Finale! At last I am on my thirtieth day. Wahoo!

So how does it feel to be here? I will answer this question lastly. Let me relate again, how I started. I have read Caroline’s challenge from my reader feed. It was just random browsing. Upon reading all about it, I said to myself, oh, this is just easy because the sun always shine in our country summer or not. With the health part, I have been doing yoga, though I consider myself still a beginner. At least I am doing something that is good for my health. I was just hesitant because Caroline was already on her fourth day. However, she emphasized that the period covered would be from July 14 to September 1. That makes more or less forty-five days to do. Since the required number of days is only 30, there would be lot of allowances for unexpected events whereby one could not perform the challenge in a day. Then and there, I was on it.

Later did I realize, the sunrise is not visible from my home. Moreover, I need to get up earlier than my wake up time if I were to catch the sunrise. I then slowly begin to doubt myself: could I really do this? I already have started. Should I stop? If I stop a heavier toll is on me. I have tried doing certain projects in the past without finishing most of them. This time I must never ever stop. What if I just do this one day at a time without overthinking about it? I did moved on, anyway the rules of the challenge are wide open. Besides, it only takes a five minute walk from my house to get a view of the sunrise.

My first two days in the challenge I used old photos. I was already days behind so  I tried to catch up. The third day was my first experienced of having a view of the sunrise. It was a bit cloudy but the clouds gave more dramatic effect on the sunrise. I then slowly noticed the freshness of the air and the bits and pieces of nature around. Caroline started to comment. That gave me much motivation to go on. I was inspired by her photos too.

Day four was so cloudy. Day five was still cloudy but I loved that photo so much. The clouds looked like an eruption of a volcano with the sun’s rays scattered behind. Day six is my most loved of all. I had been in another island. From there the sun rose from the sea. With the sea giving a reflection of the sunrise, it was all perfect for me. Day seven is my second most loved. The sunbeams passed through the mango trees that grow at our neighbor’s yard. The effect was made complete by the morning fog.

On day eight it rained because there was a typhoon looming at the other part of the country. I just used an old photo. On day nine I started to notice grasses and butterflies. That was the first time I included their photos in my post. On day ten it rained again. Good that the sun showed up at 7:00 A.M. I then took photos of the things where the sunlight fell.

On day eleven I was chasing butterflies. It was a cloudy morning and the sun did not show any trace. Later when it showed up I took photos of it peeking through the branches of trees. Day twelve was an interesting one. My youngest son accompanied me in my early morning walk. We walked for forty minutes then. On day thirteen I meditated with nature. I was too tired to take my morning walk because my son got sick the previous night and I had minimal sleep. It was a perfect moment for meditation for me because the weather was windy and the smell of the grasses was so refreshing. I just missed Caroline’s comment and wondered why she had not posted anything on her blog. However, I still went on with my goals.

On day fourteen it was me who got sick. I felt I had overworked myself and over-eaten foods that are not good for my body. Again I used an old photo. It rained on day fifteen. When the rain shower stopped and the sun finally showed up I took photos of it through thick leaves. I was surprised, the effect was awesome. On day sixteen my morning activity finally sank in. I slowly noticed that I began to fell in love with the sunrise. I even wondered why had I not started this activity early on when I was surrounded with nature. Despite that, I began to get worried why hadn’t Caroline commented on my posts. She had not even updated her blog. I then questioned myself if I should continue with the challenge. I just thanked myself for being resolute enough to go on.

On day seventeen my son was with me again. We climbed up a hill. I then felt in myself the good effects of walking. So I wrote the benefits of it in my post. On day eighteen I was so immersed in nature. I did not take a walk farther, but took notice of everything around me: from flowers, to butterflies, to spiderwebs. I started to appreciate these things. I felt I was seeing things with new eyes.

We were a team on day nineteen. My two kids and my mom joined with me. I included in my post the benefits of bonding with family. I was alone on day twenty. I shared the benefits of “me time” in my post. Day twenty-one was supposedly a good time for sunrise photo taking. However, I woke up a little later. The sun was so bright when I took a ten-minute brisk-walk. In my post I shared how I re-aligned my health goals. Day twenty-two was a rare one for me since I started this morning routine. I was surprised to see the moon still out in the sky. The previous night I took a photo of it. And in the morning it was still there! I was just amused.

Day twenty-three was a breakthrough. I and my youngest son almost reached the top of the hill. For the first time we walked for one hour. On day twenty-four the clouds covered the sun again and occasional rain showers fell. I again used old photos and shared the beautiful things I learned in this journey in my post. Day twenty-five was still a rainy one. I used an old photo and shared the eight benefits of sunlight on us. I was flattered Caroline reblogged my post. Yes, she was back a few days ago. She got sick that was why she was offline for a longer time. But she is catching on with the challenge.

On day twenty-six it rained very early. By 6:45 A.M. the rain stopped. I managed to take a photo of the sun’s light that fell on the branches of a huge tree outside of our yard. It was an amazing sight! On this day I shared in my post the eleven benefits of rising early. On my twenty-seventh day I was still awed by the sunrise. The sky was still reddish-orange and tiny clouds spotted the sky. That was a “wow’ moment again. It were the seven things to do to rise up early that I shared for today.

On day twenty-eight we took on a different route. My youngest son and my mom were with me again. This day I was inspired to share my thoughts on living life one day at a time. On day twenty-nine I took photos of flowers in our yard. My son got sick the previous night and so I had a sleepless night. I went outside to refresh myself and just inspired to take photos of everything beautiful where the sunlight fell. And I shared some meanings of the number twenty-nine.

Thirtieth day: finale!

Do you know that I have a very beautiful plan for this day? I plan to take a sunrise photo at the beach with me doing yoga in front of the sun. However, my son got sick. There was no way I could do this since I plan to end this challenge on the last day of the specified period. I proceeded to option 2: walk up the hill and catch sunrise there.

The next day I executed my plan. I woke up so early, past 3:00 A.M. I was just excited. Well, two of my loved ones woke up too and asked to join me – my mom and my youngest son. It was still dark when we started. We were off at 5:06. Minutes later a reddish sky greeted us. Wow! I thought to myself:  a promising sunrise awaits us.

But when we started climbing up the hill, I was slowly disheartened. Clouds started to cover the sky. Just a pale light from the sunrise was visible. I then decided that we must see where the sunrise was more visible. It means we have to follow a driveway to a friend’s house that curved a little around the hill. We did just that. When we reached at the end of the way, Oh, we were greeted by an open field with a cow grazing, a sunrise over the mountain with thick clouds on top of it, wildflowers sprawling and a view of the sea. It was such a beautiful sight for me. All the photos on this post were taken on this day. Please say with me: Amazing! Little things just make me happy. My spirit just danced. The view was enough an award for me for having arrived this far and able to complete the challenge. Cheers!

By the way, we walked today for a total of one hour and twenty-seven minutes. The first time we did. We climb down the hill excited and happy. And I thanked the clouds for not hiding the sunrise from us completely.

So how was I after the thirty days? I changed a bit. I find myself more joyful, more beautiful inside, more loving, more aware of my surroundings, much healthier, less prone to stress and a certified amateur photographer as well. Moreover, I felt my energy to be slowly coming back.

In 2014, I got sick and soon believed I wouldn’t be healthier and energetic again. I thought my youthful years had been over. I am so thankful I am slowly able to tinker around my garden again. I am so grateful I participated in this challenge. And more grateful to Caroline for coming up a challenge like this.

I may have completed the 30 days challenge, but deep within my heart says my journey to sunrises is not yet over. In fact, it had just begun. It would never be because from here I birthed my morning magic routine.

As for the health challenge, morning walks has been and would be a part of that magic routine, my yoga practice included.

If you love nature and have access to nature, this challenge would work great for you too. May you be the next participant.

You may access Caroline’s 30 days sunrise photo and health challenge here. You may also access each of my post about this challenge in this page.

Thank you for reading this far. Have a great day!

~Nezel