[L] It has been my desire to be a morning person for so long! When I read bio's and books of people that I admire and respected, many of them have one trait that I admire: They wake up early at the crack of dawn before the world hustles and bustles. Some like the brisk air of the early sunrise while they do their morning jog/walk. Others spend their morning reading, reflecting, and having personal QTs. And others read the newspapers, drinks coffee, or watch the morning news.. before heading off to work, school, or wherever.
Unfortunately for me, I fit in none of these categories. I cannot drink coffee (unless it's de-caff) or I experience some signs of tachycardia (heart beating fast). And the rest of those things... I can only dream about doing at a different time-- which is late late night. For me, I stay awake longer than the rest of the world into the wee hours of the night.
The only time I ever remembering waking up at the crack of dawn recently was when I was jet-lagged. (Of course, this doesn't count the days when I used to work at the hospital when my shifts sometime began at the crack of dawn!) The first few weeks of coming back here, I would fall asleep at 9pm and wake up at 5am. It was beautiful. I sat on the windowsill and watched the sunrise. I had good reflection time, good QTs. I saw the people down below setting up their carts and shops. I saw the workers riding their bikes and scooters, dragging behind them loads of their workgear. And then the big steamers (which steamed at least a hundred steamed buns at a time) would hiss in unison as it was cooking, getting ready for hungry people to buy their breakfast. Over in the far side, I would see chickens in cages, being brought out for sale. And groups of people would squat on low stools, as they gathered to eat their morning rice-porridge.
For some reason, getting to watch all of this brought a sense calmness over my heart. Perhaps it's knowing that I don't have to rush to be in class or somewhere until another couple of hour or so. I have time to entertain random thoughts of life. What would my life be if I was born on this side of the world? What would it be like to be these people downstairs, working so hard to sell steamed buns to make a living. What would my future hold? What are my dreams and passion?
Unfortunately, over time, my jet-lag wore out. And my schedule began to shift later and later. Until it's back to me being a night person again. I realize that the reason I am a night owl is because at night, when things are calm, the world is asleep, I can have some time to recover from the "busyness" of the day. Life is so busy, and it just passes by if I don't stop to think and appreciate what I've been given. However, I sure just WISH I could do that early morning, instead of late in the night. But for now, I guess that'll have to do...
My only solution to counter this busy world, this busy life... is to find pockets of time when things are still. And hopefully, that I get to pause...even just for a moment, to appreciate it.
Life in our new 'hood...
