Pre - Dawn

Stockholm, Sweden

"I don’t love studying, I hate studying. I like learning, learning is beautiful."     -Natalie Portman 

My routine is simple. I get up early, I practice, then go teach. I've received comments as to how crazy it is to get up as early as I do. I mean, it does sound crazy, but in the end, it gives more than it takes. Really, what am I missing? There seems to be a world of gain maintaining a daily morning (or pre-morning?) discipline. It's pure medicine. And yes, sometimes medicine that is hard to swallow when I feel too heavy to rise out of bed. But hear this, the energy and silent aliveness in the pre-dawn hour is hard to replicate compared to any other part of the day. I see why the yogis of old recommended this time for prayer, contemplation and meditation. In some ways the world is mine at this hour. Allll mine, haha! I absorb the steady strength, pulsating, giving generously, as I rub up against the static inertia of my mind. It's not easy, but somehow grace follows where tapas burns brightest. It doesn't take a special person to dedicate to practicing at this time, because the time itself is special.