Mornings Heal

Only recently have I come to peace with waking up early REGULARLY and it is magical. I am a better version of myself than I was 2 years ago.

The days got longer and so I could do more than just put things on a bucket list and sleep on it hoping for something to happen without me having to put in any efforts at all.

But tell you what, all the things that I was procrastinating on, have become achievable as I keep making progress, now that I have time.

I've always wanted to learn rock climbing but it only happens early morning before the sun comes overhead. So waking up at 5.00 am meant that on a weekday, I could spend 2 hours with myself, go climbing for an hour or two, eat, and freshen up before I got to my day job.

I have 4 hours every morning before 9.00 am that I can make the most of. Every day, I can change activities. One day I can go climbing, the other day, go for a run, maybe even learn to play guitar, and on weekends, maybe go for a long drive to the outskirts of the city.

For so long, however, I have only dreamt of going for such morning activities and not show up, thinking how much sleep I would have to compromise on. Not to forget all the effort that it would require. Weekends, well weekends used for me used to be a big giant bear just sitting, eating, and sleeping through the day and conserving energy for the coming week.

Like most of us, my life was very job-centric. Sometimes, poor time management used to pull me back from getting to an activity, sometimes money, and sometimes confidence. I never wanted to show up anywhere or be seen. I just wanted to be left alone.

But tell you what, when waking up early became a habit for me, it was far easier for me to not come up with such silly excuses. I realized that if I wanted to do something, I would have to take the initiative to make it happen. Just writing it in a list and meditating on it won't make it come true. Efforts are primary.

Also, there is no such thing as not enough time.

The only thing is where do you allocate the 24 hours that you've got. Everyone has the same 24 hours. One became Elon Musk, and the other one is looking at the screen right now.

And, there is a different level of emotional healing that mornings bring. I and my dad bonded after I started waking up early. For sooooooo many years he was the only one waking up early, walking around the house.

But recently, during the pandemic, I moved back with my parents, and he and I sort of build a morning bond. I would go about my routine, and he would go about his but we were still in it together. He read his newspaper in peace sitting under the morning sky listening to the birds chirping, and I did my morning Yoga. We both were found in the front yard every morning.

We didn't spend as much time together during the day (we both had work) but in the morning hours, it was just him and me.

And today, after I don't know how long, I was out doing my thing. I looked up to the sky and the only thing that came to mind was how lucky I am to have had the time to bond with him. Even if it wasn't for very long. Even if it wasn't from the start. I am glad to have had it at all.