“Some people open their eyes in the morning, groan and put the pillow over their head. They are not very zesty. They are cosy-toed. They are not ready to welcome the day.”
This is the first paragraph in chapter two of Pip Lincolne’s book Craft for the Soul. And it is talking about me.
Which is why this chapter, titled Wake up and improve! also makes me groan.
Put very succinctly, it extols the benefits of getting up early and having a morning routine.
I get it. I WANT to be one of the zesty morning people and love mornings, like Pip. Just like I WANT to love exercising, and I WANT to love gardening. But I’m just not a morning person, and I’m not sure I want to try not being not a morning person! I love my bed. And I never get enough sleep – there’s this slight problem with insomnia I have.
But Pip makes a good point: “even non-morning people have to have mornings. They’re just part of life, as sure as night follows day.”
“You might want to read this chapter in a hopeful, aspirational way, KNOWING that you’ll be a morning person one day, if you can just summon the energy and part yourself from your pondy pillow,” she goes on to say.
So I tried – reading it that way, that is, not the getting up early part – I’ll have to work myself up to that, but I’m still not feeling it.
“The hardest part is making that decision to get the heck out of bed. Once you’ve done that, you’ve totally got it nailed,” she says.
Well, now, that’s an encouraging thought. Truly!
Morning pages
I don’t think anybody I know doesn’t know about morning pages – those three hand-written pages that Julia Cameron bids us get up and do first thing in the morning in The Artist’s Way. I’ve dabbled but never stuck with it. However I do understand the potential benefits they bring.
She also talks about walking first thing in the morning. Oh God. That might be fine for those who live in cities, with nice flat streets. The little rural village I love in is all hills, meaning my unfit, exercise-hating self is feeling like she’s going to have a heart attack before she gets to the next block. Excuses, excuses … I know. I’d happily walk if it was FLAT thought.
Then, she says, the next time she tries to do each day is improve stuff. She suggests making a list of that need fixing, and working on them, because fixing things makes you feel good. Lordy, I’m battling to roll out of bed, put on a face, and roll into the car to roll into work each morning.
The chapter ends with a lovely recipe for pancakes – yeah, I’m strictly a coffee-when-I-get-to-work-is-my-breakfast kind of girl, I’ve got no time for pancakes.
Suffice to say, as much as I loved the first chapter in the book, I’m not liking this chapter. Purely because I’m being belligerent and stick-in-the-mud about not being a morning person.
I DO get it. I DO. Morning pages get rid of mental clutter. Going for a walk gets you moving and creates space for thinking creatively, and provides inspiration. I will let this mull around in my brain for a while and make an attempt. Maybe.
One of the goals I set myself at the beginning year was to institute ‘miracle mornings’. At the very least – get up early and meditate and do morning pages. It’s now eight months later and, well, let’s just say I haven’t ticked any boxes with this goal.
So on to chapter three. The title of of the chapter fills me with apprehension – Movement is the key to happiness and creativity. Uhoh. She’s going to talk about exercise. I know it.
What about you – are you a morning person? What do you do to get your day started?
I am most definitely NOT a morning person. However, all summer long I have to be up by six so I can walk my dogs before the heat of the day (one is a black long-haired dog, the other a 13-yr-old Bichon). I confess I usually return home and go back to bed. I say: burn those pages! Noon is a nice time to greet the morning–if you get up at 11:55 you have 5 whole minutes of morning and that’s more than enough for anyone.
Ha ha ha! I love this! Yes, I am of your ilk. If I didn’t have to go to work, my day would start a LOT later. You’re very good, exercising the Bruedoggies everyday. Poor Halo is not so lucky. But she gets to romp and race with my parents’ dog, also a Sheltie, while I’m at work.
The only thing wonderful about growing older is retirement. Retirement is a marvelous state of being: you don’t have to worry about weather, clocks mean nothing to you (except for doctor appointments), you can procrastinate all you want, and do whatever you want, when you want. There is one exception to all this bliss: if you have animals. Those little devils are divas, each and every one. Their needs must be met NOW. There is no such thing as later, or “in a little while.” You are their slave, and you will do as they ask. So wait a bit, retire, and don’t get another dog (or cat) after Halo. Oh, wait . . . what good is life without a companion animal? Sigh.