Practical Faith Group
Discussion group lead by Walt Shelton
When: 4:30 p.m.-6 p.m. Saturday
Where: Genuine Joe’s Coffeehouse, 2001 W. Anderson Lane
Information: hpbcaustin.org
Awakened again from the peaceful escape of deep sleep, I hammered the alarm to the off position and stumbled out of bed into the shower. After toweling off while my early morning canine buddy licked my feet and lower legs dry, my eyes were open. I hurriedly dressed with lights off, certain only that both socks were a dark match, grabbed some coffee and breakfast for the car, and sped out for another work day. Some time mid-to-late-morning later, I felt somewhat awake but not fully attune.
How we habitually spend our first waking hour of each day has a profound impact on how qualitatively — or not — we live. Being intentional about each day’s new beginning is an important first step. Stumbling around in a rushed stupor usually insured for me a distracted, dysfunctional daily experience. I leaped from one project to the next, typically with my mind racing ahead to what was next and always preoccupied with just making it to the end of the day.
We set an attitudinal tone for each day in our early mornings or first-part-of-the-day-time, whether it is 5 a.m. or 9 a.m. Will our experience in time be hectic or relaxed? Will we be focused and mindful, or disordered and constantly looking ahead? At some point decades ago, I desperately needed and longed for a change in routine. Actually, what I needed was an actual routine in place of my early morning void.
Finding a model for daily preparedness and then experimenting with different schedules can progress toward a personal discipline that flowers into more meaningful day-to-day living. As a Christian, I look primarily to the life and teachings of Jesus as a guide. What I discovered years ago helped me with a morning process to increase my potential to be more fully present and engaged and to realize more opportunities. It also turned my first waking hour or two into my favorite part of the day.
Regardless of faith orientation, Jesus gives us a great model for starting our day. Although the New Testament gospels do not tell us a lot about his life, the first chapter of Mark gives us insight into how Jesus started his day. “In the morning while it was still very dark, he got up and went out to a deserted place, and there he prayed” (Mark 1:35).
I imagine this verse being a nutshell account of what Jesus did to start his day as a matter of developed habit. In the few verses that follow, the author of Mark informs us that Jesus’ friends had to hunt him down. When they found him, he told them it was time to go to work.
I believe his early morning process enabled Jesus to live a life of daily service to others. In crowds and challenging circumstances per accounts in the New Testament gospels, Jesus managed to focus on one person in need at a time. That is how Jesus encouraged his followers to live per his actions and teaching. Indeed, actively loving and caring for others is the highest of vocations. It is our common calling in every legitimate faith tradition.
I asked myself some time ago: What does this pre-dawn story in Mark practically offer me as instruction for living more completely? After trial runs and reflection, I discovered there were building blocks I could try to follow.
First, Jesus was up “while it was still very dark,” so I needed to start my day very early and become a so-called “morning person.”
Second, Jesus went so far out that his friends had to “hunt” for him — and he did not have a car. Therefore, I needed to exercise. I chose morning running as my preferred form of movement.
Third, he spent time in a “deserted place,” so I needed solitude in a special place or places to be developed over time. Finally, “he prayed,” so it was essential for me to be prayerful with thanksgiving and petitions, not only for my own day but more especially for others in need.
As a footnote, Jesus met with key friends at the close of his routine. Thus, if I could add a good friend or two for the start of my day, it might augment my experience and preparation for the rest of the day.
I continue to work on how to best translate this early morning foundation into a more effective life. Currently, I start with coffee on a quiet porch with my faithful dog, who always models being and living in the present.
I then move with a second cup of coffee in hand and dog in tow to my favorite chair in our small study, otherwise know as “my room.” Usually, I read a chapter or two of the Bible and some pages of a favorite book — best for me if it is one about being focused and mindfully alive.
I then pray in word and silence and as simply as possible. I try and sit still for a bit before heading out to run, endeavoring to keep a prayerful mindset. Sometimes, I meet a good friend for company, conversation and shared silence.
After many years, I now truly enjoy and embrace my predawn time. Like everything with significance, it is a work in progress and varies in quality. Sometimes, it is almost magical. Other times, I rush through it and negate its helpfulness, fall asleep or get distracted.
When my practice grossly deteriorates or I reach a point of exhaustion, I take a break for a day or two and then crave a return to purposely starting my day. I might also change up how I go about initiating my days, reminding myself that the goal is not the ritual itself but effectual groundwork for being whole.
I always struggle to live gently and peacefully in the moment, regardless of the time of day. Yet, my batting average to approach such a rich life experience goes up when I seek to follow an intentional routine of beginning and re-beginning each and every day.
The “right” cluster of daily first-thing deliberate activity and inactivity is a personal matter. Although each person’s search for and experience of the ideal mix will vary, the outline Jesus offers from his effective routine long ago offers powerful tools for a more meaningful, moment-to-moment life.
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