The Blithe

Hands down, my favourite time of day is morning, waking up and feeling good and ready for the day, knowing you are getting the most out of every single second of the day. The change in light over the course of waking up and getting ready for the day ahead, and the variations in temperature throughout the year. Every aspect of mornings I adore. I feel as though trying to fully experience as many of them as possible throughout my life should be a goal. There is a wonderful feeling of possibility, unknown and freedom that mornings give, which I feel is often missed from later in the day.

My favourite mornings are crisp and cold, but still with a strong sunrise. The kind where you wake up early, and it’s still dark for hours. When you have a slow morning, and a clear mind to make way for what’s to come. Sat drinking a warm drink, starting a little bit of work next to a perfectly positioned window so as not to miss the sunrise. Those sunrises are something else, the colours, the warmth, the absolutely unmatched beauty of getting to start your day with that visual. Then there’s the cold morning commute, which to many I believe is hated, but to me contains something special, when you are in the right place, mood and time its the best. Seeing the world wake up while you are all wrapped up in layer after layer of warm clothes, taking your warm drink to go, hearing the crunch of the frozen ground every now and then, all lights having a welcoming warm glow regardless of their origin. I feel as if those mornings are what I am constantly striving for, regardless of the place, I want to make sure I can capture that feeling as many days as possible.

Throughout my life so far, I believe I have wasted this time of day and not exploited its wonderful uniqueness and productive qualities enough, seeking lazy comfort over a structured framework. I am not saying I have not had any early rises or strict working mornings, but rather I have not allowed myself to fully experience the morning enough. When you are in any form of education, I feel there is an almost intellectual “hangover” and burnout that comes with the morning, forcing your brain and body to do it all over again, seeming almost impossible, just yearning for the next day, where you can sleep through the morning completely. Now I want to pull myself out of that, lift myself back to the point where mornings are my time to shine, the kind of person who gets insane amounts done before most people even wake up. I think that’s the morning goal.

On the other hand, there are holiday mornings. What I mean by this is the mornings you wake up in a different place and have nothing to do but explore and really take in all life has to offer. I remember a very clear example of waking up at 4am to catch an early train to Belgium. The car ride to the station was completely in darkness, everywhere filled with silence and the streets almost empty. Then walking into a brightly lit, mostly empty station, to round a corner to a corridor, unfittingly filled with people all doing the same as you. To finding your seat and watching the world pass by, waking up in one country and seeing the sun rise in another. Then wandering the streets to look for the perfect little spot to finally indulge in breakfast and start a day full of exploration and intrigue, hundreds of miles travelled, all before breakfast. Those mornings are a completely different kind of special.

But I do sincerely believe that I am getting there. I feel as if more and more of my mornings have been better spent, working towards a lifestyle that fits and feels right, making sure that when I say I am a morning person, I stand by that statement. The amount of time in my life I have spent rotting in bed needs to finally be balanced out with progress and productivity. So, much to my joy, I am writing this as part of a very productive morning, which is why my head is in the space to write this. So if tomorrow is a bit slower and less productive, at least this one was a good one.