Up before dawn. Cranking out a report. Sending three emails. Locking in the day’s tasks. Orienting myself to the work. All before prayer or meditation. This was my morning.

Today is already burning at both ends, and if you live in this modern miracle of Western civilization (which is to say if you are not a ghost), your day might be too. Always burning, always on fire. But perpetual fire burns things to the ground, and a life of constant conflagration isn’t sustainable.

Today, take a break from this endless burn. How? Take a break, and instead of turning to distraction (to social media, for instance), turn to beauty. Carve out ten minutes and:

play a beautiful piece of music, closing your eyes as you listen;
read a poem, perhaps “The Waking” by Theodore Roethke;
look for art in the world around you, perhaps on the side of a building or an office wall;
get into nature and find something astounding.

“Beauty will save the world,” Dostoyevsky and St. John Paul II. And as I look at my own burning life and the lives of those burning around me, I suspect we could all use a little saving. Today, find a little beauty and cherish it.

Grab a Copy and Wake Up

THE BOOK OF WAKING UP —a book on addiction, attachment, and the Divine Love—launched TUESDAY so order a copy or ten at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Bookish (my favorite indie bookseller). Then, forward this post to a friend and ask them to read along.