Finding Inspiration - Morning

During the last week as I've been writing and sewing & watching Jack build Lego creations....I was struck by the concept of inspiration.  How an idea forms and what drives someone to achieve big things. I know that for me I find certain people, colors, music, and artwork inspiring. Mostly things that invoke happiness- simple things really - the color yellow, Dolly Parton, strawberry shortcake, lovely fabric, Jack's stick figure drawings. 


But on another level, I really began to question what inspires me, deep down. Where can I find my spark?  It occurred to me that throughout my entire life, the very same thing has invigorated me over time and place - morning. 

photo taken by me on my mom's farm on a chilly October morning nearly 10 years ago

I have always woken up early. But above that, I've always wanted to wake up early. It was a trait that my friends didn't understand, especially on sleepovers when I would nudge them at 5am and ask to borrow a book. And it was something I'm sure my mother at one point thought peculiar. Why would a fifteen year-old wake before dawn and head out on old country roads for stretches of miles at a time?  My co-workers thought me insane for getting up at 4 to work out at the gym and make it to my classroom by 6 - but I thrived on it. 


Before injuring my knee, I enjoyed tying my laces & heading out to run. And of course, I mostly loved running in the mornings. One day in Boston, I ran so early the bustling city was still quiet, almost eerily so, and I just kept going faster and faster.... I remember thinking to myself "Here I am, running towards today!"  

There is something about the morning- the time when night has ended but light has not fully arrived when there is a stillness yet to be broken. For me, this time of day holds a certain promise & hope.  There are moments when I cling to the very idea of morning, the idea that we can all start over.  This is where I find my spark. 

so, tell me- where do you find your inspiration?