There is no bargaining with the earth’s spinning on its axis. No matter the negotiation skills or power of persuasion we possess, the deal is always the same: each day has twenty four hours and the corresponding evenly spaced second-to-second ticking of every minute.
Still, not every day is created equal.
Some days are resplendent.
In a day, a birth, a wedding or a life-changing epiphany could occur.
Each event, born in a day, is a start of a journey — an adventure — filled with wide and narrow paths, mountains and valleys, lakes and deserts.
The morning that follows brings validation. Validation that checks reality. It did happen. In the morning, there is further proof that life has changed from here on out.
Some days are exquisite,
Some nights majestic.
But no amount of brilliance can cast a shadow
On the fresh perspective the morning brings.
Other days, not so much.
The dirty dishes, loads of laundry and stacks of snail mail require demand attention if ignored too long.
Each mundane task, underpinning our days, attempts to dull the shimmering corners of what could be our storybook existence.
The morning that follows offers respite. Respite from the ordinary hours that make the images of our days less glossy, more matte. Respite that embeds a touch of sheen to our snapshots, if only for a quick fraction.
Some days are long,
Some nights, even longer,
Yet neither can tire,
The vigor of the morning.
Some days we wish we could take back.
The end of a friendship. The renunciation of a dream. The death of possibility. The loss of a loved one.
Each, upon ceasing to be, shakes our familiar ground. Challenges our past, present and future. Clouds all that we know and believe.
The morning that follows offers healing. Or at least a faint resemblance of a beginning of one.
Some days may fill with rain,
Some nights may rumble with thunder,
Yet neither can wash away,
The luster of a dewy morning.
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- What is morning to you?
- Do some big things from the day before look a little different in the morning?
- Are you a morning or a night person?
I wish you many good mornings.
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Image by Wolfgang Staudt
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Each new morning means that the end hasn’t come yet, so I attempt to be grateful. Big things look a little smaller in the morning, and perhaps doable. Night is more my style, but it would mean nothing if there were no mornings to contrast them with. Night and day. Sleep and wake. Comfort and strife. These are the things that remind me that I’m still alive.
Hello,
I am a morning person, I wake up at 5am and love to spend 10 minutes just breathing deeply, visualising energy start to move around my body, thinking about what I’m grateful for, what my plans are for the day and reassuring myself it is going to be a great day – even it is one of those days doing mundane taks like laundry!
Yes, things that seem like huge problems the evening before can seem almost insignificant in the morning. Perhaps sleep gives clarity, perhaps the newness of the day reminds me I can find new solutions. This also gives me peace of mind when I am worrying about something, the solution will come in the morning!
Thanks for a great post,
Kate
I am completely a morning person. The opposite to my husband and daughter who could sleep a beautiful morning away, no problem. I love mornings. The earlier the better. They are quiet, fresh and they make everything feel possible and easier. There is a lot of construction in our neighbourhood these days (I’m talking dynamite blasting and incessant jack hammering) so before 7am when they are quiet, the world is as it should be. Thanks for the thoughtful post, Belinda.
Hi Belinda –
I really enjoyed this post – I’ve certainly had plenty of each type of day. For me, morning is the beginning of something new and exciting (I love the idea that every morning we are born anew). We start from where we are each day. I think that we can try to make every day resplendent regardless of the events – and that leads to lasting satisfaction and happiness. I hope that you have a wonderful day and send greetings from sunny London!
Phil
“Some days may fill with rain,
Some nights may rumble with thunder,
Yet neither can wash away,
The luster of a dewy morning.”
I love the way that is stated! This is a truly fantastic post that celebrates the power and beauty of morning. I love mornings, I feel they are sacred. It can be a time of re-birth new perspective.
Belinda, I absolutely adore this piece. I am both a morning and night person – which is troubling for my sleep pattern. While once I was enthusiastic about the mornings, being a full time mom who doesn’t get to see her child before leaving for work is starting to make me resent the morning where it’s the longest part of my day. I have thus moved my allegiance to the early evening, where I get to see my baby again.
Yet, I do appreciate the quiet mornings when there’s nothing but my coffee and the sound of chirping birds to keep me company. They are so rare. And perhaps that is why I relish them.
I have to say that one of the most beautiful mornings I have had recently was waking up the morning of the Boston Marathon in Cambridge and watching the sun creep over the Atlantic horizon – http://nickisnook.net/2010/04/20/a-teaser/
Nicki, one of those photos looks a lot like Pacific Hts. here in SF. Reminds me of my last stay in Boston years ago back when Rockport was a client of mine. It’s gorgeous there in the fall.
Beautiful words Belinda and wonderful writing here. I used to be a morning person, but now I am a mother and the day starts full blast at 5:30am I find I enjoy the evenings much more, knowing I have some time to reflect on the day, some quiet time and, now the nights are no longer dark so early, I go for a walk and think about the day just gone and the days ahead.
Hi Belinda,
Each word so soft and yet so powerful as I was reading the last few lines I thought of the oil spill. Somehow we will work it out or live with the consequences…the sun will shine and time goes on. I didn’t mean to get heavy but that’s where my mind went.
Dear Belinda,
Awesome thoughts on the dawning of a new day and its symbolic and real meaning for beginning anew. Or perhaps just a fresh perspective.
I’m a night person and late at night I feel the magic of life. Something stirs in me and I come fully alive. Dusk and twilight and beyond are my favorites.
Still, I know the beauty, tranquility, and sense of renewal that a morning brings. I used to sit with my dad on the back porch in Costa Rica, greeting the morning to sounds of monkeys on the back mountain and colorful birds coming to feed and greet us. It was magnificent and I shall always cherish these memories.
I love the thoughts and the way you bring them together with such beauty in your words.
Lauren
Thanks, Lauren, those sounds like wonderful memories.
Hi Belinda – Very beautifully said. You really inspire me with the promise of morning as a new beginning, a fresh start (even though I’m a night person). Something in me clicks on in the evening, and the sight of stars in the sky excites me. And now that it’s getting hot, I love walking in the evening, at 9:00 or 10:00, experiencing the cool and quiet. That said, though, I’ve experienced a few memorable sunrises too. It’s all good!
Hi Belinda,
This was great. I thrive in the morning. I feel blessed that I eagerly anticipate waking up each day, pursuing my passion. It was not always like this… I spent many years awakening to a Self that had me dreading yet another day. When we are sincerely committed to our growth and development real change can occur. When I learned to observe myself, work on myself soon, I was awakening to the Self I wanted expressing through me. Real happiness is awakening to the Self you want to be.
This was really beautiful, Belinda. Thank you.
I used to be a night person. Then I became a morning person. Now I’m just a quiet person, really cherishing whatever moment or two of silence I can find to be alone with my thoughts and the day.
Have you read Dani Shapiro’s Devotion? In it, she cites a Buddhist woman who, despite raising several children and living a busy life, has a remarkable ability to appreciate the little moments in the everyday. A teacher asks her how she does it and she responds: “I stir the rice mindfully.” I’ve thought a lot about that line, given how busy I feel so much of the time, trying to find a way to infuse the mundane with the shimmering edges of the day you so powerfully describe.
Thanks, Kristen. I just ordered Devotion after hearing so much great buzz about it. Can’t wait to read it.
Belinda, I’m so enchanted with this. With the possibility of it, the honesty of it and the exquisite truth of it. You are so right, there is nothing quite as full of anticipation of a morning, and nothing seems as bad as it did the night before.
Thank you for this, I think I will favourite it and return to it often.
Christine, thank you for your sweet words. Really great to read them today.
I’m not exactly a morning person – I hate waking up before 7:00 – but do truly appreciate the fresh start, the clean slate, the clearer perspective we get with each new day. Winter mornings are hard for me, so dark and cold when I wake up, but summer mornings of late are pure bliss. I get out of bed, pour a cup of coffee, then the dog and I go out into the yard. I sit quietly for awhile, listening to the birds and the neighborhood waking up. Then I wander the yard a bit, taking inventory of the vegetables in the garden, the flowers that are blossoming. And after awhile, I go in and get ready for work. Definitely worth getting up 15 minutes early for.