I own a malamute. He is a beautiful dog with a warrior's soul and a childlike heart. Every morning, at the crack of dawn, he insists that we go outside to meet the light. If I don't comply fast enough, he will begin to sneeze on me until I leap out of bed. There is no deterring him.

I grab my cup of coffee and a jacket or coat, grumbling under my breath the whole time. I continue my mutterings, snuggled on my glider, with a warm mug in my cold hands - until I look up. Then, in the stillness of the dawn, I see a riot of yellows, golds, oranges, reds and greens set against a backdrop of pink and lavender. I smell the musty, loamy aroma of trampled leaves. I feel the steam from my coffee mix with my breath and am thankful for life.

In the winter, there is a canopy of white right outside my door. A new day is sparkling clean and almost painfully crystal clear. In the spring and summer, a bevy of quail, robins and starlings greet the dawn with my buddy and I.

I love my Myka with his warrior soul and childlike heart. He is an old soldier now. I know that when it is his time to move on, I will miss him terribly but will always keep in my heart the wonderful gift he has given me, the beauty of the dawn.

Lately, have you seen the beauty of the dawn?


Constance Weygandt is an author, speaker and balance mentor. For more information or to receive her free recipe newsletter, visit her at http://www.balancedwellnessonline.com