In spite of how hard it often is to wake up (especially since the arrival of the child), I love being awake in the morning. Everything has a certain crispness in the early hours, a freshness that assures me that all that was bad from the day before is being rolled away with the receding darkness. Smells and ideas are pleasant and distinct. Sometimes I feel as if I am the only person on earth awake, free to dream while the rest of the earth sleeps. My mind has been dusted; free of cobwebs I am able to recall passages of scripture and snippets of poetry that I did not realize I knew. Each ray of sun slipping through my windows bolsters my resolve to be a better person, to try harder than I did the day before. The world is at peace and so am I, at least for the duration of the sunrise.

Here’s what I was thinking about this morning.