photo by stevoarnold
the calm before the storm
it’s 4:58 in the morning, and section 2/1 of brian eno’s music for airports has just woken me. this is heaven. gentle minimal piano and angelic female voices, barely audible and yet for me a siren call: my morning pages await.
next to me, the woman is sound asleep. it would take something more akin to metallica to wake her up at this time of day. in the next room, the boy is sleeping soundly as well, for 113 minutes minimum, 135 max.
for a period of maybe 17 seconds I am living in the realm of choice. I could close my eyes and fade back into whatever blissful dreamland I have just awakened from, or I can put my feet on the floor, turn off the iPod, and head for the couch.
peace or chaos
ah yes, an extra 2 hours of blissful sleep followed by the chaos of feeding, dressing, and keeping the boy away from the television (if the woman didn’t watch it I would throw it out the window!) while simultaneously feeding, bathing, and dressing myself; followed by the rush to get out the door and on the road by 8am, first stop pre-school.
or 2 hours of peace and quiet, wide awake: morning pages, heart meditation, tea, shower, perhaps dance of shiva or heart yoga, more tea, and fully dressed before
- the young one wakes up,
- his mother refuses to, and
- the daily circus begins.
why I’m an early riser
when I remember, in the course of that 17 seconds, how different I will feel at that fateful moment 113 to 135 minutes later, and thereby for the rest of the day, if I am actually awake and fulfilled when the child-alarm goes off, the choice is so obvious that I don’t even have to make it. my feet hit the floor and I am off to the kitchen for my morning glass of water.
and when I forget…
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Stephen - Rat Race Trap 03.27.09 at 6:17 am
“or 2 hours of peace and quiet, wide awake: morning pages, heart meditation, tea, shower, perhaps dance of shiva or heart yoga, more tea, and fully dressed before ”
Chas, there is no better reason than the above. I get my motivational stuff done and out of the way in perfect peace. I get 80% of the days most important activity done in this early morning period. There is no better time of the day to do what you really need to do for yourself.
guy 03.27.09 at 9:33 am
I get up at 5 most mornings but unfortunately my two babies also do. So whilst I could be at my most productive, I feel frustrated that I am unable to be.
Hopefully one day they will begin to sleep in. and of course in about 10 or 12 years time I will be screaming at them to get out of bed at midday!
guy´s last blog post..Gordon Ramsey Ate my Hamster!
chas 03.29.09 at 6:51 am
@stephen of course accurately defining the days’ most important activity is a linch-pin here!
@guy before you are screaming at them to wake up, you’ll be screaming at them to turn off the tv!