Wake Up Call

There is a span of time between waking up and getting up: often brief; rarely extended. It is the ordinary, natural conjugate to the time between lying down and falling asleep, but at the same time, it’s markedly different. There is no meaningful decision about when to actually fall asleep, but we get to choose when to sit up and touch our feet to the floor again.

Standing up is the first thing we do when we get up in the morning, after that strange span of time has passed. Strange because it can hold so many things: thoughts of the day ahead and the night before; a daydream on the heels of a night’s dream; the first email of the day; or nothing. Ideally, on the weekends it yields a pocket of idleness. There are so few pockets of idleness left—smartphones fit into them so well.

It feels like a few moments of mindfulness here would be worth cultivating. Noticing that the voice in our head hasn’t started its commentary yet. Feeling the sensations of the body: the full weight of it on the bed, flexing and stretching a little. (Perhaps aching a little…) Hearing the sounds around us. Seeing the ceiling: ceilings are somehow more interesting (puzzling, even) in the morning. All within this interval that trails along in the wake of the pull of consciousness—however strong or weak.

It might be a good time to jot down some thoughts or doodle while your guard is down. It might be a good time to pay close attention to your breath. It might be a good time to roll over and fall back asleep: a luxurious experience that cannot be bought. It might be a good time to simply savor the spare moments before we stand up and find our footing to meet the schedule, the list, the dog, the kids…