Nine times out of 10, when I go for a walk, I take a camera and a notebook. I like to capture what I see and sometimes I get big fat ideas, that I need to write down.

Today, I left both behind.

There is a thing called the Magnificent Obsession in life. It’s the practice of doing something nice for others and not telling anyone about it. There is another thing called social media, where if there is no photo, it didn’t happen.

Now, I didn’t do anything magnificent this morning, so I can tell the world. And I didn’t take a photo of the day beginning, but I can say, the sun did rise, and it was as grand as ever.

When I woke up and looked out the window this morning, I didn’t see many clouds, so it was easy to leave the camera behind. I thought I’d make a fast morning walk just to get the blood running.

I started walking the route I usually take in the morning, but when I normally turn left, I made a right turn and went to the beach.

I haven’t been to the beach near our house, for a long time. The biggest reason is the climb back home. If you remember the hill back to our Tunstall Bay house, well, double that. Not necessarily in length, but in steepness. It is an uphill slog! One reason we have a nice view is because of that slog.

Anyway, I found myself at the beach just in time to see the sun rise.

Please raise your hands, I said to myself. I practiced three lines of Guanqifa. During the part where you have a short meditation, I took in the beginning of the day.

Not to get all gooey or anything, but this morning, I was witness to one of the best sunrises I’ve seen in a long time. You’ll just have to take my word for it.

I’m sure there are a zillion photos around the world of today’s sunrise. I don’t have one and I don’t mind. What I had was something wonderful to think about on the slog up the hill back home.