Quiet Moments Column

Read last month’s Quiet Moments Column: Remembering Life IS Good!


	April 15, 2008 - River News Herald - QUIET MOMENTS COLUMN by Michael Pieretti IMAGE: Quiet Delta Dawn Delta Dawn - Discovering The Joys Of A Morning Person

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Are you a morning person or an evening person? Are you a person who is wide awake and on the go by the time the sun comes up each morning? I have some friends who are – most of them are farmers - which figures because they know Mother Nature never sleeps in and they will only get behind in their work if they do.

Or are you a person who is rather oblivious to sunrises – with head still firmly at rest on your pillow if at all possible come sunrise, yet is at full speed ahead come sunset each evening? That’s been me most of my life – even when I was a farmer (many, many years ago) and would have given anything if I could have talked Mother Nature into starting about 10 AM every morning instead of 6 AM.

If you are a morning person, then you probably already know everything I am going to share in this month’s Quiet Moments column. If you are an evening person like my body clock seems to want me to be, then hopefully you will at least consider getting up and out to enjoy a Delta sunrise one of these mornings.

As a person who finds so much peace and inspiration from the Delta’s scenic beauty, deep down inside I’ve been telling myself I am missing many great ‘quiet moments’ opportunities by being a sunset guy and not a sunrise guy. As a person who loves to capture and share the Delta’s quiet beauty though my photography, I’ve felt guilty having a portfolio heavy with sunsets and with very few sunrises.

Most of the sunrises I’ve enjoyed this past year have been in the duck blind, hunting with my good friend Ralph. This year, they were spectacular. I wrote about one of these sunrises in my December column, and how I found myself so mesmerized by its beauty.

With as many great Delta sunsets as I have enjoyed, I was quite surprised to feel such a different type of energy and sense of awe in that sunrise, so much so that the experience stayed with me long after my hunt with Ralph. As 2007 came to a close and I began thinking about positive changes I would like to see from myself in 2008, I heard the little voice saying, “Get up early more often and enjoy more of the great Delta sunrise moments you’re missing by sleeping in!”

The photographer guy in me wasn’t surprised to hear that, and thought this would be a good new growth opportunity. But the night guy in me said, “WHOA! I like this sleeping in thing we’ve been doing for all these years… NO WAY!”

I knew I was facing a stand-off. There were wonderful reasons to start getting up early to enjoy sunrises, and only my own stubborn desire to stay in my “comfort zone” was resisting. But that resistance was mighty powerful. I know from experience that comfort zones most often win out over willpower.

So I did what so many quiet moments of the Delta’s beauty have helped me come to know and trust so much in my life – prayed! I knew that on my own, my comfort zone would most likely continue to stay in charge of my sleeping in habit – no matter how well based my intellectual reasons for change. In my prayers, I would ask that if more sunrises were indeed a growth opportunity for my journey here in the Delta and for wherever my life is headed, then please provide the inspiration needed to start readjusting my body clock to a much earlier wake up schedule.

Guess what has happened. Gradually, since the first of the year, I find myself naturally waking up as early as 4 am, most often around 5:30 am, and hardly every sleeping past 6:30 AM – even on the weekends! I’m getting to the point where I am starting to take my early morning wake ups for granted, like it’s no big deal. Yet when I look back at how difficult it has been for me to get up early most of my life, it is a pretty big deal – one that is paying dividends on many levels.

One of the most enjoyable dividends for me has been taking in more Delta sunrises and enjoying these quite moments as an inspirational part of my new day and a time to review and be thankful for all the blessings in my life.

Starting the day with a perspective of reverence and the spirit of inspiration really helps – whether you are heading for work in, going on to enjoy a day of fun and recreation, or even getting up at 5:30 AM to write a monthly column for your local newspaper! The day just seems to work better after having that morning shot of a Delta sunrise’s quiet moment.

Many of us rely on one form of caffeine or another to get our day started with some sense of energy and inspiration. I’m not suggesting that we forgo that. What I am suggesting is that you add a little of your own “Delta Dawn” sunrise moments into your morning cup and let its natural beauty infuse your day with spirit and inspiration!

Enjoy the Delta’s natural beauty and care for it wisely! I look forward to visiting with you again next month.

Sincerely, Michael Pieretti

PS - You can see this month’s Quiet Moment’s image in color on my web site – which provides a better visual perspective for those of us who usually are still asleep at sunrise. I chose a rather “ordinary” sunrise image this month because even a rather ordinary looking sunrise can bring with it a wonderful opportunity for reflection, perspective and inspiration to start your new day.

You can also read my Quiet Moments column on my web site. Your feedback is always welcomed and appreciated. Have a GREAT week!

www.mikepieretti.com


	March 19, 2008 - QUIET MOMENTS COLUMN IMAGE: *Soft Delta Winter Sunset*

Remembering Life IS Good!

Monday, March 10^th. It's 4:30 PM in the afternoon and I am still trying to wake up. I had no idea adjusting to Daylight Savings time would turn out to be this challenging. Today's cube city workload hasn't helped the wake up process - a whole lot more "To Do's" on my list that there's time for in this day, that's for sure. And even though I like my job and the people I work with- that's not enough to get me past the "I'm still not awake" state I am feeling.

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And then there's this other list of To Do's running though my head that I know I am getting behind one - the one to get done when I am not at work and not taking care of direct home family time needs.Do the taxes, fertilize my mother's lawn, get my truck tuned up, file a year's worth of receipts still sitting in that red shoe box on my desk, get the print framed I promised to donate, get the fence built for the dog - something I've been promising Mollie I would get done for three weeks now, write my Quiet Moments column for the River News Herald, due later this week. etc., etc., etc..

I could go on and on, but I'm thinking by now you get the idea. I'm guessing you could share similar lists of your own if we could compare notes right now.

The point is that the day was 2/3^rds over and I was feeling like I hadn't woke up yet and would have given anything to just lay down and take a nap!. That creative energy I like to tap into during the day was no where to be found. I wasn't depressed or having anxiety, I was simply listless, lacking energy, stamina and certainly without drive!

I had struggled to get through my communication work all day, but figured I could last one more hour before going by sheer willpower if nothing else. At 5:32 I was on my way out the door at work. Leaving "on time" is seldom something I do, but today I knew there was nothing more I could accomplish by staying any later. Even getting in my truck to drive back home to the Delta seemed like like it would take more energy than I has do draw on.

Twenty minutes later:

I am getting off of I-80 and approaching the Jefferson Blvd. turnoff. I know that I will soon be a transition point between what feels to me like "in the city" and what feels to me like, "ahhhh.. I'm back in the Delta.

I find my mind drifting back into what I call my "Delta zone" and begin to remember some of the many blessings I feel about connecting to its timeless beauty - many of which I've shared with you through past Quiet Moments columns. I asked myself, "What would I say if someone just described to me how they felt in exactly the way I know I feel right now, and then asked me what I would suggest to help them feel a little more awake and energized?"

My almost automatic response was "Give yourself a mental and phsyical break...stop and enjoy tonight’s sunset." As I continued to drive along Jefferson Blvd, just leaving West Sacramento about that time, I said to myself, "So, Pieretti. why not take your own advise. you could certainly use it about now.!"

I looked out the spotted windshield of my truck as I drove along at 60 mph, at would I would describe as a soft and not very spectacular, late afternoon Delta sky. After a minute or so I said to myself, "This really isn't doing much for me."

And then I said to myself, "Hold on. If you are really going to get into this moment you can't be multi tasking, even if its just driving along and thinking you can soak up the natural beauty around you through the windshield at the same time. Stop your truck, park on the side of the levee, get out, and then just give yourself permission to be in the moment and see what comes up."

So I listened to what I had just told myself and did just that. As you can see from this month's Quiet Moments photo, it wasn't a spectacular sunset in the works. but it was certainly a soft and refreshing sky, one that seemed to embrace me as an old friend once I got out of my truck and stretched and yawned a few times.

It felt like this soft sky was automatically absorbing my mental and physical tiredness and removing it from my body. The longer let myself get absorbed I the moment, the more I could feel a familiar and very welcomed sense of energy beginning to enter my body and my mind.

I was home. I was back in the Delta I love, being reminded by a power much greater than myself that life is good... we just need to remember how it looks.

I got back into my truck refreshed and renewed, and inspired to go home and write about this experience in this month's RNH Quiet Moments Column. I thought it was one worth sharing with you - and I hope it was now that you've read it!

Enjoy the Delta's natural beauty and care for it wisely! I look forward to visiting with you again next month.

ps: I will be publishing the past two years+ of my River News Herald Quiet Moments monthly columns here in this section of my web web site as I have the time during the next couple of months. It will be fun for me to look back on them, and I hope it will provide you with interesting and reflective content about how we can find rest, relaxation and renewal through the Delta’s natural beauty - something I have come to know on a deeper level as a pathway to the soul.

Your comments and feedback are always welcome! Contact me and I will look forward to responding.

THANKS!