Standing at the edge of the sea before the sun rises feels surreal. The world is still asleep. The water churns slowly. The breeze presses salt air against my skin as my feet sink slightly into the sand with every step.

Then the sun reaches over the horizon, almost like a giant eye emerging from the distance.

In that moment, it feels like I am not only seeing the sun, but the sun is seeing me back. Somehow, I feel like the only person alive on this earth.

Tears come to my eyes and something primal in me wants to cheer.

Later, I learned that many Indigenous communities have long held sunrise ceremonies, gathering at dawn to honor the life-giving presence of the sun and our connection to the earth.

When you really think about it, each sunrise is a miracle.

First, zoom out.

We are standing on a planet rotating around the sun, a star positioned at the precise distance needed to sustain life. Gravity holds us in orbit. The tilt of the earth keeps us from freezing or burning. Every sunrise marks a full planetary rotation, and this repeats every single day without fail. And yet, light travels ninety-three million miles across space and lands as warmth on our skin.

It is easy to call it ordinary. But it is anything but!

And this realization connects to something that has followed me for years.

Years ago, I looked up at the night sky and a phrase came to me: Lost and found in the stars. I have always felt at home under the night sky, often turning to it when life felt overwhelming. I felt lost in its vastness and somehow seen within it, as if I belonged to something greater.

For a long time, I did not understand how that phrase applied during the day.

Then I remembered something simple and staggering.

The sun is a star.

The same stars that once made me feel small and held are present in daylight. This star sustains life on earth and creates the conditions that allow us to exist at all.

So with this, I urge you to look at these images with a new light (pun slightly intended). Each image is part of that miracle.

With each piece, remember this: the sun will rise tomorrow, a star will return light to this planet, and you will be alive within it.

It is my hope that Dawn’s Choreography has reminded you of the miracle of life.

With love,
Elora Vale