It’s Thursday — day #5 of the “7 ways to be more kind to your mind” exercise/self-reflections from @laurajaneillustrations:

“Take a moment to just stop. Stop and breathe. Breathe in, pause, breathe out. In the silence, listen closely to what your body is telling you – what do you need more of today?

I took this photo the other morning after watching the sunrise evolve from a few pink streaks in the dark into this spectacle of color. Every now and then, you just can just tell that a sunrise is going to be special. It’s those mornings that I pump the brakes and just soak it in. I will sometimes adjust my morning routine and go about my business for a few minutes, then return to the door to watch the progression, taking photos with each visit. But this particular day, I decided to just be still. I took just one photo at the height of color. Similar to the prompt for today, my system was telling me I needed to pause and be fully present with gratitude.