“...use the very moment of waking up, no matter what time it comes, as a moment of mindfulness, the very first of the new day.” 

– from Early Morning  in Wherever You Go, There You Are:  Meditations in Everyday Life, by Jon Kabat-Zinn

How closely do you pay attention to the ebb and flow of a day?  In what part of the day do you feel at your best, most alive, open to and ready for all?  When do you find yourself needing a nap, wishing for time out, wanting to step away?  We hold multitudes within us – many parts feeling, needing, desiring many different things.  It might be, then, that a day holds multitudes, too.  If we’re trying to take good of our ourselves and good care of others, we might be well served by paying attention to the contours of the day.  To get into the weeds, hour by hour, in noting how we are and how the day goes for us.

In Early Morning (from Part III), Jon Kabat-Zinn extols the virtues of early morning.  He practices getting up early and using mindfulness practice to center himself before anything else happens.  Even before he takes up his formal practice, he says that he spends time….sometimes in bed, sometimes up to two hours(!)....doing nothing.  Just being.  If you’re like my oldest son, Charlie, you might skip this chapter the same way you snooze the alarm.  Late night hours are when it’s happening, and your time for doing nothing and just being is after midnight. 

How about you?  What do you notice about moments of the day – when might you benefit from some intentional quiet and self-care, and when do you find it best to keep moving and getting things done?  Our practice tomorrow invites us to consider how and when we use the hours of our day.  Maybe there’s something to learn from what JKZ says about early mornings.  Or maybe you have something to share about “when” works best for you.  As always, we’ll share with each other about how it’s going for us, as we learn from how it’s going for others.  

No experience in mindfulness is needed and you don’t need to read along to join in

See you soon!

— Jonathan