Short Morning Reflection 07 April 2020 06:24 a.m.

I can't sleep. So I get up, even though its 5.30.

It's a relief to be downstairs, cup of tea on the side, phone off, battered paperback in hand - carried like a comfort blanket, without much intent to read. Its calming presence there to distract a busy mind - a side effect of confinement and too much news.

Opening the curtains the silence is held in a gentle half light, an inbetween space.

Light frost coats places in shadows that promising, warming light reaches out to touch.

Birds, already busy, sing the morning in. Tiny, rounded bodies line the fence, fascinating in their fragile energy.

There is a strong sense of waiting for something to happen. A national holding of breath as each day brings stories, figures, almost too difficult to absorb. Yet outside my window Tuesday unfolds, with scant regard for our concerns and in that there is relief - our little lives move on.

Life moves on.

So before the inevitable news update, digesting of facts and stirring of myself for a second cup of tea, I simply sit in in this empty pause, strengthened, as the day begins.

Nic Gray