TL's Moments

‘Il mattino ha l’oro in bocca”

I was not born an early riser.  For most of my life, I have hated getting up in the morning. But somewhere along the way, I changed. 

I have always admired people who got up at the crack of dawn. I have wanted to be that person but often have heard people say, “You are either a morning person or you are not!”

As I grew older, entering adulthood, not much changed, I dreaded getting out of bed. The struggle was real.  I would stay in bed to the very last second while all the time having a back-and-forth discussion with myself…it will only take me 12 minutes to get ready…I won’t wash my hair…. I can put on make-up on the ferry.  I would come up with any excuse to stay horizontal just a little longer. Why did I make this process so damned difficult? 

My friend Lori was once burdened with the responsibility of being my 4am wake up call before a morning flight. I not only hung up on her several times, at one point I told her to go on ahead with the trip without me.  Thank god she was persistent because I might not have enjoyed a wonderful week on a crystal blue beach, drinking margaritas somewhere in Mexico.

Once I even passed up on a job interview. I couldn’t possibly interview for a position with an 8am start time, so I gracefully declined the interview. (As luck would have it, the girl who accepted the later position soon changed to the earlier one.  In the end, I interviewed and accepted that later position. I should add that those scheduled work hours were soon thrown out the door. Twenty-eight years later, after many long days, occasional tears shed, and an abundance of laughter, Cindy and I are still good friends.) 

I often wonder how different our lives would be if Cindy would have accepted and kept that later position. Perhaps it was not just luck. Perhaps this was meant to be and this was the start of my slow transformation into a morning person. 

I began the process of getting out of bed early with the help of Tony Robbins. I purchased an audio tape program of his called “Breakthrough”.  I was determined – once and for all – to get over my dread of getting up. I had things I wanted to do: Take yoga classes, take photographs, write, and simply enjoy stress-free mornings. 

Tony Robbins teaches that “not taking action” can be more painful than “taking action.” I began to think of the struggle of getting out of bed as “painful,” keeping me from the things that would bring me joy, once vertical.  

So when that buzzing sound came around to wake me, I changed that conversation I had daily, with myself …if I don’t get up how will I feel and if I do get up how much better will I feel?  It was a simple technique of using pain and pleasure instead of it using me.  And slowly, I did change.  

It has been over a decade since I have implemented Tony’s technique and now the idea of staying in bed feels wrong. It may not be in my DNA, but I have discovered a love for the morning.  It is a special time and I am grateful for the many joyful things that come right before the dawn, It is no longer an ordeal.  

I had plans to write about how I am no longer on my own island (maybe next month) but early this week, chatting with Lover, I said, “You know some of my best shots were taken at dawn.”  I used the phrase “the early bird catches the worm” and sarcastically said “you know that one right?”  Being a true morning person, he understood. The next morning while reading during my morning commute, I came across this Italian phrase “Il matting ha l’oro in bocca” which translates as “the morning has gold in its mouth.” You know how I like things to connect, so I immediately took out my journal and started writing about my struggles with getting up early.

I like the idea that the morning has “gold in its mouth” much better than catching a worm.  I look forward to finding much gold in my morning endeavors.  

Never forget you have the power to change.