Shachar (Morning Light)

From the daily prayers of the Jewish tradition, comes Shacharit- the morning prayers done ideally during the first three to four hours of the day, from shachar which means morning light.

Part of the morning prayers is the Shema Israel- "(or Sh'ma Yisroel or just Shema) (Hebrew: שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל‎; "Hear, [O] Israel") are the first two words of a section of the Torah (Hebrew Bible) that is a centerpiece of the morning and evening Jewish prayer services."

Hear, O Israel: the LORD our God, the LORD is one.
And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.


Sounds like ONE LOVE to me. It's also quoted in Christianity. To me, you can believe or not believe in God but every morning realize that there is oneness connecting us all that can't be denied. That could feel overwhelming or reassuring or something else entirely. But for me, it makes me realize I'm not just responsible for myself. I'm responsible for every living thing on this planet, as we all are, because we're all connected.

Soundtrack of the Morning

Current song that inspires me in the morning:

"Jump Up" by Dan Zanes
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"jump up day is breaking
jump up let's get shaking
i know you're lying down
jump up and we'll dance around

jump up bells are ringing
and i hear friends are singing
oh yea, it's a crazy sound
jump up and we'll dance around

jump up stand on your tip toes
reach out grab a rainbow
turn it upside down
jump up and we'll dance it around

jump up clouds are passing
look up the sky is laughing
i know we'll be laughing too
jump up i want to dance with you

jump up you know i love you
that's right i love love love you
a new day is shining down
jump up and we'll dance around"

-Dan Zanes

What is your current soundtrack for a good morning?

Synchronicity and the Alba

Synchronicity is always an interesting phenomenon when it happens. For example, the day I chose to begin this blog and write the introduction was March 28th, which happened to be Byrd Baylor's birthday, the author of the book that inspired me to explore ways to start the day in the first place.

Another example of synchronicity? When a little poetic form called the alba was introduced to me at a poetry reading last week. As I sat and mused about mornings and writing, rituals and chants, all of a sudden the featured reader caught my attention once again as he explained an alba, which literally means sunrise. It's a very old Provencal poetic form from the medieval times. It's poetry that's meant to be read at dawn. It's a love song, a troubadour's call, words of longing after spending the night with a forbidden love. It could involve a guard warning the lovers or the jealous rival. Who knew I would stumble upon this poetic history once I opened my mind to the beginnings of a day?

Alba
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As cool as the pale wet leaves
of lily-of-the-valley
She lay beside me in the dawn.

-Ezra Pound

Greet the Sun

Greetings,

I'm exploring all aspects of the morning!

From my introduction page:

Introducing The Way to Start a Day. As I did a spring cleaning of the creative corners of my house, I found a list of 100 things I wanted to do with my life that I made a few years ago. On the list- create a zine focusing on the beginning of the day. What people eat around the world, rituals that take place in the morning, sounds, sights, tastes, touches, smells, movement and chants, the prayers of monks and priestesses and gurus and sadhus, and the stories of ordinary people everywhere as they welcome the day. Whether you are hungover with too many beers from last night to waking up at dawn and doing sun salutations, I am interested in it all. The idea began and is based on the book The Way to Start a Day by Byrd Baylor, that so eloquently describes people from all over the world waking up and giving thanks for the day. So I humbly offer this online version of a zine, hoping to capture the power of a morning. You can start all over again every day.

The way to start a day is this- Go outside and face the east and greet the sun with some kind of blessing or chant or song that you made yourself and keep for early morning. -Byrd Baylor

I want your stories! Please contact me with anecdotes, diatribes, ideas, pictures, prayers, rituals, or anything else related to mornings and the beginning of a day! Email me: thewaytostartaday(at)gmail.com.