Clarity

Dawn is the best time for me.  I see clearly.  I think clearly.  I feel clearly.  I am synced best at this time of day.  It is my moment of mindfulness when all senses are intensified.  It is a moment that has taken years to acquire.  It is now an addiction.  I seek it every day.

I took this picture at dawn in Carnarvon, Western Australia, an image running adjacent to my hotel.  As soon as I took it, I had a visceral response.  I knew I had photographed what I had seen.  There was a feeling of authenticity that resonated deeply within me.

I don’t do this well with people.  If I feel slighted or in doubt when someone is being passive-aggressive, I tend to give them another chance, despite a bum note resonating in my body.  I second guess myself.  I make excuses for their behaviour, sometimes blaming myself.  No more.  And, I’m not just saying, no more.  I’m practising it.

As we get older, behaviours and habits are set in people unless they consciously want to change them.  If one lacks insight into their own behaviour and the impact it has on others, or perhaps even if they do know this and continue with their behaviour, then I know it is time to distance myself.  It is not my role or my responsibility to help them gain insight or be their change agent.

This kind of truth brings its own distress and joy.  The latter may be difficult to experience at the time because there is no harsher truth than discovering a friend’s behaviour for what it is.

Reflecting on Maya Angelou’s words, “When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time” I know this is true.  As the picture shows, what is visible above the water line, is reflected perfectly below it.  But, you can only see it in a moment of clarity.

May you find your moment today.

Until next time,

As always

a dawn bird