sun worship

so, i am a devotee of the sun. pure and simple. and it's BACK....i'm super happy.

this morning i went with a group of friends to go sungazing. it was quite the experience. we met up almost an hour before the sun actually rose, cozy in scarves and shawls with steaming coffee and yerba mate. found a high hill outside of town and sat in the cold dewy dawn, at first talking and laughing and noting every detail of the morn like airplane streaks in the sky (yuck, but oddly pretty) and the sounds of birds and donkeys, dogs, chickens, geese (lovely). and then we were all completely silent as the sun finally came up over the ridge to the east.

it is crazy and powerful to gaze at the sun. i know some say it is dangerous, but i tend to believe that most things in moderation are alright or even good if you pay attention to your body. i was extremely comfortable, energized and invigorated with my eyes on that glorious orb as it rose. i felt connected to the the universe, which sounds cheesy but is actually a wonderful thing to feel...to become suddenly and fully aware of the slow steady turning of the earth, to become achingly aware of our source of life, and the system built around that, and the other solar systems in the universe, and to become intricately intuned to the life, small and big, around you in the woods on a hill early in the morning. the sun started to warm our bones right away. and i felt the sweetest trust and exuberant joy in the fact that the sun is constantly there for us; i felt like the sun was god or goddess or goodness or whatever divinity we choose to believe in. it was a moving experience and i'm glad i was sitting next to kind blissful souls who felt it too.

then we went to jorden's father-in-law's property to hike and explore a little. it was still really early but the sky was light now and we could see wildflowers springing up, ferns growing in an old mining ravine, hawks swooping low, earth springy with marshy water, mushrooms and robins and poison oak and manzanita...all powered by the SUN.

jorden even found a newt. which is incidentally the cutest stubby little guy with smoothest skin.

it seemed that starting my day this way gave me an extra spark of liveliness and vigor.

plus, added bonus: had my first coconut popsicle of the year!

oh sunshine.

i am mad for it.

how about you?