Day 77: The Crack of Dawn

Every weekday now finds me up at no later than 6:15 in the morning. With a long day to prepare for and the History Department to open, I have taken to the morning with reluctance. Up on the mountain it is still dark at the time of my awakening. By the time I am ready for the day and have eaten breakfast, the sun is just beginning to show above the horizon and every morning I watch the sunrise from my chair in the History commons. About the time I have second breakfast (usually sometime around 9) the campus is just starting to come to life as students begin about their day. It’s oddly comforting to watch the campus wake up and start on the day.

An added joy to my early rising is solitude. I am one of few up early and as such can sit by myself for great lengths of time without interruption. Having the mornings to contemplate anything from nature; to God; to time; to the great writers, philosophers, and theologians; and occasionally even schoolwork, is proving very relaxing. I have come to enjoy a very nice rock off to the eastern side of campus. From that rock I have a beautiful view of the sky and can look out over the valley to see the city of Chattanooga sprawling out below the mountain. I can watch the lights in the town slowly blink out one by one as the sun climbs higher on the horizon; I can watch the city wake up.

Of course once the sun comes up the magic is partially lost and I go back to my own world of school and work. But for a little while in the morning I can enjoy my solitude as I watch a world much more vast than I can ever comprehend, much bigger than my campus, much bigger than myself. I wonder if the hobbits ever felt this way about the world outside of the Shire that they were discovering. I contemplated this while I was out on my 6.47 mile (10.41 km) walk.

The Road Goes Ever On and On,
~ Daisy Buttons