Lucky (and Thankful)

Everything about today has appealed to the senses. I woke to a rosy pink sunset across the face of the Black Mountains. In the loft of the big house, the bed faces this ancient range and I left the curtains open last night in anticipation of the early morning light. The hue of the sunrise this morning is a color belonging distinctly to the Black Mountains. I have lived in, backpacked through, and photographed dozens of other mountain ranges in the United States and only seen this watercolor marmalade-pink color here.

It warms the peaks gently, and only on the surface. I imagine the mountains craning their necks towards the rays of light, arching their backs and swelling their creeks under its warmth. And the color, unlike other sunrises, lasts. It is possible to watch this sunrise for half an hour, to make a cup of tea and return to the window for gazing, or even, to make love while the colors unfold and maybe, just maybe, they will be waiting there for you when you’re finished.

I closed the day with a hot soak in the tub. After six months of life without hot water or a bathroom, this simple act felt like sheer gluttony. Carefully pouring handmade bath crystals from Jenn into the steamy water, I then lowered myself in to bask in the lavendar-mint vapor. Norah Jones was on repeat play through my iPod, her simply sexiness as clear as water. All of this, and a glass of Australian shiraz in my hand, made for a very relaxing evening.

This is what it takes in order to remain creative. In The Artists’s Way course I learned experientially about the correlation between self-care and creative power. The two are linked together as if in a chain. One cannot be nurtured without the other. Equally, when one is ignored, the other suffers.

Tomorrow is Sunday but there is work to be done. I have three lessons to plan for my students, a Buddhist mind-training class to prepare for, and instruments to practice. Additionally, there will be writing tasks (nor ordinarily occurring on Sundays) to make up for my sluggishness earlier this week.

But my well is full enough to draw from again, and when all is said and done, I have a lot to be thankful for.

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