Midnight Beginnings / Endings?

Life is a huge circle, isn't it?  Each day begins another chance for everything from repeating what we've already done well (or not so well) to taking on some new challenge and a chance to grow intellectually or gain strength emotionally.  It is also a chance to waste opportunity and time doing absolutely nothing at all. We can choose to just BE for an hour or for the whole day.  The point is, of course, it is our choice to make each new day something or nothing.  Nothing days are okay now and then, but stifle our creativity and our urge to live if we allow them too often.  Everyone gets to decide how often is too often. I choose to fit one of those into my schedule weekly, most of the time.

I am a night owl by my natural clock.  I am most content when I can stay up until 2 a.m. or so and sleep until 8 or 9 a.m.  I can adjust when I need to and still usually sleep 6 to 7 hours, if no alarm wakes me, regardless of when I actually go to bed.  Because of my recent retirement, I now live on my natural clock cycle and find that I am more rested and more motivated than I have been in a long time.  That being said, I now have days to do whatever my heart needs.  Some days, not many, that means I can just write all day or read all day or play silly 'puter games by the hour or float in the pool for hours.  I can start some crafty project and finish it!  I can watch TV or go for a walk or take my Momma someplace she might  want to go. I love spending time with her and I admit here and now, sometimes that is my choice for a ME day.  It really isn't about HER as much as it is about ME enjoying my Momma's company.

Some days are about obligations.  Appointments that need to be made and kept.  Groceries that need to be purchased and stocked.  Meals that need to be made for sharing or for sustenance. Cleaning required for mental health, in my case. Maintenance around the home or outside.  Vehicle maintenance to save money in the long run, "Pay me now or pay me later."  Remember that commercial?  It runs around my head every time I think maybe I won't get that oil change today.  There are often phone calls that need to be made and take time and presence of mind, so I tend to put those off until I have several to make!  My presence of mind is sometimes something I have to assemble.  These days are not about me, but about keeping me somewhat sane and in control of my life and my surroundings.  Without these days, I would be a raving maniac because disorder and dirt around me makes me very uncomfortable and very anxious.  An undone "to do" list will haunt me until it has been completed and discarded.

Each day ends at 11:59 p.m. and the new day begins at 12:00 a.m.  One minute from yesterday to today and from today to tomorrow.  Each midnight is the beginning of a new chance and the end of the last chance.  I am almost always awake to experience this transition and sometimes I reflect on the day passing and look at my plan for the day approaching.  Midnight is a magical time of moonlight, night sounds and dreaming.  It is my "alone" time with my thoughts, hopes and blessings.  It is my time to appreciate and plan.  If I want to be someplace else in my personal growth, it is my time to lay out that plan.  It is my time to forgive myself for not being all I could have been today and encourage myself to do better tomorrow.

Midnight is the end all and fresh start of each day the Lord gives to us to do with as we please. 

The world begins anew every midnight. The moon rises high either full in glorious earth glowing splendor or just a sliver of light sneaking across the sky almost unnoticed.  The sun lights the other side of the earth and promises to bring midnight around to them in a short 12 hours.  For many people midnight just passes while they sleep every single day completely unceremoniously.  Yet, it passes into the new day of new chances anyway.  Regardless of how you welcome or ignore the blessing of midnight, it comes and it begins and ends every 24 hours.

Wishing you all a new appreciation for the bewitching hour of midnight!

Jo