Life’s Simple Pleasures - early mornings in Summer

Life’s simple pleasures come in all shapes and sizes. When we take a moment to notice there are endless simple pleasures which make up moments in our lives. Slow moments in nature, in our day to day lives, connecting us to wonder and awe of the simple moments in our life. The pace of life can feel fast at times, overwhelming lists of things to do and sort out, however when we take a few moments to appreciate some of the simplest things we can connect to a feeling, a grounded sense of life. As we cycle through the days of the week, the months of the year and the seasons we discover a comfort of rhythm gently being part of those moments in time.

Over the past few months of Summer I’ve been waking up just before 5am and have tended to wake close to the sunrise. However much I have tried, going back to sleep seems far from what I can do and so the best thing for me to do is to get up and gently begin my day. Sometimes the nights have been disturbed by our little person or our dog, both making themselves comfortable in and on our bed, but despite the lack of sleep I desire to connect in this small pocket of time and make the most of it for me.

I have a new found love of these early summer mornings this year. The hush of the house is deeply restful and the silent in comparison with the rest of the day. In a pocket and in time the world wakes up outside, the sounds of a car or bus driving past, the sounds of the solo runner on the pavement outside.

I cherish these moments and use these early hours to pause and the energised headspace to start the day. I find myself writing, crafting, sitting and thinking, reading and using the time just for me. Some mornings I’ll pour a cup of tea and get a small blanket and sit in our lounge reading a magazine I’ve been waiting to read, or open my journal and write, or open the back door and step out into our decking to feel the cool morning air. 

I quietly move about the house hoping not to disturb the rest of my family. Sometimes I open all the windows to feel the fresh air through our home, to hear the birdsong and outside, the early morning planes over head, and the burner of a hot air balloon gliding overhead.

Sometimes I want to use the morning to move and sometimes to sit. I find myself sometimes at my most creative at this portion of the day, my energy can feel full after a sleep and ideas land.  

Noticing the way the light falls in our home feels magical and the soft warming sunlight streams into the lounge for just a few moments, it’s just at the aligned angle through the terraced houses and roads nearby and bounces off surfaces to stream into a corner of our lounge for just a few moments.

These mornings have started to shift, I’m waking slightly later and the light is different as we move into autumn. These early mornings are when I most notice the shift in our seasons. Darker mornings return which I learn to enjoy again, most of all the joy of getting up early to see the sunrise which I get to experience again.

As you read this was there anything which resonated for you? This is an invitation for you is to think about something this week which brings you simplicity and joy in your life. Take a few minutes this weekend to connect with it, write a few things down, photograph it, draw it or capture it in a meaningful way for you.

Life is made up of the slow and simple. It’s time to nourish yourself with simple pleasures and elevate your everyday.