Awake The Dawn

 


“I rise before dawn and cry for help; I hope in your words. My eyes are awake before the watches of the night, that I may meditate on your promise.” Psalm 119:147–148 ESV

Dawn is the period just before sunrise as the sky gets brighter and the morning twilight heralds the beginning of a new day. The Jewish Talmund calculates dawn approximately as an hour before sunrise. This time is considered sacred in many religions, most of which require their adherents to offer the first prayers of the day at this time. So give or take, we’re talking about 4am to 6am.

A lot of books have been written about the ‘5am club’ – generally a practice of starting your day before the rest of the world wakes up. I currently look at those hours as being valuable for self-care. In times past, those have been hours when I got assignments done, did research or read for exams. On days that I am hiking, I am usually out the door or even leaving town at that time. In all of those instances, it is very easy to get up at the first alarm or even before; after all, there is a purpose. However, try to set the alarm for 4 or 5am on any other day and suddenly your beddings acquire extra-hold glue!!

Why do I need self-care and why is dawn the best time to get it? The answer to both is you have to be prepared before life happens to you. And preparation is physical, spiritual, emotional and mental. In the quiet of the morning, my most important activity is meditation and prayer. I offer my gratitude, my plans and my petitions to The One who knows what lies ahead of me. It is also the time I take care of my physical wellness by exercising, stretching, grooming and planning my meals. I choose to approach life organized, rather than picking what nourishes me on the go. My mind also needs to be nourished so most days, I will set aside time to read a book or an article that needs focused attention. All because I decided that one of my values is being a lifelong learner, and what better time to learn than when my attention span is at peak performance! The solitude of that time of day also affords me the opportunity to journal my thoughts and make decisions and plans without the interruptions that come later in the day.  

It is definitely a conscious effort to rise before the dawn and be prepared to face the day before it breaks. The benefits have been and continue to be enormous, but the effort has to be made daily. Mel Robbins’ 5-Second Rule has been of great help. Constantly reminding myself about the harvest I am reaping from the effort I sow in getting up early keeps me motivated. And lastly, planning my evenings to support my goal of getting quality sleep goes a long way in making it all easier.

Have you been wondering where to find time to develop yourself or to just be with yourself in a few moments of silence? Steal the time from your sleep. Come with me to awaken the dawn and discover the magic of early rising.

“For the mind disturbed, the still beauty of dawn is nature’s finest balm.” Edwin Way Teale

The 5-Second Rule: short clip on YouTube – https://youtu.be/2n41e9su3fM ; audio book on YouTube – https://youtu.be/NpCoPeBR-1k

 

 

Comments

  1. BTOJune 18, 2021 at 8:40 PM

    Interesting...I'm halfway through The Miracle Morning by Hal Elrod. All I'll say is Amen!

    ReplyDelete

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