Waking Before the Sun

Have you ever woken up before the sun on a summer morning when the sun rises early?  Have you ever woken after only a few hours of sleep and found there was no way you would be able to return to sleep?  Both of these things happen to me all of the time.

I used to worry and fret when I woke up at 2 am.  I used to be concerned about how tired I would be for the rest of the day.  I would inform people that I woke up early.  I am now very experienced at waking up early now and I approach my day differently.

I know that even though I woke up too early today,  tomorrow I have a good chance to get needed sleep.  I know that no amount of worrying or fretting over the amount of sleep I get will change my day.  At the end of the day it's about moving forward one step at a time.  The lack of sleep may catch up to me one day, but until then, I'll keep moving.

Next time you wake up long before your alarm and the sun isn't out yet and you would like to go back to sleep and you start worrying about your day, take a moment to imagine the great things you can do with your extra morning hours.  What kind of peaceful or productive time can you have?  It wasn't your choice to wake up so early, but you can't force the sleep so you might as well embrace it.