The Difference
One of my favourite poems (I know I have a lot) is called The Difference, (see full poem below). Its author is unknown and it has a certain religious “feel” to it, (it mentions God and Praying) which makes me feel slightly uncomfortable as I’m not religious, however if you swap out God for Universe and Manifesting instead of Praying the concept still works for me.
It points to those days when you wake up late and rush into the day without intent, planning, praying or manifesting how you want to spend the day or what you want to accomplish during it. The day gets steadily worse, you feel tired and problem after problem pile up, then finally in frustration you shout out “WHY?”And God replies – “You just didn’t ask me to help!”
The next morning the protagonist wakes up late again, but this time he takes the time to Pray / Manifest / Plan etc. and his day turns out differently, it runs smoothly and the poet achieves what he wants to achieve. Of course I’m paraphrasing here, but that’s the basis of the poem.
Therefore “The Difference” was the initial time in the morning where the protagonist took his/her/their time to plan and manifest, which caused the day to be so much better than the previous one.
Putting intention in to your day and creating a morning ritual can really change and improve your day and subsequently your life. I love my morning ritual. Personally, I set aside about an hour to indulge in this practice (I know others wont have that time - but just 5 minutes is all you really need). The mornings are our biggest opportunities to set the tone for our day.
I used to wake up in the morning, turn on my phone, and read the stressful, negative news. Or scroll mindlessly through social media (and I still do occasionally, even though I know my day will be worse). Then I’d jump up and get on with my day. Now when I wake up, I bring my awareness to my heart and feel gratitude for another day here. I get up and slowly begin to move into my morning rituals. It makes the world of “Difference” to my life. Of course sometimes I fall off the wagon (I am human and fallible) and I revert to previous behaviour patterns, but eventually I pull myself back together and return to my morning routine. Living intentionally means choosing what will serve our highest self, so if you want to have a great day you have to intentionally set the foundation for it.
Here are my Top 5 tips for starting your day with intention:
1. Go to sleep before midnight the night before.
Intentional mornings begin the night before. The way we feel when we wake up in the morning has so much to do with the quality of our sleep. Most of us need on average 8 hours of sleep a night, therefore we get better sleep when go to bed early. I try to get to bed by 10pm.
2. Stay present. Be Mindful.
Train yourself to be present in the morning and it will help you be present in everything you do.
3. Make a morning routine list.
Making a list of things to do in the morning that will help you feel the way you want to feel is an easy way to reduce resistance. Wake up, turn to your list, and pick out what resonates most.
4. Choose wisely.
Make sure the things you choose to do for your morning routine are things that are going to nourish, energize, and connect you to spirit and heart. So think: Gratitude List; Yoga; Take a walk in Nature; Workout; Journaling; Hot Lemon Water; Make your bed; Good breakfast; Plan/Pray/Manifest; Read something that feeds your mind; Ground yourself; Meditate; Build a To-Do List – there are so many options you can choose from, but start off simply and build gradually.
5. Don’t be afraid to change.
When your morning routine starts to feel like it’s no longer serving you, don’t be afraid to change it. My Summer routine is completely different to my Winter one – so change it up when it feels right.
So, what does your morning look like? And do you put intention into your day?
