Rising with the gods

"There's a sunset and a sunrise every day. You can choose to be there for it, you can choose to put yourself in the way of beauty." -Cheryl Strayed

This week I found myself back in Colorado with a little bit of free time to fill (if you can call waking up at 5am "free" time.) During my research of amazing hikes and views across America, I caught wind of a morning walk before sunrise at the Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs. 

Every time I head to Colorado Springs, I at least try to drive through the area because those rock formations are just that beautiful. I could only imagine what the red rocks looked like in the early morning sunlight. 

As much as I love sleeping (read: a lot) I decided that I would get up super early the morning before my event and watch the sunrise in the midst of all those beautiful formations. 

I don't know if I've ever been so blown away by the views. A 5am alarm was more than worth it.

I'm glad I got up about an hour and a half before sunrise because I managed to get myself lost and the GPS lady is really mean in the morning (I think at one point, while driving around in my car, I yelled, "why are you so angry?" Yes. At my phone). Clearly, our Lady of Navigation is not a morning person.

Once I finally found the park, it was still pitch black and of course my over active imagination took over. I got out of my car, immediately ran back into it and then sat on the roof (serial killers, snakes and bears couldn't possibly find me up there right?) I at least had time to figure out which direction sunrise would be in, using the compass on my phone for the first time....Girl Scouts step aside. 

The sounds of nature when the rest of the world is asleep, is pretty impressive and reminded me of my time in the jungle. I could hear all sorts of bugs and insects around me and the stars were so bright. The park has a ton of rabbits which really freaked me out. Contrary to popular belief, rabbits hopping around in the dark are anything but cute. When you don't know they're your furry friends, and instead imagine them to be any sort of fanged creature, you too would jump at every slight sound. 

At least they got my heart pumping. 

Once 6:30am hit, the sun started to peak from the horizon. Within a few minutes, the sky started to change with all sorts of colors and shadows. I don't think I've ever seen anything like it. It was one of the most humbling experiences. To put yourself in the middle of creation, to realize how small you really are, and to see so much beauty surrounding you regardless of your struggles or complaints, can be such a blessing. 

It's like Cheryl Strayed said, we can choose to find and experience the pretty in this world, and if we're willing to give up a little (like precious sleep), we may be rewarded in a spectacular way. 

After watching the sunrise and the colors start to fade, I walked around part of the park for about an hour. The light on the rocks was just as stunning as the sky. It was burnt red in some areas, orange in others. At this point, the park started to fill up with other visitors. I wanted to go to each of them with my pictures and say, "look what you could have seen if you'd just gotten here half an hour ago!", but instead I was thankful for the moments I got alone amongst those gods and the quiet mediation I was able to do before heading into a hectic day. 

The universe gave me a gift that day, I hope to remind myself of that often. 

Colorado for the win....again.