Maybe it’s the Aikido influence but I think beginnings and endings really matter. This post focuses on beginnings. I am a fan of start as you mean to continue. I enjoy my mornings. I do some of my best writing in the morning. I love it when I have time to exercise in the morning. Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day. I love my bike ride to work. But as we move into darker days getting going can be a challenge.
I recently bought a lamp that’s meant to be useful in combatting seasonal affective disorder. I like it. But now the company is also marketing other things my way, like an alarm clock that works by simulating the morning light. I confess. I bought one. Also, I love it.
It’s much better than the Rock alarm clock. It’s much better than repeatedly hitting the snooze button on your phone alarm.
I love the gradual lightning of the room. I like the bright light at 6 am. If I’m well rested the light alone is enough to wake me. I wasn’t sure how it would work if I was not getting enough sleep. Answer: it didn’t really. Instead, I was woken up by the back up sound alarm. That was much less enjoyable but I’m glad it’s there.
We’ve had a sunrise alarm clock for years and I love it. It’s so much nicer to wake up to gradually-increasing light and recorded birdsong instead of a blaring BEEP-BEEP-BEEP or worse, news radio.
I recently got another one for the living room, which I set to light up an hour before I need to get up. It’s remarkable how much nicer it is to get up when it’s not pitch black!