Why I Wake Up Early

Several years ago, a dear friend gave me this Mary Oliver poem.

 

Why I Wake Early

~ Mary Oliver ~

Hello, sun in my face.

Hello, you who made the morning

and spread it over the fields

and into the faces of the tulips

and the nodding morning glories,

and into the windows of, even, the

miserable and the crotchety –

best preacher that ever was,

dear star, that just happens

to be where you are in the universe

to keep us from ever-darkness,

to ease us with warm touching,

to hold us in the great hands of light –

good morning, good morning, good morning.

Watch, now, how I start the day

in happiness, in kindness.

The poem lives on the bookshelf next to my bed.

I read it often, and when I do, I breathe in deep gratitude for my friend who gave me the poem.

I feel grateful for my wonderful husband whose head still imprints the pillow he leaves at 5:30 most mornings.

I feel gratitude for the health of my beautiful children and the gift of my eyes to see them.

I know I’m blessed to have these fingers to touch the tips of their noses and hold the pencil that scrawls these words across the page.

I’m grateful for the tall trees swaying outside my window and the sun streaming through to warm my pillow.

And this morning, like so many others I feel an overwhelming sense of gratitude for my greatest reasons to wake early… and then stay right in bed!

Do you wake early? What fills you with gratitude?