Every so often, I come across a “prayer” that makes me chuckle. Like one that says, “Dear God, please grant me patience. And I need it now!” Then there’s one that goes, “Heavenly Father, thank you that my day’s going pretty well so far. I haven’t experienced any major conflicts or catastrophes, and  I haven’t lost my temper or made any stupid mistakes. But very soon, I’m going to have to get out of bed, and then I’m really going to need your help.”

I thought of that one yesterday during a Zoom meeting. The person leading the meeting told us, at one point, that she only gets out of bed when she feels good.

A lot of different thoughts can pop into your head when you hear something like that, such as: “If I did that, I’d never get out of bed.” Or: “I’ve got work to do, kids to take care of. Staying in bed until I feel good is not an option.”

Her point, though, was that the way you start off the day can influence how the rest of your day goes, and there are things you can do when you first wake up that actually help you to feel good before you even get out of bed. Things like praying, meditating, or reading something inspiring, energizing, or humorous – anything that will put you in a good mood, ready to take on the day. So the idea isn’t to stay in bed until you feel good. It’s to make sure you feel good, and then get out of bed.

I’m at the age and stage of life where I tend to start the day slowly and sluggishly. I often feel stiff and sore when I first get up, and am very aware of the aches and pains that usually mark my mornings. I don’t dwell on this, but I don’t particularly enjoy it, either. I just accept it.

Or rather, I did. But not anymore. I’m now inspired to take active steps to get energized and excited – and feeling good – before my feet even hit the floor in the morning. I haven’t decided yet exactly how I’ll do this. Maybe I’ll start repeating a mantra like, “This is a great day, and it’s going to get even better.” Or I might begin the day by belting out – as long as my husband is already awake – the chorus of a song from the musical, Oklahoma! The one that goes, “Oh what a beautiful morning, Oh what a beautiful day, I’ve got a beautiful feeling, Everything’s going my way.”

I’m willing to bet that before long, I will start feeling good every day before I get out of bed. And then – I’ll get out of bed anyway. And see what happens from there.

February 26, 2021
©Betty Liedtke, 2021

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