It Starts with a Sunrise

One experience I always encourage my guests not to miss out on is a Lake Superior Sunrise.
Oftentimes they’re breath-taking… stunning enough to climb out from under the coziest comforter for.
Even when they’re not, starting the day with fresh air and a few minutes of sunlight tends to set the tone for my day - one of intentionality and a calm only the outdoors can provide.

I started making this practice a part of my day in the spring of 2022 after visiting my aunt and uncle in Florida. My uncle Mark is an early riser and invited me on his ritualistic bike ride down to the beach just before dawn. We each loaded a chair on our back, secured black coffee to our bikes, and pedaled down to the shoreline. We placed our beach chairs, put our feet in the sand, and were greeted with a marvelous display..of overcast. :)

If there’s one thing I’ve learned from chasing sunrise in the last few years, it’s that if you don’t go you’ll never know.
Not every horizon is a work of art. But sometimes a cloudy sunrise, just like a typical Tuesday, can surprise you with being one of the best. So I go anyways. I anticipate the possibility of finding something beautiful, or interesting, or intriguing, even when the weather app shows cloud cover. Because you just never know. To me, there’s a lesson here. If you want a life filled with moments of unparalleled beauty and spontaneous inspiration, you need to RVSP yes to the daily invites life sends your way.

One more thing…
Besides potential inconvenience or a lack-luster weather report, I think often sunrise (and maybe opportunities and general) are missed because they are saved for special occasions. For trips we take once a year. For the cruise we’ve saved up for. For tan skin and white linen extravaganzas. That’s all great, but I believe we serve ourselves better when we learn to infuse the whimsy of a moment into our everyday lives instead of relying on trips to escape it. That’s why I kept up the tradition of sunrise after leaving my vacation in Florida. I don’t get to sunrise every day. (There’s a photographer in Marquette who does, known in these parts as Bugsy Sailor. He photographs every single sunrise - you can check out his photography in the link below.) But I get to a lot of them.. enough to have viewed sunrise in everything from a swimsuit to snow pants, a face mask, and a 10-below wind chill.
If nothing else, it’s always an adventure that pulls me out of monotony reminds me I’m alive.

Sunrise isn’t life's only invite - there’s lots. What’s an invite life has been sending your way that you can RSVP yes to?
..Don’t think for one second this is the same as another obligation or commitment, God knows we all have enough of those.
Rather, this is something that should combat the humdrum of life we can sometimes feel by inspiring us each and every day. It should draw you in, captivate you, and bring you to life. Identify it, and do it. Life is too short to simply go through the motions.

xo, Lo