Lately, I have been getting up very early in the morning, which is an achievement for someone who does not consider herself a morning person. The early morning is magical for many reasons, but precisely because of the silence.
It is when it almost feels like a small victory has been achieved.
About the silence, I need to be clear; I am not talking about the deadening kind of silence, but a kind where you can smell the season in the air. You smell rain, flowers or just crisp freshness. You hear the birds sing, and importantly, it is a time when I can focus. A time when I can get some of the small tasks that often cause stress and confusion can be knocked out of the way when I can pack the lunchboxes and watch the ginger cat stretch out on the chair next to me in the home office. This cat and I often have early morning conversations – he is exceptionally verbal. He curls up on this chair and looks just like a Chelsea bun. His white paws looked like the delicious sticky icing embedded in the sticky goodness. And when he gets up from his bun position, I know it is time to go and wake the boys – then he stretches so you can see how big he is – right then, he is no longer a bun but a (ginger) loaf.
My hubby gets into the room a few minutes before we wake up the kids. By then, the ginger loaf sees him. He loves my husband, but I suspect my husband wants us to think that he only tolerates him. This cat then tells him everything about the previous night and the morning with me in the office. He then becomes a Chelsea bun on my husband’s lap for a few minutes.
Once the boys are up, we get a magical 45 minutes with them. My eldest is always excited in the mornings, which is such an inspiration to me. He sees every new day with the magic it beholds. I cannot help but soak it up. My youngest, on the other hand – like me, is not a natural morning person; he only warms up around the time we hit the road to school. Although, when he gets home with a smile. Maybe it is about some of the magic that has gone past. It is that split second before the big wrestle over the TV starts in our house. I am blessed – I experience the magic as if peering into a wishing well in the morning. Then again, every afternoon. As if I am looking at the water and seeing the sun reflect from the water. The silent early mornings I have had have helped me see that.
If nothing else, I have realised that the world has become so fast that we often feel unfit for the race. It is, therefore, not a luxury but a necessity to take whatever silence you can find to keep up with its pace. We miss the magical nuggets of Chelsea buns, ginger loaves and daily sparkles if we don’t. These things we will miss one day and become our regrets.
It is easy to become distracted as a leader or entrepreneur and think we don’t have the time or energy to take the time. It is a choice and a choice worth making. I wish I had done this much sooner – it is good for the soul, and you need to shine your Light on the impact you seek to make in this world.
Ella Wheeler Wilcox, ‘Dawn‘.
“Day’s sweetest moments are at dawn;
Refreshed by his long sleep, the Light
Kisses the languid lips of night,
Ere she can rise and hasten on …”
