A New Day

I was inspired to create the video below after reading a story in Richard Rohr's book, What the Mystics Know. He wrote of an old Indian lady whose mother had raised her siblings and her to sit on their porch that faced east every morning and quietly watch the sunrise. As the sun came up, her mother would tell her children to "welcome it to the world. And tell it, as it goes over the earth, it should drop its blessing on all people."

This story reminds me of the spiritual times I have photographed sunrises. I'd stand quietly in the now with my camera on a tripod, all my senses alive, waiting to capture the magic of a new day. As the beauty unfolded, it overwhelmed me with such awe I sometimes forgot to breathe. These moments have always humbled me, filled my heart with gratitude, and brought me closer to God.

I asked myself, "What if I gathered up all my best sunrise photographs and combined them with music? Could others experience the wondrous awe and peace I felt when I took the photographs? Maybe. It's worth a try."

After I set the project in motion, things just fell together with beautiful synchronicities. I found the perfect song by my friends from the group, Ananda, called "Daybreak." Then I remembered I owned incredible video footage of sunrises that my company, TriLab Productions, acquired years ago.. Once I finished editing the visuals with the soundtrack, I felt the video needed words to give it the spiritual impact I imagined. The project would have to set as I went through a few personal, emotionally cloudy days.

Yesterday morning, I woke up early, ready to start a new day fresh with hope and optimism. Instead of reaching for my regular spiritual devotionals, I picked up the book, Illuminata by Marianne Williamson. I was looking for morning prayer. That's when I found A New Day. It was just the prayer I needed at that moment, and the title was no coincidence. Here were the words for my video.