Off to a Great Start

How do you usually start your day? Are you the type to take the least amount of time possible and rush out the door? Are you the type that likes to wake up early and go for a run?

 We all have our own preferences. Are you living your mornings in your ideal way?


  Starting your day well helps to have a better day, all day. Beginning with a few morning rituals can create a whole different energy for your day. If you make yourself a priority and take time to replenish, cleanse, nourish, and fuel your body, you can feel much more connected and open to the flow of your day.

 When you are grounded in the fresh energy of the morning with a connection and openness, the world becomes your oyster. You can find the hidden treasures available to you throughout your day more often than when you have rushed out the door. When you’ve taken care of yourself, you naturally have a better attitude and bring a different energy to all you do. When you truly feel on it, you carry a magical essence that inspires others and creates great changes.

  Play with different routines in the morning to find what makes you feel best. My favorites are taking a bath, walking or running, listening to the birds, exercising, praying, and/or writing. Try whatever activities help you to feel connected spiritually and to deeper parts of yourself. Create a rejuvenating space that allows you to tap into your energy source and receive. Give yourself an extra twenty minutes in the morning for “you-time”. Make sure you eat a nourishing breakfast by 10. Also, enjoy your “treats” (in balance) such as having a tea or coffee while you settle in and check your messages.

 Little perks like this can really help you to enjoy your day. Remember that some relationships also make you feel good – enjoy those in balance, as well. Take time to say good morning to someone you enjoy. A great way to give back to others is to share anything you’ve learned or realized or to express emotions that arise in your morning routine. Some write, some sing, others talk. So share in whatever way you enjoy, if you feel the desire to. Sometimes the smallest thing you share can affect the whole day (or life!) of another person who needed to hear exactly what you felt like saying. So share with those you love!

  Start tomorrow morning with checking in. Listen to the voice you use while talking to yourself in the morning - the silent voice that talks to you in your head at any given moment. Does it sound like it believes in you and knows of the infinite possibilities that lie within your day ahead? Or does it sound like the old voice of your parents, telling you to be “realistic” and what can’t be done?

  In a funk and feeling down? Monday morning blues have you dreading another week with nothing to look forward to all week long? Longing until tomorrow for fun?

 Try these techniques to shift your reality:

  Check in and listen to yourself. Be aware. What is getting you down? Look into your feelings and honor them first. Look at the root of them and ask why they are there? Explore them for a bit and be gently compassionate with yourself. Find a way to express these emotions. Write it out on paper and tear it up or beat up a pillow if you want.

  Give thanks. Once you feel at peace with them, look toward what you are thankful for. There’s got to be something! Give thanks for the small things, beginning with having a pillow to lay your head on (and possibly punch occasionally). This awareness helps to naturally lift your spirits. Spend several moments giving thanks until you feel it emanating from your heart and a lifting and shifting of your sour mood.

  Plan something exciting. Where in your life do you have the opportunity to create something that would get your adrenaline naturally moving and give you a bounce in your step? What may be hidden treasures within this ho-hum forecast? If you don’t have time right now to think of them, schedule it out for a time when you do and keep your mind open until then. Listen to the yearnings of your heart. Believe that you can have what you want. Have faith that when you try your best, you will be blissfully rewarded. What the heck? Why not? It may not end up exactly as you envision it now, and hopefully that is the case. Ideally your vision will take a whole different life on as you pursue it and see a grander picture while the right people, places, and things fall into your life to help it all come together.

  Be open to today. Trust that you will make changes in your life that are satisfying, make the decision, and let it go for now. Be free to explore the day that is presented to you today. Look for the signs, hidden treasures, and opportunities within it. Be open to interactions you have – no matter how small – as what have you asked for in your most heart-felt dreams may just come to you today. Make sure your eyes are open enough to see what is right in front of your face!

 Here's to *Sunshiney* Mornings for us all!

 

 Danielle Marie Crume