Any Morning

Any Morning
by William Stafford

Just lying on the couch and being happy.
Only humming a little, the quiet sound in the head.
Trouble is busy elsewhere at the moment, it has 
so much to do in the world.

People who might judge are mostly asleep; they can't 
monitor you all the time, and sometimes they forget.
When dawn flows over the hedge you can
get up and act busy.

Little corners like this, pieces of Heaven
left lying around, can be picked up and saved.
People won't even see that you have them,
they are so light and easy to hide.

Later in the day you can act like the others.
You can shake your head. You can frown.

Eeking out “pieces of heaven.” This is what my morning delight and savoring practice is: a practice of noticing and cultivating pieces of heaven, storing them, building resilience and hope through them. The pieces are so simple really. It starts with a willingness to see these simple joys as essential. Not frivolous or wasted time. Especially important for me to remember this time of year, as summer’s frivolous joy has shifted to fall school year responsibility. To everything, truly there is a season. Yet, the season, no matter, calls for savoring.

Do you have a practice of finding your own little corners, your pieces of heaven? Have you called this practice frivolous, a waste of time, a distraction? Oh, please don’t, friend. True wellness does require living fully within our circumstances—and beauty, joy, deliberate moments of savoring fill us up so the responsibilities aren’t so maddeningly overwhelming.

I’m including a meditation and movement practice for paid subscribers this week friends. Let me know how it feels and in the meantime, carve out a little space for a daily practice of presence. It will make everything else possible. And later, if you choose, “you can shake your head. You can frown.”