Practitioners of QiGong and T’ai Chi know this well: The pre-dawn energy under the trees has an entirely unique energy that cannot be found at any other time of day. I’ll go beyond that, however, and just suggest that even if you’re not under the trees, the energy of the morning is special. Pre-dawn, the birds awaken and chatter about their plans for the day. Insects awaken and the buzz of the morning palpably changes. As a prior night owl, I must say that I have grown to absolutely love the energy of the sunrise.

It’s not just the energy, of course. When our day/night cycle follows the sun, we tend to sleep better and enjoy improved health as a result. So, part of this call to get out of bed is to encourage improved sleep. Of course, the sleep aspect of it requires that you go to bed early enough so that you’ve had that 7-9 hours of shuteye by the time the birds call you from your slumber. I’m not always successful with that, but I do strive to do so. Nothing, in my opinion, beats a sunrise after a great night’s sleep.

Part of the whole experiencing the sunrise/sunset is simply to encourage the practice of being fully present within our environment. If we’re locked away inside all day, we tend to lose that sense of connection with our environment that I think is so vitally important. I think feeling connected to the world around us goes a long way to ensuring that we don’t feel isolated. In the real sense, there is no separation, but the human ego is frail and tends to feel cut off from the world around it. Being present for a sunrise is another way to short circuit such limitations.

So, get out of bed, sleepyhead!

Much love,

trane