Who amongst us has not been bombarded with the words “gratitude”, “journaling”, or “manifest” over the past year?
The words make me cringe. In my mind’s eye I see the words “smug”, “trying too hard”, the dreaded “#blessed”, and “who the heck has that much time in the morning because I am trying to get a teenager out of the house in time for school, walk the dog and get to work!”.
Simultaneously, I was buying books that provided a variety of insights into bite size pieces. I never read them – I stacked them on the table beside the reading chair in my bedroom. To be read someday. Clearly, my subconscious was inquisitive. Asking questions I was too busy to answer.
In an effort not to sound too nutters, this year I have decided to set aside time each morning to take a sip from a set of tomes to start my day. Mind you often I am reading at 5am while the coffee is brewing so some days I may miss the hidden gem in the words! However, I have been fascinated each day by the confluence of themes among my random group of books.
I keep the books in a basket by my desk so that I cannot miss the opportunity to read. Ideally, I do my readings soon after getting up as a way to set the tone for my day. (Good lord, who am I ??) If I have not gotten to it until I settle at my desk to start my workday, the books are right there and I can peruse them throughout my day. And sometimes, I read them at night, gasp! There is no wrong way to do this.
There is no prescribed number of books either. I suspect I’m a little aggressive on the number of books I am reading each morning but I am a fast reader with a squirrel-like attention span, so it works for me to have a larger variety of books. And yes, I read all four books everyday. The four books I have chosen to read are designed for either a daily reading segment or laid out in 5 minute reading chunks. Additionally, my book themes are not going to be everyone’s cup of tea but they are what my psyche and my soul need right now.
My rainbow of books that I read each morning:
The Creative Act: A Way of Being by Rick Rubin – I am embarking on a lifelong dream of writing a novel. I have written poems and short stories my whole life for my own edification, but this. This is different. This is putting the fun hobby to the harsh light of reality. Rubin’s book is a deeply compelling treatise on embodying our individual creativity. I hope to find some courage and insight in it.
Musings of a Simple Country Priest by Rev. Steven C. Wilson – Throughout my life I have had an interesting relationship with my christianity. I’m an Episcopalian. There were years where I wasn’t sure how I felt about the church – my own more positive opinion than the church on LGBTQ+ and female priest issues, hell and damnation from my New England college day priests, a safe haven summer camp that turned too judgy under new religious leadership….It took a devoted, open-minded, brilliant priest at Christ Church Alexandria, VA (Steve) to show me the long road. He married both me and my sister to our soulmates and he was taken from us way too soon, but thankfully he left us with a written year of his wit and wisdom.
The Daily Stoic by Ryan Holiday – A couple of years ago when we moved to Seattle, one of the first acquaintances I met introduced me to this book. I was struggling with the new life we were embarking on and my friend thought this book would provide insight into control of our own destinies. Sounds hooey but the Stoics were some of the greatest philosophers of the ancient world. Definitely meaty words to chew on.
A Year of Miracles by Marianne Williamson – I have been following the work of Marianne Williamson since long before her infamous presidential campaign. I even had the opportunity to see her speak in my professional capacity with hospice back in the day. I appreciate her approach to finding self-love through guided reflection.