The Sunrise Tree

"You are a child of the universe no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should. Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be, and whatever your labours and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul."
- Max Ehrmann, Desiderata: A Poem for a Way of Life.


I saw so many beautiful things on this day that to ask me to pick just one - or even two - verges on cruelty. :-) You know that these are the good days. The days when there are so many pictures you lost count; when you could number the most special beauties on the fingers of both your hands, and then some.

It was the last day of driving to work under the "old time," which is to say, the time of driving with the sunrise. We change the clocks to "fall back" this coming weekend. I love to watch a good sunrise; it's one of my very favorite shows. And on this day, the sky did not disappoint.

I was driving my usual drive when I saw the clouds turn pink. So I pulled the car over at Sawmill Road to snag some pictures of the rising sun. The orb was squashed between layers of dark clouds, but doing its best to shine out like a beacon.

I stopped again at a farmer's field just a ways up the hill, and I noticed the birds seemed agitated at sunrise. They were flocking to a particular tree; a sunrise tree, perhaps, where they could catch the best view of the show!

My day included some time on campus around mid-day into the afternoon, and so I also got to stroll around our beautiful Penn State campus, one of the prettiest campuses in the nation, if not the world. (Or am I biased? I think not.) There are still plenty of pretty foliage colors on campus and I put a picture of the yellow trees in the extra photos area so you may see them for yourself.

There are days in life when you feel that the Universe is unfolding exactly as it should, and that you are exactly in the spot in life where you were meant to be. This was one of those days. Yes, I AM where I was meant to be. Life is good. The world is beautiful. I am happy.

The song to accompany this posting is one I selected in honor of the birds in the sunrise shot above: Paul McCartney, with Blackbird.