Starting Your Day The Right Way
Wake up. Now slow down.
That is what I must tell myself every morning. When the alarm goes off, when I hear my baby crying for me, or when I have somehow been graced with a quiet morning to wake up naturally.
It seems that in my dreams my mind runs wild, and should I let it continue, it will gallop through my consciousness upon awakening, with everything under the sun needing to be addressed. I used to agonize over this, convinced something was wrong with me, why couldn’t I wake up in peace?
Why was it that the morning time was when I was the most vulnerable to my thoughts?
Once I decided that I did not need to know why, I just needed to make it work, things got better. I started to notice the things that ignited the flame of thought upon waking. Entering a room where there were things I knew I had to do that day. Seeing people first thing that were going about their own busy days. Trying to accomplish really anything right away.
So what was it that I really needed?
A sense of time. A space for creativity.
If I could wake up, knowing that the only thing I must do in the next hour is make myself a tea and pick up a guitar, or a journal, or a camera, I was already doing better than most mornings. If I could avoid busying myself, I might just escape the endless fountain of thinking. If I could start my day with something that helps me to be here, I would feel that I have done all I really needed to do, and anything else from then on was gravy.
It can seem complicated, though it is simple. It is not a specific routine, but the act of intentionally putting my spirit first that changes the game. It is the acknowledgment of the softer side of me that allows for a better day. Seeing myself as an emotive, feeling being that must express in order to be at peace.
There is often resistance to this. My thinking mind can find every reason in the world not to take this time in the morning. Especially now that I have a child, she is all too happy to require all of my attention immediately upon waking.
Even still, I have an opportunity here to shape the morning. I can relinquish all control saying that I must give my child all of my attention and productivity. I can enter the kitchen and exclaim that it is a mess and must be cleaned right away. I can easily be convinced that anything is more important than a slow, thoughtful awakening. And yet, from experience, I know what is needed. Even if I decide to go on social media, or organize the pantry, some part of me always knows what is the most important.
I know because whenever I heed that subtle need, I enter the day with more grace, patience and hope than I otherwise would. If I make space for myself, things always go better. I frequently have to fight for that space, around people that do not start the day the same way. I frequently have to ask for help with my child so that I can create that space.
While creativity and slowing down is not reserved for the morning time, I believe it is the most crucial opportunity to give ourselves a better chance at a good day. Regardless of how you spend it, let your mornings be a time for the part of you that gets swallowed by the day. Let it be a time for connecting, easing in, and see where it takes you.
