I remember the first time I heard this quote from Rumi’s poem, The Breeze At Dawn. My first thought at the time was ‘that’s easy for a morning person to say’. I actually was a morning person at the time but I would never describe myself as that. I was a 9 to 5er by occupation but naturally I would have said I was a night owl. On the weekends, I would stay up late watching movies or television shows, playing video games, talking with friends, playing board games or card games. It was this way from my teenage years onwards really.
I first heard the quote from Dr. Wayne Dyer, a beloved author some people call the ‘grandfather of self-motivation’. I’ll call him Wayne, not because I earned that first name basis but because I felt a connection to his writing and message like a dear friend. I actually saw him speak once in Vancouver. Dr. Dyer just isn’t how I think of him.
It was my first job out of university and I had moved from recently hired to more than a year into government. I had vacation time. I was being paid to take time off. I went on an adventure. A tour down parts of the Oregon and Washington Coast, the beloved Pacific Northwest. I listened to some of Wayne’s lectures, old school cassette tapes from Nightingale-Conant. I remember Wayne saying this message from Rumi and urging people to set their alarms and try to feel the wisdom of this moment. I tried it. I woke up early, hated it, and went back to sleep. Another time years later, I remember being forced awake for the dawn breeze with morning meditation at Vipassana. I felt similarly then, especially as a shift worker.
It’s only now, years later that I really am understanding the message of this urging. And here’s the difficult part. You can’t control it. Every time I tried to set my alarm and wake up for someone else’s rules or schedule in the past, be it at a Vipassana retreat or on a weekend off from work to explore a spiritual experiment in daily living. Trying to do it before a work day, even more of a recipe for disaster. Awakening early to awaken just didn’t work for me until my current townhouse home with my family. I wake up early now, often because of needy cats who walk across me, jump on my stomach, sit on my face or do other increasing urgent appeals for food once the sun is up and the birds are singing. Sometimes I ignore them and go back to sleep, but more often I get up. I love them and I love mornings here. The sunlight streaming into our townhouse while the birds serenade. It’s when I do my best writing for my novel, journaling or these posts now.
Last Friday, I sat for 4 hours on Zoom from 3 to 7 AM Eastern Time. It was for a cause I deeply believe in. “The collective invitation to gather across time zones and cultures, holding each other and the world in compassionate awareness”. It was a safe space for anyone that needed it right now in these difficult times. Surprisingly (or not), I sat there for four hours by myself. Maybe I thought, it’s a good reason no one needed this space. But what bothered me even more was the idea of people needing that very space while I was sitting there but didn’t know they could find it?
So here’s an invitation, if you need it or want it. Maybe you just found me. Maybe I’m your family or friend. I am holding space EVERY Friday in May. From 3 to 7 AM Pacific Time on Zoom (that’s 6 to 10 AM Eastern). You can join me by clicking into my zoom room during this time at https://us06web.zoom.us/j/9177333477?pwd=U3FQczl4WHNWMlhWNzdLQmtsQzNVdz09 Come as you are. Keep your camera off if you’d like. Or join me with your camera on. Put the calming music I’ll play on in the background while you get ready for work. Whatever way experiencing this timeframe fits (it will be sleeping for most of us, sure!). Join me if you can and if you are naturally awake at that time. Don’t force it if it doesn’t happen. This is just for May and there’s no sense in all of us suffering with an early wake up time. I’ll do a more West Coast friendly offering another time once this month completes. If you aren’t sleeping during this time, join me .. to be, to be awake.
I’m fairly certain it was Wayne who inspired me to write my book, Knightsbridge during covid nightly between the hours of midnight and 3am. It began with being in awe of what I wrote! Lovely to connect with you Ryan. 💫
I am sorry that I missed this in May. I truly feel that we an aligned with the things we want in this world. A safe happy space for everyone. So glad to have read this. Also talking about being a morning person. I am, with a cup of hot coffee and the cool morning with the rooster crowing and the glow of the first warm light creating a golden glow upon the world. That and my beagle would pee all over the house. So two good reasons to be up in the morning. 🤭