location in it. I would sit watching the nighttime blacks and blues and purples interrupted by streaks of lighter blues and purples and then slowly, yet also seeming all at once, the sky would be alive with reds and oranges and yellows until the fiery edge of the sun peeked over the waves. The pounding of the waves in my ears, the graininess of the sand against my feet, the warmth of the sun's colors washing over my face and body - all of these sensations combine to create overwhelming feelings of gratitude and joy and optimism and hope and peace and love in my soul.

And with each sunrise, I am reminded that every day holds the promise of beginning anew. Of course, starting over and beginning new naturally means that something else must come to an end. And while there is joy and hope in starting over, the end of that which came before always comes with a healthy serving of grief and sadness. Maybe what came before was wonderful, maybe it was terrible (or, as life usually is, it was probably both wonderful and terrible - often at the same time), but either way, it has to end in order for you to begin anew.   

I took this photo of the sun rising over a beach in Florida many, many years ago. I can still remember the swirling of my thoughts when I took this photo. I was just about to start my first job as a "real" lawyer with the first law firm I was to work at. I was recently engaged and had begun planning a wedding. I sat on the sand, both bursting with hope and also afraid of all of the unknowns.

Funny enough, as I sit and write this, I have similar feelings - hope for the future and also fear of the unknowns. But I will not let the fear of the unknown paralyze me from venturing out into my new life. That's why I decided to start this blog. I have wanted to start a blog (mainly a baking blog) for many years now. I've also been writing and saving those writings in Word documents on my laptop, never to be read by anyone but me. But baking and writing and traveling are things that give me so much joy and when I started to get serious about creating this site, my soul starting sizzling with little bursts of excitement and happiness. When you feel that, you know your inner self is trying to tell you something important. Those zaps of happiness and excitement were my soul saying (shouting really) - "YES! Do this. Please do this. We need this!"

 So this is it, folks, this is my Day One. I have absolutely no idea where this blog will go (nor I with it!), but I knew I could continue to think about doing this or I could launch off with my hope and my fear as my sidekicks. And lo and behold, as I round out the end of this first post, I can still feel those sizzles going down my spine. Even if no one ever reads this, that feeling is enough for me.

What has your soul been urging you to do and you've been putting off? You're only one step away from Day One and leaving One Day behind forever.

B