How do you begin your day? With a cup of coffee? A cold beer? With steak and eggs? Or a doughnut? Do you drag yourself out of bed wishing you could spend the day sleeping? Are you wide awake and full of energy? Do you hit the snooze button again and again trying to steal a few more minutes of sleep? Do you sing in the shower and dance about the room?
While my wife and I are both early risers, we approach our mornings differently. She loves sound and light. She turns on the TV so noise fills room. She turns on the lights around the house chasing away the darkness. I, on the other hand, prefer silence so I can give free rein to my thoughts. Mornings are my creative time. Ideas seem to spring out of nowhere. I don't want to talk. I don't want any external noise disrupting my thoughts. My thoughts are enough noise. We both are enthusiastic about the day, but approach it differently.
Some people get up in the morning and say: "Good morning, Lord. It is great to be alive!" They are full of energy and enthusiasm. Other people get up and say: "O Lord, it's morning again." They start the morning in reverse and keep going backwards. Which person are you? Someone who appreciates each day she has been given? Or someone who finds no joy in living and finds fault with the world?
How you begin your day can have a positive or negative impact on your creative work. Do you begin your day with meditation? Or prayer? Do you take a walk? Or lift weights? Do you eat a healthy breakfast or do you skip the most important meal of the day?
Be thankful for every day you wake up. The alternative to waking up is being six feet under. Celebrate the day and give thanks for all you have been given. Every day is an enchanted gift — an opportunity to begin again. Greet the morning with enthusiasm and hope.
