This morning I woke up to hearing rain pouring against the roof and wind blowing outside the window. I don‘t know about you but I LOVE that sound. I always, almost spontaneously, offer a quick prayer of thanksgiving for my warm bed, my warm, dry, home, and the gift of so many blessings.
It reminds me of a conversation a girlfriend and I frequently have about the need to wake each morning to reflection, inner peace, and time for prayer or spiritual reading. It could be so easy to immediately turn on the news, get caught up in today’s traumas, and the hatred and ignorance that seems to fill the world. What a way to begin the day!!!!!
Our daily lives, for most of us, are filled with pressures, endless demands, constant interruptions with illusionary emergencies, and the need to be all things for all people, while frequently also expecting far too much from ourselves. The only way to keep all of this in perspective is to quietly and peacefully begin your day in gratitude and inner peace. Laughingly, or quietly, make tea or coffee, after you leave your room. Breathe…
Be at home with yourself and your loved ones if they are there. This time without rushing, without the endless demands, reminds you that you exist. That you are the creator of your life and your world. Once you enter your home office, or head out to the car, after a solid period of remembering this is your journey, your creation, only then are you ready to hear or see what the rest of the world has to offer or to request of you.
Without that connection time, every waking moment becomes consumed by your career or the demands on your time. You soon disappear and become one of those folks who has no idea what you think or feel about anything since you have been running too fast and too far to take time to understand yourself and/or your own thoughts.
The practice of morning connection to your creator self – and only then heading out to the world of expectations and demands, hopefully with a touch if not a bundle of laughter and joy thrown in – can naturally be followed by a quiet time in the evening, again one of thanksgiving. Reflection on your day, your responses or reactions, your accomplishments, and those tasks put off until tomorrow or later reminds you that this was a day you created, your permitted, and you participated in.
With those realizations, conclusions, and gratitude, you can then peacefully release the day and enjoy your evening alone or with loved ones. You can then recognize that this world here, in your home, is the place where you choose to be nourished, to be seen, and to be experienced. You get to spend time looking at how you are doing. You can sit in gratitude for the growth you have achieved, the home you have created, and the journey you are walking. Tomorrow you can change a piece or two of it if you choose, or simply celebrate it, and you, for the amazing choices you have made. And thank God, the Universe, whatever your faith system, for the support and partnership you are living in each and every day. A day you have created together….
