I was not really a morning person and I liked to believe that it’s a trait that holds strong in most people of my generation (or at least that’s what I have observed). I liked to have my mornings open ended and subjected to what I feel like doing ‘after’ I wake up. Ever since I got into college and had nobody compulsively waking me up every morning, I took the liberty to sleep as late as I could and, likewise, wake up at will, which was obviously always in the later half of the morning!
I still crib about having to wake up at a definite time next morning sometimes, but waking up is not that big an issue anymore. And I feel the credit goes to the morning circle. For those who don’t know, morning circle is when every member of Sacred Groves family stands in a big circle and all the things that need to be done that day are discussed. It sounds normal, doesn’t it?! Well, it is not. Not saying it’s ‘abnormal’ either, but it is so much more than a mundane discussion about work.
We start with reading a quote by Sri Aurobindo or The Mother, which is a simple but effective way to motivate ourselves. Then there is a much-needed session of morning exercise which sometimes gets really funny. And then we proceed to planning out what all is to be done and who will be doing what during the day, and it’s amazing how everyone takes up the jobs themselves – within no time, the day is planned! If anyone has any ideas, suggestions, news or announcements, they are shared and discussed. And then comes the part I love the most – everyone joins hands in the circle and softly chants ‘OM’, and disperses to get on with the day.
When, as a student, I had considered working, it was definitely not the picture I had in mind. But I suppose it’s not just the series of activities that make it exciting to me, but the way they take place, with the idea that all are equal and all participate in whichever way they can. When the day starts with this positivity that is so plain evident, being a morning person is not hard at all!!
– Meera