January 8, 2017

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Good morning,
 
It’s currently 23 degrees and windy, with clouds moving in. Yesterday’s high was 33 degrees, with an overnight low of 21.
 
Hwy 441 between Gatlinburg and Cherokee is currently close due freezing rain/ ice.
 
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I woke. The wind had howled well into the night. Even now, it continued to blow. I thought of the grey mass I saw approaching from the southwest during yesterday’s evening run along the Boulevard Trail. Sore from the trail, the thought of missing sunrise appeared to be a good option. It would certainly be the most comfortable choice. I quickly shunned the thought, geared up, and began striding into the grey, toward the rising sun.
 
Clouds hurried below, a blank mass lay above, and a sliver of clarity rest in the center of it all. The scene was familiar. Seeing the sky’s layout reinforced my rationale to walk toward sunrise every day, regardless of the conditions. I smiled as the lifeless mass above transformed into a panoramic canvas of color. Smiling harder, I waved a heartfelt goodbye to the sun. As soon as he had arrived, the ball of fire disappeared into the clouds - toward higher aspirations. I too disappeared…
 
…toward my own elevated dreams.
 
Onward,
Seth

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"If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them." - Henry David Thoreau