“The natural world offers us so many symbols that speak to our inner life, creation is a map to the spiritual life. Everything outward is symbolic of an inner reality.” ~Christine Valters Paintner

This morning I woke up and pulled back the curtains to the porthole window above the sink in the bathroom, otherwise known as the head, on our boat and was greeted by a blue-sky day. I meandered into the salon (main living space) to brew a cup of coffee where I had a 180-degree view of Echo Bay at Sucia Island. Blue-gray clouds hung low over the mainland towards the east giving way, then tapering and eventually clearing in the west. The water was flat with a slight current running counter clockwise, gently rocking the boat as it passed under the hull. A sheen of light reflected off the water near the horizon and shoreline as sailboats and trawlers sat peacefully anchored in the calm bay. Occasionally an otter would poke his head out of the water then just as quickly disappear below the surface leaving behind a small ripple in his wake disclosing his presence. High above the pine trees circling along the rocky shore a bald eagle gracefully soars, riding the thermals and watching over her realm like a guardian.

The quiet ease of the morning has always been a favorite time of day for me, the hush that envelops the earth just before it awakens fully. It is particularly sweet on a boat floating in the water where cars are non-existent, TV unavailable, and cell service often cut off. It’s rare to have such stillness, but more and more I find myself craving it. With nothing to distract me from myself it can be a bit intimidating to face the angst or edginess I might be feeling that has no place to hide, but it’s also a time when I hear the deep inner voice of wisdom that invites me to welcome, “the rejected parts of me that long for integration,” as Christine Paintner would say. It’s the time of day when it’s ok to just “be” without any self-improvement plans. The morning quiet asks nothing other than to fall into the natural rhythm of the day, no matter how it might unfold, allowing it to be just as it is – nothing more and nothing less – knowing it is enough, that I am enough too, and that tomorrow another morning awaits me.