I am ready to begin.

First darkness then light. First a deep blue, then lightening to magenta, then amber over the still blue peaks with wisps of morning fog in the valley like the sleep in her eyes at first obscuring then clearing as the day warms. The smell is cool, then begins to warm slightly, the amber light over the foliage below stirs the familiar childhood aroma of early days full of promise. The blue peaks, the dark green of the foliage, the dark trail long worn over decades, the hazy gray in the far distances to the west, the breeze of the warming cool air over the ridge and the blue peaks changes her hue slightly. The valley echos of the sound of the river below as it loses it's distinction obscured by the songs of the early rising birds then the rustling of animals as they go about their business shaking branches here and there. It is still cool, the amber sun becoming bright and barely warming my face and feet. I remember the days of walking the trails and fishing in the river. It would be early then and a day like today. I was busy with the wonders of being a child. My world was so vast and yet limited to what I could see. The trails were my play ground then. I would walk them and play in the valley never noticing much beyond the trails. The day warms and I am there in my childhood walking the trails again fishing the river, walking on the rocks of the banks smelling the sun on the stones and water and hearing the sounds of the rapids over stony ridges smoothed by time. The amber over the blue peaks warms the valley and I can smell the river again just as I did so many years ago. This lingers in my mind for a time then fades as the amber over the blue peeks warms the the green foliage and the smell of the river changes to warming leaves and the breeze wafts its full concert over the ridge where I sit. The colors and smells are full now only to fade again into the business of the day to be lost for a time then enjoyed again as the sun sets. This blessed day has begun with the glory of God laid out before me. Surely there are only a few gifts more glorious than to witness the rising sun in the morning. I feel privileged and ready to rejoice in it. I am ready to begin.