The First Hour of the Day

Today’s drawing of Mary Magdalene

This morning I thought: I would love to be happy, to feel that intense joy that we sometimes feel when something special happens in our lives.

I feel peaceful and calm, strong again, but I thought, I haven’t really felt that happy for a long time.

I also thought: but feeling that happy also means the opposite. After such a high, almost always comes a low. I immediately doubted my wish, and paused to appreciate my calm peace.

I wonder if anybody feels that kind of happy, “in love” happy or “excited about something big” happy all the time without sinking. I wonder if that’s possible. I doubt it, but who knows…

And then, while I was in the train going to work, I started reading a note that I keep in my phone where I wrote a whole plan for all the projects I want to do, and began imagining ideas, I felt it. Intense Happiness, for a moment, not so long, but ignited.

It was self-igniting joy. It may not be as intense, or lasting, but possible. I created it for myself writing that note on my phone during my morning commute. I look at it in the morning sometimes, on my way to work, and it helps me keep alive the dreams and ideas I want to develop, leading to a sense of joy and elatedness.

Does it matter that I haven’t checked off any of the items in my long note? I have one item in progress, and some others are in the early stages of development, but it doesn’t matter too much. I can dream them and make them happen slowly, and mostly, I’m never without a map. I’m never empty of ideas. Because to me, that is the most unhappy state I can be.

One of the items in the note is The Mary Magdalene Celebration. Of course, I have done it many times. But it’s a permanent item because it’s always a little (or a lot) different. Some items in the list are iterations of things I have done and enjoyed, and would like to do again better. I write them there so I don’t forget.

And on my way to work, I read them, because it is at that time that my mind is fresh and rested, open to ideas and challenges, fertile for dreaming and for solving problems.

I recently heard one of those AI inspirational videos that imitate the ideas of some famous author, and I think what it said was worth listening to. In essence: take that first hour of the day and dedicate it to your growth. Read, plan, start working on the things that you intend to create. Don’t give that time away, but keep it for yourself.

This idea of using the first hour of the morning has really resonated with me, a former night person, now a morning person. So now I do my best to use some of the time before leaving for work to work, even just a few minutes, on one of my personal projects, and during the subway ride, to think about how to develop those projects. It’s not a lot of time, but at the very least, it creates a sense of excitement and joy that frame my day positively.

I always attribute any learnings to Mary Magdalene’s guidance because it was only after learning about Mary Magdalene that I was able to recognize the messages of books, the YouTube oracle and random illuminations. My current life is not as naturally magical as it once was, but this time around I’m calling on the magic to make it happen. And the idea of Mary Magdalene is always there, a silent guardian of my illusions, and idealistic heart.