Deeper things - morning magic

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Another sign that I am returning to my old self...I am again waking up every day quite early (around 5-5:30AM). I've heard that as people age, they require less sleep...well, for me, I must have begun that kind of aging around 21. I am, simply put, a morning person, and I have been for over 30 years. As an undergraduate I was able to sleep the morning away, generally after partying ridiculously late the night before. It was not unusual to grapple with the decision "breakfast or lunch?" as my roommate and I would regain consciousness after a night of insanity sometime around noon. After college, I lost the knack of sleeping late (or as they say in Nebraska..."sleeping in.") I have previously written about the roots of my insomnia around age 9 (an entry made in August 2009..."morning walk of agitation.") Here's the link should you care to empathize:

http://sblumsblog.blogspot.com/2009/08/checking-in-morning-walk-of-agitation.html

Add to that my father's distaste for my sleeping late as an adolescent...I would spend weekends and summers living with him, the times most kids get to sleep late...his bedroom door was across the hall from mine... generally whatever time he got up, he decided was time for me to get up...he would pound on my door like King Kong himself was standing outside wanting in. To sleep late was to be a "lazy bum". If my brain ever did have the notion that it was permissible to sleep late, my father took care of that!

And while I did not want to be "a lazy bum," I also did not want to risk not getting "enough" sleep...Even though waking early has been with me for decades, it has often been accompanied by worries... "will I be tired all day"..."will I not perform as well because I am not rested"...etc. What silly things to be hard on oneself for... guilt about sleeping late, and worry about waking early. How neurotic!

ENOUGH of that nonsense...

Waking early is a gift... There is magic in the morning that you late sleepers no nothing about. It really is wonderful to greet the sunrise by being out walking, and it is wonderful to wake up with the stillness and quiet that accompanies early morning. (No one's pounding on my door anymore). Having a leisurely cup of coffee with breakfast and the morning paper (or better yet, a quiet time for devotions) AND time to exercise before work is wonderful. Getting outside and beating the heat of the day in the summer is luxurious.

Here is a poem I think I have quoted previously...I love the idea of starting the day intentionally with gratitude, kindness and happiness in one's heart... How I start the day is a good barometer for where I am in life... God, if I am to wake up before dawn, let me wake up with a prayer of gratitude on my lips and joy in my heart.

I remember reading somewhere of some guy who would wake up and yell "I'M BACK" to the world first thing upon opening his eyes. I haven't tried that yet, and I am sure Kathy would be less than delighted with her day starting that way...(but, hey, maybe once in awhile wouldn't be so bad...what do you think, Dad?)

Why I Wake Early

Hello, sun in my face.
Hello, you who made the morning
and spread it over the fields
and into the faces of the tulips
and the nodding morning glories,
and into the windows of, even, the
miserable and the crotchety –

best preacher that ever was,
dear star, that just happens
to be where you are in the universe
to keep us from ever-darkness,
to ease us with warm touching,
to hold us in the great hands of light –
good morning, good morning, good morning.

Watch, now, how I start the day
in happiness, in kindness.

~ Mary Oliver ~