I

July 6th

RISE AND SHINE

“On those mornings you struggle with getting up, keep this thought

in mind—I am awakening to the work of a human being. Why

then am I annoyed that I am going to do what I’m made for, the

very things for which I was put into this world? Or was I made for

this, to snuggle under the covers and keep warm? It’s so

pleasurable. Were you then made for pleasure? In short, to be

coddled or to exert yourself?”

—MARCUS AURELIUS, MEDITATIONS, 5.1

t’s comforting to think that even two thousand years ago the emperor of
Rome (who was reportedly a bit of an insomniac) was giving himself a
pep talk in order to summon up the willpower to throw the blankets off each
morning and get out of bed. From the time we’re first sent off to school
until we retire, we’re faced with that same struggle. It’d be nicer to shut our
eyes and hit the snooze button a few more times. But we can’t.
Because we have a job to do. Not only do we have the calling we’ve
dedicated ourselves to, but we have the larger cause that the Stoics speak
about: the greater good. We cannot be of service to ourselves, to other
people, or to the world unless we get up and get working—the earlier the
better. So c’mon. Get in the shower, have your coffee, and get going.