Sharing a quick moment of unexpected beauty with you fellow Steemians - sometimes timing in life is almost as good as it is in films. This morning I had a sunrise experience like that.

The elements

1. My gym is in a high-rise building with lifts on the outside. Half of the lifts give a panoramic view to the north and east of Johannesburg all the way to the gym, while the other half are in enclosed shafts.

2. My drive to the gym (it's quite far from where we live now) can take anywhere from 20 to 30 minutes depending on traffic and traffic lights.

3. It's creeping towards Spring in South Africa so the sun is starting to rise earlier each day. Nice to drive to the gym in the light of dawn rather than pitch darkness!

4. I've been going to this gym for years and have enjoyed watching the sun rise over different parts of the east of Johannesburg from the running track, or have been treated to it hanging low in the sky having already heaved itself over the horizon.

The perfect sunrise

This morning, my drive in was fast. As I got in the lift (one with an outside view all the way to the gym), my gaze went straight to the horizon, and I was disappointed - no sunrise yet. Ah well, I was a bit early and I'd probably miss the moment because the east side of Joburg isn't visible from where I do my routine these days.

But wait!

As the lift climbed to the gym floor, the sun peeked over the horizon and rose as the lift rose, getting to about 20% "above ground" by the time the lift got to its destination. It felt like I was able to see the sun because the lift was rising, not because the sun itself was rising.

This image from Pixabay gives an impression of what it looked like by the time I had to get out of the lift (but without the river because Joburg is the world's biggest city built on no major waterway, and Joburg an an August morning is a lot greyer than that).

A good reason to feel happy to be alive

The ride must have lasted all of ten seconds, but they were ten perfect seconds. It never occurred to me to take a picture; I was in full "ahhhhhhh" mode. It was one of those delicate little life moments that film directors somehow capture (think of that plastic bag floating on the wind in the film "American Beauty" - check out #12 in this list if you haven't seen the film, and if you have, chances are you also remember that mesmerising scene), and that only seem to happen when nobody is around to share the magic, so I thought I'd share the wonder and gratitude with you fellow Steemians in words, if not an image.

Another reason to be grateful

And now a bonus - @cheeto.blue has just shared the awesome signatures below with me. Thank you, @teamsouthafrica! Wishing you all a fantastic day and sunrise moments of your own.

Team South Africa banner designed by @bearone

Team South Africa banner designed by @bearone