Begin Your Day Right  

    Before my father drove us to school, where he also worked as a teacher,
he'd say, "In the morning I set my good purpose." Then he'd smile and begin
to sing. The harder the day ahead, the more cheerful was his song.

    Every spiritual tradition offers ways to transform relaxed sleep time
into purposeful activity. We can also create our own rituals, as Dad did,
even if we're busy.

    Dorothy C. Bass, author of Receiving the Day, sometimes works with people
who are so over scheduled that a single extra phone call disrupts the whole
day. While time management techniques can help, writes Bass, "our predicament
[with time] is more complex, our yearning deeper, and the shape of time in
our lives of greater importance than such techniques can address."

    Bass stresses the need to learn a richer language than the language of
management. And to develop life patterns that will get you through the days
not only with greater efficiency but also with greater authenticity as human
beings. Bass reports that the editor of Christianity Today, Martin Marty,
begins his day by crossing himself and remembering, "whatever guilt I have
from yesterday is gone. ... I cannot do anything about yesterday; I can only
do things about today, and I only have strength for today."

    Each morning task can be part of our morning ritual. Albert Einstein is
reported to have gotten his best ideas while shaving. Louis Armstrong often
spoke of the need to loosen his bowels to keep the music flowing.

    My best inspiration often flows in the shower. While coming clean
physically, I meditate on coming clean spiritually. Often I repeat a line
from Psalms, "This is the day that the Lord has made. Rejoice and be
exceedingly glad." Sometimes the rejoicing is mixed in with a loud grumble or
two, as I'm forced to face once again the mixture of good and bad that comes
with being human.

    Standing under the gushing water, I gain more courage to meet the day
with the best that is in me. Once I have set my good purpose, I am better
prepared for whatever happens. Thanks, Dad.

A Practical Spirituality column also published on Myprimetime.com by Pat Sullivan
Copyright 2001 by Pat Sullivan. All rights reserved.