Spring Sunrise Morning Routine
Welcoming the first rays of the day and developing some good a.m. habits.
“Morning routine” is an item that has been on my list of video ideas for awhile, so it was very satisfying to film and edit and actually upload a video with my own a.m. habits and goals this week! Morning routines are a genre on YouTube that I’ve often enjoyed; it’s both restful and inspiring to see how other people start the day and set themselves up for success. In fact, it was inspiring just to have the goal of filming a morning routine. I had to make sure that I was (more or less!) following my ideal routine before I made a video about it!
You’ll know from my reading vlogs that getting up for the sunrise has long been a morning habit of mine. It’s easier to wake up for winter and early spring dawns, but I’ve been trying to get in the swing of a 5 a.m. alarm to see the first rays of these late spring and early summer days color the sky. Those Animal Crossing game designers knew what they were doing when they put the prettiest music and most aesthetic atmosphere in the 5 a.m. hour on your island - now that I’ve filmed a 5 a.m. real-life routine, I need to do a 5 a.m. ACNH island tour as well. 😉
There’s such a freshness and newness and hopefulness all around you when you’re outdoors right before the sun comes up. Whenever I’ve been on vacation somewhere special, I try to get up in time to see the sunrise. There was the time I brought my copy of Huckleberry Finn to see the mist rising over the Mississippi in Mark Twain’s hometown, the time I dragged my whole family along for a 5 a.m. Grand Canyon dawn, a morning rainbow seen from a Swiss chalet or, one of my favorites Disney memories, the colorful first rays of the day painting the Seven Seas Lagoon during a Grand Floridian morning - so beautiful I put it in my intro!
I feel so lucky to have such beautiful views across the hills and fields to east and west at my farmhouse. Listening to the birdsong chorus and admiring the diamond dewdrops decking the blades of grass give an extra meaning to the Magnificat prayers and psalms that I try to read just about first thing when I get up. This was one of the hymns from this week’s readings…
I sing as I arise today!
I call on my Creator’s might:
The will of God to be my guide,
The eye of God to be my sight,
The word of God to be my speech,
The hand of God to be my stay,
The shield of God to be my strength,
The path of God to be my way.
Even if the rest of the day doesn’t go as planned, I like to think those sunrise prayers add a little extra grace somewhere along the way!
There are many items that I have (more or less!) made a part of my mornings for awhile, like, for example, working out with Denise Austin (Why don’t more trainers film their work out videos in beautiful locations rather than boring studios? It makes such a difference!), but the newest addition to my morning routine is writing discipline!
Many authors I admire talk about how they would always write first thing in the morning. They just sat down and forced themselves to do it, and I’m going to try (strikethrough inspired by Yoda) to adopt a morning writing hour myself to really focus on some longer writing projects. Telling you all about it should hopefully be motivation to get it done! I’m going to start with The Book of Cymbeline, which will, of course, be all about how my charismatic kitten arrived, told from her perspective.
I would love to hear about any of your morning habits or goals down in the comments. Sending some sunrise magic your way, hope it’s a wonderful Saturday!
I, too, am an early morning riser. There is something so magical about those few precious moments at early dawn when the night sky softens into the peachiness of the slowly rising sun. The colors are amazing, and there is often a soft hush as night and day collide. It is similar to how it feels right before it begins to rain. I am also a very happy morning person, much to the chagrin of some of my family members. I often sit with my little miniature schnauzer Lucy on our back patio, with my tea and either listen to a devotional podcast or read the Bible. Sometimes both. It is a special, quiet time for me to think and pray and be still with the Lord.
Feed my cats, their usually hungry in the morning and do little reading in the morning. Good luck on your book, I’m sure you’re cat will be a big help