One of the first challenges I did when I started this blog, more than 15 years ago, was waking up early. Like drastically changing my routine so I am up and running at 5AM every day. Back then I was having a really hectic lifestyle, mostly related to the fact that I was the “hustling entrepreneur”, giving it all for my own business. Many things changed since then. I’m not an entrepreneur anymore (but I might enjoy my life more), I’m not into hustling anymore (but I actually get more done) and my lifestyle became more settled and predictable.
One of the surprising consequences of these changes is that I don’t need to wake up early anymore. And, in all honesty, I’m not. I wake up around 7AM and I start my daily routine around 7:30. You see, when you put in your plate just what you need to eat, you don’t need to force food down your throat. If you aim to do just a certain amount of stuff every day, you don’t need to hunt for extra time, to find new pockets of energy, just to have some “me time”. All the time is “me time”.
But, every one in a while, I do wake up very early, around 5AM. It might be just a reminiscence from the old times. Or it just might be that my sleep patterns, like everything in life, are variable. And some nights are better than others.
Well, when I do wake up this early, I confess I enjoy the surroundings a lot. I’m not doing thing that I wouldn’t have time to do otherwise. Sometimes I go for an impromptu run, sometimes I do some extra yoga, or write blog posts in advance. And other times I just enjoy this intermezzo. So early in the morning, the world is still. Nobody wake up yet and there is a lot of silence. And immobility. Nothing moves, no cars, no people, even birds are asleep at that time.
That context is very dear to me. Because it gives perspective. It creates a sort of inflation around all things, like putting more space between them (metaphorically speaking) and you get to see a clearer picture. During the day, the edges are blurred, morphing into each other. Early in the morning, they are still sharply clear.
I had many interesting realizations during these unexpected early risings.
And probably the funniest one is that you get to be an early riser only after you fail to be a late riser.
And it applies to many things in life.
Instead of trying your best to succeed at the good thing, you may also try and fail at the bad thing. Do that consistently and the inherent duality of Samsara will automatically throw you into the good cage.
Photo by Carsten Stalljohann on Unsplash
