I always have something to look forward to when I get up in the morning. Some of you know that morning isn’t my favorite time of day, so this is important.
Two of my friends make the early hours easier. Dee sends a line of inspiration from a poem, a psalm, or quotation. Kay offers a daily blog about becoming more useful to God and others. Here are examples.
“I believe in kindness. Also, in mischief. Also in singing, especially when singing is not necessarily prescribed.” Mary Oliver, by way of Dee.
Kay writes about gratitude for every ordinary blessing. After years of focusing on negatives she realized we all have choices about where to put our energy. “I will be as free as I want to be, and no more. That’s all I got today. Gotta go out and meet my blessings.”
An old hymn mentions showers of blessings. Another song that probably dates from before most readers can recall, says when you’re worried and cannot sleep, count your blessings instead of sheep. I can testify that this works pretty well.
The other antidote to early morning grumpiness is sitting in my meditation spot and counting the reminders from people who love me. Last total, more than fifty, and that’s only in one room.
In just one recent week there were phone calls and texts from many extended family members, several of whom are young adults with busy lives. I had a chance to do something nice for a friend. We drove home from the Post Playhouse under a full moon, with a headful of songs from our own youth. A surprise visit from a granddaughter and her family… the list is as long as I have time for.
So, today I took time. Sat on the deck in the sunshine with dogs at my feet. Listened to a mourning dove and the chatter of robins. Watched barn swallows swooping to catch bugs. A bumblebee in the deep red hollyhocks that remind me of the ones Dad grew. Which led to memories of my parents and the neighbors who mentored me growing up. I noted the haze of smoke in the valley, gave thanks that we don’t currently have prairie fires and prayed for firefighters everywhere. Tall meadow grasses wave in our ever-present wind, reminder that our area was once an ocean. I was grateful for the privilege of always living where that view is common. That I’ve had the opportunity to set a toe in oceans on both sides of our country. That I was born in America.
The list is truly as long as I have time for. Some days it seems like time is too short and getting shorter. Like we are all running to keep up, running behind, running out of time. And then I read the quote on my fridge from Tom Dorrance, a horse trainer who was known for his patient persistence. At age 90, he gave this response to someone who asked how much longer he’d continue working. “I’ve got from now on.”
So do I. So do you. Use as much of it as you can to count blessings.