“Listen to the wind blow, watch the sun rise.”
― Fleetwood Mac
There's something about waking up early that just feels wrong. It's the middle of the night, you're comfortable in your bed, and all of a sudden you have to get up? No thank you!
Despite the fact that most people don't enjoy getting up early, there are countless benefits to doing so. From improving your productivity to increasing your lifespan, there are plenty of reasons to rise with the sun.
But let's be honest - no one enjoys mornings. Even those who love getting an early start on the day will tell you that they don't enjoy waking up early. It takes time for our bodies and minds to adjust to the new day, and it's certainly not easy.
Every day Toni Morrison would rise with the sun, taking part in an ancient ritual of people everywhere. She'd make a cup of coffee and settle into her small apartment; as daylight bathed the room she wrote tirelessly, turning each morning's inspiration into stories that endure long past dawn.
As a single working mother of two young boys, Toni Morrison found precious solace in the early morning hours before her day began. This was her time to nurture both practical and spiritual aspects of herself - for it was then that she could be a writer; uninterrupted by the demands from day job editing manuscripts at Random House or the duties as Mama which followed shortly after dawn came up.
She was unbounded in her youth: no obligations, only the drive to create. Unfettered energy and a spark of inspiration – that's all it took for dreams to come alive!
She was a force of nature, determined to make her mark against the odds. At thirty-four years old and fresh from divorce, she stepped bravely into an industry ruled by whiteness and maleness - undaunted despite being one of only a few black women in it. For this single mom with responsibilities galore life had become surprisingly simple: use her adult strength to complete the novel that promised so much potential. She was ready for whatever came next; this felt like "the height of life" after all!
Despite her numerous accolades, Pulitzer Prize winner and Nobel Laureate Toni Morrison achieved a success beyond what even she could have expected - having become an exemplary working mother while continuing to create some the most celebrated works of fiction. After receiving rave reviews for The Bluest Eye in 1970, Morrison went on to write ten more novels as well as nine nonfiction books, five children's books two plays and countless short stories — making her one of America’s greatest literary minds ever.
Waking up early is far from enjoyable, yet countless people have seen the positive impacts of rising with the sun. Don't think you're alone in not being a fan of mornings - no one enjoys them!
In the morning, we have a chance to start fresh. Hemingway described it as coming to his work and warming up while he wrote in cool or cold temperatures without anyone else around. Morrison found that creativity was best during the hours when minds are still sharp instead of weighed down by the day's events. But who can blame us for being less bright at night? After all, conversations become mundane and energy is sapped with splashes of frustration here and there - no wonder our ideas aren't quite so sparkling!
Executives, intellectuals and athletes alike know that getting ahead starts with rising before the sun. Unlocking your maximum potential for productivity in those pre-dawn hours is key to success— when no one else has gotten out of bed yet, you can use this time as an opportunity to plan a strategy from which you’ll launch into more moments of greatness throughout the day! So seize every sunrise - it could be what takes your endeavors above and beyond!
As the sun begins to rise, those precious few hours of stillness and silence provide a space for creativity. Toni Morrison embraced these moments as an opportunity to write but Hemingway may have missed out on them due to drinking late into the night. Let us all make good use of our early morning hours, embrace their cathartic clarity before we enter another day in this world!
When the sun rose, Toni Morrison was ready for her own sort of morning routine. Instead of checking emails or making breakfast like many do, she chose to pen out pages with passion and dedication. It wasn't easy--often enough there were days that called for taking a break from creative work instead. But when those early hours continued on filled with writing efforts? She rewarded herself by claiming that everything else beyond would be "extra" - no task could compare to the triumphs found in beating down procrastination's waves during this special 'me time'. By owning mornings through bravely eating a proverbial frog each day, Ms Morrison moved closer towards becoming one of our greatest authors ever known!
When those alarm bells are clanging and it feels impossible to drag yourself out of bed, pause for a moment. Remind yourself that generations before you have worked hard in far more difficult conditions than the ones we live in today. Consider Toni Morrison's grandmother with her dizzily high number of children (not to mention Morrison herself who was no stranger to hardship) - yet she still woke up day after day! Take this opportunity, right now – which many people would love but don't get - and be grateful for having another chance at life; use your time wisely & make every productive second count.
It's hard to get up in the morning. It's even harder when you have to face the world knowing that you're not perfect. You're not superhuman. You're just like everyone else. Waking up is always a challenge, but it's especially tough when you don't feel good about yourself. When you feel like you can't do anything right. When you feel like you're not good enough. But that's okay. You don't have to be perfect to be great. You don't have to be superhuman to make a difference in the world. All you need is your own two hands and your own two feet.
The more we can push ourselves to wake up early, even when we don't feel like it, the more we'll benefit from doing so. So set that alarm clock a little earlier each morning, and see how you feel after a few days of adjusting! So get up, and go make a difference today.