No More Morning Routines!!!
How reading the back of my cereal box gave me an existential epiphany
This morning, I got up at 7:00 a.m., washed my face, and made myself a bowl of cereal with strawberries. Then I sat at the kitchen table and ate it alone.
I usually aimlessly scroll Instagram or Facebook if I’m eating alone, but I left my phone in my bedroom today. So I just sat there and listened to the quiet hum of the refrigerator. I counted the seeds in each strawberry. I heard a rooster crow. And then my brain felt under-stimulated, so I resorted to reading the back of the cereal box.
The back of my panda puffs cereal box is forest green and bright yellow and has all these fact boxes that say things like, “Giant pandas live in bamboo forests in the mountainous parts of China,” and “Male pandas can be up to 350 lbs!!!!”
It was actually interesting and colorful and made me strangely nostalgic. Suddenly I remembered being in elementary school, eating Frosted Mini-Wheats, reading every word on the cereal box out loud. (I guess there’s nothing better to do when you’re seven years old and iPads haven’t been invented yet.)
Occasionally my dad would shuffle downstairs to make his tea and I would ask him questions like, “What is a cal-or-ie?” or “What does Zinc do?” and he would give me some generic answer like, “Calories help you live.” Which was really just code for, “I wish I didn’t have a seven year old daughter who asks me a million questions at 6 a.m.”
As I was learning about giant pandas this morning, I realized the last time I read the back of a cereal box was years ago. And then I had a simple thought that began to germinate until I reached a practical conclusion:
I want to be more intentional with my time in the morning.
We’ve all probably said something along those lines.
“I want to start waking up earlier,” or “I want to eat breakfast every morning.”
I know I’ve tried to set goals for a morning routine before. I’ve tried to wake up at 7 a.m. every day for a month. I’ve tried to journal every morning. But none of these actions really helped me sustain my energy and focus my mind.
The difference is that this time, I don’t have a defined goal. In fact, I don’t even want to “accomplish” anything.
I just want to slow down, be present, and be intentional about re-centering myself for the day. I want more time to read the back of cereal boxes.
Everything we experience is a reflection of our perception.
And if everything is perception, how much more then should we control how we perceive?
We’re anxious because of how we perceive the future. We’re happy because of how we perceive our current circumstances.
Controlling our perceptions of the world and ourselves has the ability to change everything in our lives.
Part of being intentional with my time in the morning will include taking a moment to control my perceptions of the things around me. It’s entirely up to me if I have a good or bad day because it’s simply my perception of the day that dictates it.
Today my goal is not to have a goal.
I’ve felt stressed every day this semester. This has propelled me to be really “productive” with my time. But at the end of each day, I’m still stressed. And as I was eating my panda puffs, I realized it’s because I’m missing all the tiny, wonderful, insignificant moments amidst my busyness.
Being more intentional with my mornings cultivates gratitude. I want to care deeply and listen intently to the people I interact with. I want to be a better friend, sister, daughter, and partner. I want to take in the beauty of the changing seasons and weather. I want to talk to God in the stillness. No goals — no accomplishments—no striving. Just being.
If “having a bad day” is simply a perception, then so is “having a good day.” And today I’m determined to have a good day. :-)
