The Importance of Recentering

I find that how I begin my day can have an out-of-proportion effect on how the rest of the day goes. A bad beginning too often leads to a bad middle and end. But does this necessarily have to be the case? I don't believe it does.

A few mornings ago, my day began in mild chaos. While my spouse was drying her hair, the power went off. I was awakened from a sound sleep by her urgent plea to go to basement to reset the circuit breaker so she wouldn't miss her train. Also, because of the power interruption, the wifi stopped working and she needed to send an email before she left. So I trudged upstairs to the modem and reset it.

All of the above occurred at 5:30 a.m. I was wide awake by the time these tasks were completed. It was too dark to go rowing, so I went to my basement and did a workout on the rowing machine. This hard workout somewhat redeemed the chaotic start. I was calmer and more centered afterward, especially after a hot shower and breakfast. The day went much better after this.

When a normal morning routine is interrupted, it can "ruin" the rest of the day if we let it. For me, the best way to begin a day is in silence as we awaken to the possibilities that await us. A quiet time is a great way to ease into the day and prepare ourselves mentally and spiritually for the tasks ahead. But, we aren't always in control of how our day begins, as my story above illustrates.

So what happens when your morning routine is interrupted? If possible, it's best to not empower the chaos to effect the rest of the day. If a beginning is negative, try to do something positive that will help you get back your emotional and spiritual stability. Just because we get knocked off-center doesn't mean we can't recenter.