By Carol Lucas
It’s Sunday afternoon, and I am sitting at my computer trying to come up with something feasible to commit to print. I’m really aggravated that the muse has decided to go on vacation, but I rely too much on the little bugger to engage in direct vitriol.
So I decide to cruise the Net (yes, even old ladies can do slowly what youngsters do with the speed of lightning) to see if I might happen upon something. Lo and behold, luck is with me.
First I must give full credit to a writer named Michael Nordine who is senior writer and editor at Optimism Media. Given my state of mind as I was searching, the word optimism caught my eye.
Furthermore, that he is a native of Los Angeles, lives in Denver with his two cats, but wishes he lived in Tokyo, piqued my interest further. And when I read his opening line, “Even if you aren’t a morning person …” I knew I was hooked.
You see, if you were to look in the dictionary (even the one some are seeking to ban) for the phrase “never a morning person,” you would find my picture. Scientists have produced voluminous works about the body clock. Some of us are bright-eyed and bushy tailed at the crack of dawn. I vehemently exclude myself from that group.
When I taught school, I had to rise at 5:45 a.m. every morning. My sweet husband would bring my coffee to me without fail, and I would apply my make-up in a haze and throw on my clothes, hoping I didn’t miss. We had to be there (he and I taught in the same school) by 7:10 as the first class began at 7:45.
I used to tell my first-period class that if they could just see me during third period, I was an entirely different human being. Of course many of them were barely awake, so I suspect they didn’t care much. Recent statistics show that high school classes should begin no earlier than 9 a.m. Duh! I could have told them that a long time ago if they had asked.
But back to Nordine and his contention. He says, “we all have a morning routine. It could be as simple as a sipping cup of coffee or enjoying a hot shower when you wake up, or as complicated as an hour-long workout followed by a very specific breakfast. Either way, we’ve all formed certain bleary-eyed habits by now. Some are more conducive to feeling good for the rest of the day than others, of course, and these five habits will go a long way toward making your mornings more enjoyable and productive.”
“An hour-long workout?”
“A specific breakfast?”
Say what? I won’t even bother to verbalize why the former never has been nor will it be in my repertoire. I’m the gal who makes it to the bathroom through squinted eyes. As for a “specific breakfast,” how about a random brunch?
Nordine addresses the much-beloved “snooze button,” and he make the cogent argument that not only does hitting that button two or three times give you less time to do what must be done in your routine, but it really doesn’t provide more real rest since being jerked awake every five minutes hardly equates rest.
Nordine’s label for his next suggestion is “Eat a Frog.” Yes, you read correctly, and I admit to pausing before reading. He provides the following quote, often attributed (though not necessarily accurately) to Mark Twain. “If the first thing you do each morning is to eat a live frog, you can go through the day with the satisfaction of knowing that that is probably the worst thing that is going to happen to you all day long.”
All of this to say, “get your most difficult task out of the way first.” As one who wears procrastination like a badge of honor, I thought, “Right, sure.” But it makes sense, as do most of Nordine’s suggestions.
And then the author moves on to a topic that has always intrigued me, that of dreams. He suggests keeping a dream journal. I did so shortly after my late-husband passed away because I was having such vivid dreams, unlike the usual blurry, barely remembered ones.
In my book, A Breath Away, I address dreams, and some of the science behind those that are vivid. Eventually, I got away from keeping a journal, but I find his suggestion well worth consideration.
Nordine concludes by saying, “Experts recommend starting a dream journal, both as a way of centering yourself in the morning and coming to a better understanding of what’s truly going on up there.”
I assume by “up there,” he means in the brain. I might change that phrase to “over there” since I tend to believe dreams are often messages from a place not directly visible.
The next suggestion is one I have utilized almost every day, but I was able to do so only after I retired. The author proposes brain stimulation: “The morning is, in many ways, a time of transition — from sleep to wakefulness, from yesterday to today. How you make that transition sets the tone for the rest of the day, and for some, that effort is hampered by the usual brain fog that comes from still feeling half-asleep.” I often sit down with my first cup of coffee and play Solitaire on my laptop.
The final option is meditation. I have often wished I could engage in meditation, especially when trying to go to sleep. Unfortunately my mind is usually in overdrive, and occasional melatonin is as good as it gets.
I have quoted Nordine verbatim in several places because he states the case for each suggestion so much better than I. I have sprinkled those quotes with anecdotes of my own, hoping to bring to the piece a bit of human interest.
I know we are into the new year, and we have devised our own list of resolutions. But maybe one of these will strike you as not only viable but valuable. Wishing you luck with your goals, and you are welcome to dismiss eating a frog.
Carol Lucas is a retired high school teacher and a Lady’s Island resident. She is the author of the recently published “A Breath Away: One Woman’s Journey Through Widowhood.”
