A week of sunrises in London | #54
Watching the sunrise everyday of the week was a magical experience
Simple act of watching the sunset
Out in Costa Rica at the beginning of 2024, I learnt to appreciate the simple act of observing the sunset each day. I was on a retreat with my writing collective and it was part of the official scheduling that said:
5pm: Observe sunset on Playa Avellanas
Sometimes I’d get there early to swim with others in the ocean, other times I’d arrive just as the the sun began to ascend to the horizon and below. It was such a simple daily act and yet it felt precious and sacred. There in front of my eyes, the sun was disappearing to mark the end of another day.
A desire to bring this into my daily life
I left Costa Rica yearning to have a simple daily ritual like this in my life. The only thing was that I lived in cloudy, rainy and built up London. Arriving back in the heart of winter, it didn’t feel like something I’d be able to do easily.
Little did I know that it could happen!
A year later around the same time I came back from the retreat, I found myself witnessing the sunrise every single morning. And all this took place in London!
A few things had fallen into place to make this possible and now I realise it is way easier than I ever could have thought.
Early practice of ashtanga
Recently, I began practicing ashtanga, a morning self-led yoga practice that requires dedication, discipline and willingness to wake up around 6 am for the morning practice. When I first started this practice, I absolutely loved how I’d witness the day go from dark to light as I was practicing.
I then noticed that the sun would be rising as I crossed the Millenium Bridge in central London to get to the studio. One morning as we were walking to the studio, Alex and I stopped to watch the sunrise.
I saw that the week was looking clear and sunny so I knew that I’d get a few more go’s at this if I wanted. I did that everyday that week.
An unconventional sunrise picnic
On Tuesday morning, Alex and I ended up on that bridge with our camping chairs in an impromptu picnic to observe the sunrise. It was luscious and I felt so much joy that I could find an hour at the start of my day to do something people do on holidays.
It set me up to feel vibrant and grateful for the rest of the day.
Sunrise everyday
For the rest of the week, I got myself to that bridge around the same time to watch the sunrise. It felt like such a treat that I’d find this time, that I’d finally make the yearning I have to make sunrise a daily ritual in my life even in a city with London’s characteristics.
Tuning into the rhythm of nature
It feels like the first turning of season - from winter into spring, that I am truly observing the changes. For example, the sun is rising approximately two minutes earlier each day, which is overall a wonderful thing as that means the warmer weather is here. Equally, it means observing the sunrise is getting harder and harder for me without waking up at an even crazier hour. I decided to look up when the sunrises each day and saw that it will go as early as 4.42 am before rising later again:
I am feeling more in tune with nature, it feels gentle and beautiful. I cannot wait to keep learning about and observing more of nature in action.
Love and light - pun intended
Caryn