August in the Northeast shows me grasping, talking to the cooler morning breezes to please, please not take summer away. June and July rush past as I love them. August rolls in, I dash to fit in all the summer fun, to hold her warmth a little longer; perhaps this year, I think I will follow Mother Nature’s lead. Let her show me the way to enjoy the season instead of rush it or hold it, or do the same to myself.
It started with meeting the sun each morning.
That started with the kitchen being out of order for 4 weeks in a renovation.
The chaos of that had me much like the sunflower each morning, situated towards the sun. Chaos is intended to do that — clear a new way. I quickly set-up a little coffee station, with morning pages and began to reliable identify the bird calls. And my days were longer, well, that isn’t exactly true. What happened is I could set my intention for the day in a way that previously eluded me if I didn’t sit before the day started.
Sit and intend the day. Cultivate a feeling and seep it through my cells.
“Have patience with all things but first of all with yourself.” —Francis de Sales.
I can actually now, midday, return to the intention of the morning and feel a stirring, which is a way to build something —right?— bit by bit forward, not starting from zero each morning or hoping for the best in a world so fast the horizon can blur.
It falls away no matter. We can practice our boundaries to drop-in as the world calls us to speed up so we make the most the most of that which is waiting to be seen (or let go). Both are worthy of our efforts.
To feel mysteriously within
That which has been preserved of old
Revive with newly risen Sense of Self:
Thus, quickening, It shall pour cosmic forces
Into my life's external work
And, in becoming, print myself upon existence.
—Tr. Brigitte Knaack | Translation of Rudolph Steiner Calendar of the Soul
I wrote a whole post on Silence (I’ll include at the bottom of today’s post) and the idea of this and the need for discernment keep returning. Where do you source your silence? Do you trust the answers that come?
How do you know?
What do you do with your mornings? Does any of it belong to you?
I’d love to hear more — I think it helps, to make the most of the days, to make the most of the morning sun. It’s a microcosmic act of trust. When we trust what comes of the dawn, when we trust that we are worthy to discern the whispers— no matter how many times it takes us to listen; no matter how long it takes us to pivot — there is another morning to meet us patiently, again and again.
☕️🌅 Share your morning routines below.
If you have questions or need help - reach out. I help people anchor in new routines to make the most of their days. Mini-summer coaching sessions remain. Can be paired with access to Sit In Your Center.
More soon,
Kate
Where is Your Silence These Days?
“Silence is an endangered species,” says Gordon Hempton, an acoustic ecologist who traveled the world for over 25 years to find and record places completely free from manufactured noise.
Love this post Kate. My morning routine has been changing - charlie and I used to go on a long walk but with his injury its just out back. Ive added elliptical time while he rests in the basement - and geounding time outside hile he just lays, a reminder to relax. Ease into it as you said. But my routine is in shifting season again with back to school, back to the office, early days/long nights. It messes with me. I've got to find balance and grace. Thanks for the reminder.