how we do our mornings

i’m all about, and often give, unsolicited advice. but know, we are no experts. take this or take that. know that we really cherish the early times and that time together, so we make the absolute most out of it. if you don’t, no worries. I think there’s still something here for those that get up, throw pants on and rush out of the house . in the flood of available information (of which there is many (1,2,3) we’re here telling you what works for us and what we like, so do your research and find your own sweet spot. - nearly, every morning Lu and I wake up at around 5:00am. Lu follows me to the bathroom telling me about what happened in the house while we were asleep and how she thought she was gonna die because she ran out of food. While she’s talking, I splash cold water on my face a few times, to rid myself of some of grogginess (which is something I recently learned jerry seinfeld does as well). It’s a small gesture with big return. It doesn’t feel as shocking as you’d think, in fact, very refreshing, like a dip in the lake. And as I have a unwavering affinity for the water, the lake, this feels like a good tether. immediately, after this, i mediate for twenty minutes, usually on the couch or the chair in our living room. this entire early morning routine is a direct result to my mediation practice. though, I could (and have) mediate on my commute, it feels like there’s more to gain when I create an atmosphere wherein I give this practice what I feel like it deserves. once I’m done is usually when moonbeam is waking up, which I prefer to do if I can. there’s a real visceral beauty in seeing your partners face first thing. and I cherish being that thing. 

she begins to do her things, washing her face, and such, while I make us coffee. we use a 6 cup chemex and we hand grind our beans. more on the why of our coffee method in a future post, but essentially, it’s a very slow and quiet act, reflective of the entire morning. it’s equally very meditative, it’s delicate and calculated. I just love it. as the coffee is finishing out, I’ll usually put some music on*, something that my dad did when I was growing up, and still does often. it’s never heavy or high bpm, it’s, again, slow. soft. sometimes on rare occasions, it’s something that I know will make moonbeam laugh, like the austin powers soundtrack. but I try not to disrupt us or the neighbors. this morning it was olafur arnalds ‘for now, i am winter’, which feels appropriate. yesterday, it was mountain man. it’s a wide range. more often than not, I use it to set the mood, acting like the first checkpoint for the day. then we sit and enjoy our coffee so slowly that often it gets cold before we can finish it. we talk. we laugh. we take it very slow. sometimes we’ll read a book. sometimes we won’t say anything at all. we just enjoy the silence. finally, we avoid our phones in the mornings. we do my best to absorb the energies and atmosphere without visual simulates until I leave the house (which I do at 6:40). it gives me a degree of clarity when I leave, when I really practice this I feel much more aware on my walk to the train station. helps me enjoy my humanness for awhile, before the joining the “rat race”. 

lastly, I never leave without kissing her goodbye. it’s old fashioned and sometimes inconvenient but its a non-compromise. 

- not all mornings are like this, but this is what most mornings in our house look like. we love our time together and feel very fortunate that this is how it’s worked out. almost like we get a mini-date in the mornings. Recap: - mediate, or have some morning practice for yourself. - splash cold water on your face - consume little to no media. - take it slow. enjoy the stillness. *we have a google home, which makes it very easy to play music in the mornings without looking at my phone.