Early morning meditation

Whenever I am staying on a body of water, I get up early in the morning. I like the ocean best, for instance, when I am the only person on the shore, walking in the sand, watching the sunrise, alone except for the birds that run along the wet sand. On the river, my father will wake me for an early morning sail, where we can glide past the quiet islands, with summer cottages full of sleeping people.

Last weekend, staying at an old inn on a mountain lake, I woke early and sneaked out quietly, leaving my sleeping husband snuggled in the cozy bed. My sneakers were soon wet from the dew-covered grass as I walked along the shore, looking at the boats tied up and the overturned canoes on the dock. In a pavilion where there had been a wedding the day before, I found two empty ring boxes.

I sat quietly on the dock. The blue emptiness of early morning gave me space for meditation, for reiki, for calm and peaceful thoughts. I watched the mist puffing through the mountains, blurring the autumn colours, as I breathed in and out. The wind kept changing the patterns on the water, and the sun touched the lake with pink.