Epiphany at Dawn
I tired of listening to both parties blame each other for COVID, the economy, riots, racism, and icebergs falling off of Greenland, so I changed channels. I caught a quick break with the local weather forecast but that was over before I knew it. I switched over to sports. That didn’t help, so I shut the darn thing off and stepped outside.
The morning was perfect. The air was cool, the wind was down, and I could see across the valley and several ridges into the distance. The sunrise lit the east. Even the high clouds in the west were tinged with pink and orange. The birds were chirping at the feeders and the deer were grazing in the yard. Our two geriatric outdoor cats greeted me and went back to watching the morning go by.
I know I should keep up with what’s going on in the world but I’m going to find a different way to start my day. The world will go on with or without my help, and getting angry and arguing with talking heads on TV is even sillier than wasting my time watching them argue.
If I learned anything from watching the news it was how nice it is to step outside and enjoy the morning. I think I’ll skip the irritation next time and go straight to greeting the cats and the sun. I’ll keep up with current events, but it will be on my own time in my own way.
I’m not sure what I’ll do about the presidential debate this evening. I’ve always valued being an informed citizen but I’ve seen both these guys operate for years by now. I don’t think I’ll learn anything new.
Those two old cats that greet me in the morning like to sit on the driveway in the evening and watch the sunset. I’ve wanted to try a photo of the lights coming on across the valley as the sun is going down anyway, so I may just join the cats on the driveway.
(An earlier version of this post appeared as The View From Dry Creek Hill in The Bandera Prophet.)
What a lovely way to begin my morning. Your photos are exquisite: especially that second one. As for the news and etc., I decided some time ago to forgo most of it. I have my ways of keeping up, but none of it involves television or radio (or social media news feeds, for that matter). In truth, much of today’s ‘news’ reporting resembles my mother’s soap operas in one important respect: you can skip two weeks’ worth of episodes, and when you tune back in, you’re still at the same place.
I did decide to watch the debate for myself, rather than depending on others’ interpretations of what went on. After ten minutes, it became clear there wasn’t going to be anything new, so I tuned out.
I haven’t quite broken my news watching habit yet, but I’m getting close. I agree that it resembles soap operas these days, with a little “we know better than you” mixed in. I gave the debate a try after I came in from visiting the cats and trying those photos I mentioned in the post – I put up with the shouting match about the same length of time as you did. I had a good book to read, so off I went.
Thanks for the comments on the photos. I can’t take credit for the scene, though. All I had to do was point and shoot.
Not quite. First, you had to notice.