Monthly Musing – November 2023 – Happy mornings

It’s 6am.  It’s dark outside and the house is quiet, not even the ticking of the central heating kicking into action to be heard.  I’m sitting here wrapped up in a blanket with my laptop and my flask of hot water (my early morning tipple of choice), and I am happy.  This, I have realised, is my best creative time of the day, and there’s something about the quiet and the dark that helps me think in a way that’s different to later in the day when the sun and the family are up.

We’re all different in this regard, aren’t we?  I’m the only lark in our family; the others will get up early if they have to but given the choice, they would rather get up later and stay up later.  Another friend who is also a lark likes to be outside from early in the morning, whereas I prefer to stay cosy in my burrow.

I’ve always liked being the one who’s up before everyone else, and when I was little, I did like to go outside where the air seemed cleaner before the day properly started.  I can remember being on holiday in Wales and creeping out of our guest house to walk along the beach as the sun rose, being the first to make footprints in the sand and have the beach to myself before the rest of the holidaymakers arrived – simpler times; my parents knew I wouldn’t be far away and would be back for breakfast.  Now, I’d be having a fit if I woke up on holiday and one of my girls had gone!

I’ve not stuck to getting up early throughout my life – some days, I’ve just needed those extra five minutes which have turned into more than one touch of the snooze button on the alarm clock!  I’m trying to get better at listening to what my body wants to do and if some mornings it wants five more minutes, I treat that as my early morning creative time, burrowing back into the warmth of the duvet to daydream and being grateful that I am able to do that.  Unless it’s been snowing, and then I’m up and everything else is ignored!

I have wondered if I’ll feel the same about getting up early when not so small daughter goes to university and the house will generally be quieter anyway, and I think I will.  I don’t think it’s anything to do with needing to get stuff done before the other demands on my time start but is more to do with how my own body works and what makes me feel better during the day.  Nurturing my creative side during these early moments definitely helps me to feel in balance – much more so than the exercise workout that I used to do at this time in the morning, which has surprised me.  I am much more likely to meditate during the last few minutes of my creative early time than if I get up specifically to meditate, but it took me a while to realise that the two things worked better together this way.

It’s 7am and time for my “Mum” day to start.  Not so small daughter will be off to college within the hour, there are pets to feed, things to do – but my quiet hour lets me warm up to this and I am far more joyful about it all than if I’d dragged myself out of bed two minutes before it all starts.  It all makes for a much happier morning!