When I was living in New York, the mornings for me were rarely relaxing. Between worries over deadlines, money, or my commute, there was always something that could suck the joy out of my morning routine--like an inbox full of either stories I needed to hop on before getting scooped, or notes from editors about getting scooped on stories I'd missed. My husband, a ray of sunshine in the morning with his white robe, broad smile and "what awesomeness will the day bring me?" attitude would be upset with me for ruining his morning with my harried attitude, for which I always ended up apologizing profusely for by lunch.
When we moved to the DR, my mornings became way more peaceful. I had no work stress since I became a freelance writer and stay-at-home mom. With no work e-mail or commute to manage, the biggest stress I had was getting Q read for school in the morning, a piece of cake compared to wrath I received for, say, getting scooped by Us Weekly on Kim Kardashian's pregnancy.
With the current global pandemic swirling about, I'm more stressed. Heck, we all are. We don't know what news headlines about coronavirus we'll wake up to. We don't know when people will stop getting sick in swarms. We have no idea if hospitals will be able to treat us if we do get sick. We have no idea if we can get tested to find out if we've got coronavirus. And we have no idea how long social distancing and quarantine protocals will remain in place to "flatten the curve."
From my patio, I have a gorgeous view of the ocean. I use the sound of the waves as sound therapy to calm my nerves. I wanted to share my access to nature's beautiful music with others, so recently, I've been leaving 1 minute meditations on my Instagram page to give people a minute of peace. There are a few up already, and I will try to leave one or two a week. Below, I leave you a meditation to help you start your day right. The picture at the top of this blog post was taken last week, a sunrise over beautiful North Coast of the DR. The dawn of a new day. Take in that view as you take in a few deep breaths through your nose, and sigh it out your mouth.
Now, you're alive to see another day. That's worth celebrating. There's a lot going on in this world right now, so take a moment to celebrate your being by taking in this view. Sit up nice and tall, and let your breath fall into a natural rhythm of deep inhales and exhales through your nose. Bring your awareness to the top of your head. Relax your forehead. Feel your eyes relaxing in their sockets. Feel your lips flexing into a natural smile. Feel your shoulders relax. Feel your presence sitting in your place, in your home, in your body. Feel how warm and comforting your body is, your place is. Feel the stillness. Feel the calm.
Now, you may close your eyes and enjoy this feeling for the next minute or two. Or you might get up, make your coffee and something yummy to eat, and start your day.
No mattter what they day brings, remember this feeling of calmness, stillness, and hope for the day ahead. Remember you can come back to this feeling any time throughout your day by looking at this photo and remembering your breath and your feelings right now. Try to evoke this feeling of calm througout your day. Try to end your day with the same feeling of relaxation, of comfort. If you get rattled or rocked from your core, your place of home, during the day, it's okay. And it's only temporary. Remember, another sunrise will come tomorrow. Another dawn. Another day. Another chance for calm.