Best Time of Day

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Early morning has always been my best time for creativity and thinking.  The only problem is that sometimes the creativity and thinking wakes me up…and too early!  But honestly, it is the best time of day for me.  No one is awake, the house has that dreamy glow to it, the smell of coffee is wafting about, I can hear the clock on the mantel ticking…   And somehow in the deliciousness of this oasis in my day, I receive creative direction, help for my soul, thoughts to carry with me throughout my day.  My written journal has on every page, a continuous line drawing.  It’s part of how my brain wakes up…to trace the contours of some part of the room I’m sitting in.  It feels like something I need to do:  to somehow follow the edges of things that surround me, to let my brain and hand wander around the page, stopping here, stopping there to notice the edges, the curves, the directions.  I’m aware that I need this in the rest of my life as well…places where I’m not in accomplish-mode, but just meandering, following the creative line here, there, just being, smelling the coffee, listening to my 7-year old rambling and relishing in her particular way of expressing herself, slowing down to hear the sounds of other parts of my day, exploring a topic or idea just for it’s own sake and not because it is on my to-do list.  This is what I’m hoping for today.  The terrible thing is that I can even make THAT one of the things on my list, just another item to “accomplish”.  It’s good to recognize this tendency in me.  Yet it is also good to be purposeful in my fight against constant “productivity”.  So, today, in the slowness of the morning, I’ll throttle down, ease into a rhythm that I’ll endeavor to make last for as long as possible.

0 thoughts on “Best Time of Day

  1. Cheryl says:

    Wow Jen, thank you! When I read your tweet, my auto response was:
    Right after the kids get on the bus. I’m already jumped up from 3or4 (or 6 🙁 ) cups of coffee and I’m super productive. I whip through my “to do” list the second all the kids are gone.
    Then I read your blog and I’m rethinking things a bit. Wonderful insight to begin my day 🙂

  2. susan says:

    I was up before dawn this morning and did my prayers, meditation and yoga and did my first art for the day as the kettle boiled. I celebrate all the day so no particular favourites. I do like the candle on when I am up before dawn which is not every day.
    Thanks for sharing
    lots of love from susan in australia

  3. vickylw says:

    Your lovely prose could almost make an early riser out of me! . . . Almost! My husband is the early rising coffee drinker around here; I’m a night-owl tea drinker myself.

  4. Tammy says:

    Love the watercolors, the bright colors and delicate lines. Do you draw then write in your journal or are they 2 separate things? Thanks for the reminder to stop and smell the coffee–and the flowers:o)

    • jenpedwards says:

      Hi Tammy! Usually, I write for a bit, then start drawing from wherever I am on the page, then write, filling in around the drawing if there is space. This continuous drawing with the watercolor was made in one of my “visual Journals”. So the paper can take the watercolor…my writing journal might not do so well. Thanks for commenting!

  5. Deborah says:

    An incredible blog post – the sketch is so beautiful, lyrical, and yes, very “Charles Reid-ish” as Krista said. I hope you don’t mind, but I’m saving this beautiful prose and painting to my desktop for inspiration. Your work is just fantastic!!

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