“It is the performance of this hour only, the dawning of the day, fresh and ever new. This is to say nothing against afternoons evenings or even midnight. Each has its portion of the spectacular. But dawn—dawn is a gift. Much is revealed about a person by his or her passion, or indifference, to this opening of the door of day. No one who loves dawn, and is abroad to see it, could be a stranger to me.“

This is a collection of essays by the late Mary Oliver. The middle of the book confused me a bit – they were essays on Emerson and Hawthorne – but the beginning and end of the collection were full of beautiful observations and thoughts, and contained the most heart-felt advice. One more quote:

“You too can be carved anew by the details of your devotions.”

Delicious.