Wide Awake

-
Looking out the window into the still murky darkness of the early morning hours, I am reminded of one of the great benefits of jet lag.... early morning productivity.

Once the frustration from being unable to fall back asleep has subsided, and once I have dragged my overtired-yet-unable-to-slumber body from the warmth of the hide-a-bed, the joy that I get from the clarity of the early morning is treasured and welcomed during overseas trips.

This morning, at the early hour of 5.00a, I received great delight from sitting with legs covered in afghans while the also-awake children watched break-of-dawn cartoons, and I had the opportunity to work uninterrupted for several hours until the rest of the world woke up.

Next to me sits a bottle of water to re-hydrate me from the dryness of the room produced by the in-home central heating, in addition to a cup of steaming hot coffee that my mom put on to brew when she also awoke before the sun to get in her morning exercise.  Breakfast can wait for some more time, but the water and coffee bring welcome refreshment from the 'harshness' of the night.

Emails and skype chats await.  Reports and proposals are on the docket.  Plan-making for our time in the US is at the top of the list.  Check! Check! Check!  One thing after another gets done.  What a great way to start the day.

I love being productive.  I love eliminating the abundance of messages from my in-box.  I love crossing things off my to-do list.  Therefore, this jet-lag-induced early morning productivity brings me great joy and a sense of inner peace and accomplishment.

Tomorrow morning may be different.  I may long to remain in bed and let sleep overcome me.  But for today I enjoy the fact that my brain and body clock are still making the trip from the other side of the world.  And therefore I revel in the ability to work and write and let my strengths operate at maximum capacity.

Welcome early morn', welcome!

~lk

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

On Compassion

-
The tension has really ratcheted up in the last couple of weeks.     It seems like people are on edge. Extra nervous.     Almost on the verge of panicking. Is it COVID? Is it the election? Is it the constant uncertainty that we’ve all been under for months and months and months… and months?     So many of us thought that SURELY by the holidays we would have returned to ANY KIND of normal – old normal, new normal, abnormal… something.     But no.     Here we are.     It’s in this unsettled state of existence that my heart has started hurting.  It’s started hurting so much for all the broken people out there.  Yes, there’s been a lot of breaking going on.  Broken hearts, broken lives, you name it, things are breaking.  And there is pain and suffering going on.  And people who are broken need to be seen and heard and understood.   I think what’s needed most right now is some g...
Read more

On Thanksgiving

-
I read an article this afternoon titled, “You have permission to not be thankful this Thanksgiving”.     The author’s point was that no one should have to force themselves to be grateful just because a date on the calendar prescribes that we should be thankful.     She even brought in to her argument the fact that “the original Thanksgiving” (think Pilgrims and Native Americans) was a horrible affair sans turkey or any feelings of thanks or of giving or of compassion and humanity.     True enough, I suppose. I would never argue that someone should be forced to be thankful.     I would never say that someone should be compelled to give thanks for things that they don’t have or for things which have been ripped from their grasp.     Forced joy is not joy.     I get that.   However, if I’m going to argue about anything, I would choose to argue passionately about one thing in this regard.  And here's the reason:   I ...
Read more

Thoughts on Election Day

-
                It’s election day here in America.     A day of red, white, and blue.     Many people have already cast their vote, but others are waiting in lines at polling places, eager to fulfill their civic duty. It’s a day that’s supposed to be a celebration of democracy.     It’s supposed to be a day when we exercise our right to choose leadership for our country that will represent us and help to guarantee that our voices are heard.     It is a day that women and people of color have fought for the right to participate in.     Fought for the right to be included.     It’s a day that’s supposed to bring us together in unity as a nation with hope for a future that will bring us the promises our forefathers, white, male and slave owners they may have been, founded this nation to bring to reality.                ...
Read more