Good Morning Harvest

This morning started out early for me. It's rare that I'm able to sleep in to a semi-decent hour, and all too common for me to wake up to the cold and dark of my house when no other humans would dare introduce themselves to the world. 


Most mornings I find myself downstairs and cooking up a quick breakfast and shoveling spoonfuls of coffee into the french press as the water boils before I'm even able to remember what day it is. I guess you could say I am a creature of habit. As much as I pray for the day I'll be able to sleep in past the rising of the sun, for now I can at least appreciate the morning hours I am able to spend in quiet. You see, I am an introvert through and through and these precious morning hours are often the only ones I can call my own. I practically crave them. 


Today is a day much like the others, except better. Coffee and breakfast have already been made and consumed, now all that's left to do is sit in the still of the morning rain as my newest most favorite candle of all burns just beside my bed. And today-rain. Ohh the rain. I love it from the bottom of my heart, where I store the love I have for only a few things in life...pumpkin pie and my mom being two of those things. 


I know there are tasks calling my name and it is only a matter of time before I tear myself back out of bed to tackle the day, but for now I will let the fluff of my bed and the sound of the rain keep me nestled in bed like the sock at the end of my covers. For now I will read and write and dream and hope and wonder. I will contemplate and question and debate. I will let the morning consume me as only mornings can do.


This morning, in the midst of my blog-stalking reading I came across this post that I couldn't help but share. I've read both books by the author and can't wait for the third one to come that she speaks of in the post, but it looks like I have a while to wait. In the post she talks about creativity and inspiration. 


"You know I believe that inspiration is something that we create, something that we’re responsible for. I don’t believe in waiting for it to show up. I believe that being an artist means you live a life of imagination and inspiration, instead of sitting down at your laptop expecting it to show up at just the moment you need it." -Shauna Niequiest 


She also talks about how there are seasons for planting and seasons for harvesting.


"And so this season is also inspiration season. I was taking to my friend Sarah last week, and she was describing this season in her life as a very productive one creatively—lots of paintings, a gallery show, creativity workshops. And then she described the season before it as a season without creating, one where she was gathering inspiration, getting ready to create. That makes sense to me.  

Right now it’s autumn, harvest season. But in my life, it’s planting season—a time to plant seeds and sow my imagination with images and themes and ideas, trusting that harvest will bring everything I need to write Bread & Wine." -Shauna Niequiest 

Like the author, I too, think I am in a season of planting. I don't always do the best job of creating opportunities for inspiration, but that is changing. My mind craves inspiration and creativity. I feel wasted if I let all of that fall away like broken glass. I feel useless. 

But, there is no harvest without planting, so right now I will plant. In fact, I think planting is happening whether or not I am the one doing it, so it's only a matter of time before the harvest will happen. It will happen and I can't wait for the day. In the meantime I will embrace today and try to remember to intentionally plant seeds as I go, hoping one day for a great harvest.