Cold mornings

There is a specific quality of light in winter mornings at 7am. The sun is just visible but producing almost no warmth. Everything looks sharp and a little blue.

I’ve noticed I do my best thinking in this light. Something about the cold and the early hour creates a kind of clarity that is unavailable at noon.

The philosopher Eugene Gendlin wrote about “felt sense” — a bodily awareness that precedes articulation. I think certain times of day create conditions where felt sense is more accessible. Before the day’s noise accumulates. Before you’ve started performing yourself to the world.

This is why I write in the morning. Not because I am more disciplined then, but because the morning is quieter and I am closer to myself.