Arnold Bennett, grew up with a stammer and was introspective as a result of having difficulty with speaking. He became a writer and found success as a novelist, including one book called ‘How to Live on 24 Hours a Day’.
He wrote:
‘The chief beauty about time is that you cannot waste it in advance. The next year, the next day, the next hour are lying ready for you, as perfect, as unspoiled, as if you have never wasted or misapplied a single moment in all your life. You can turn over a new leaf every hour, if you choose.’
When you wake up, how do you feel about the time in front of you? Are you happy to meet it? Does it seem long? Do you wonder how you will fill the hours? Before setting out what your day will look like, take a moment to savour the sweetness of being alive at all.
Bennett felt everyday was a new gift. ‘
'You wake up in the morning and lo! your purse is magically filled with twenty-four hours of the unmanufactured tissue of the universe of your life! It is yours. It is the most precious of possessions.’
As you wake, try and ponder on a few things you are grateful for. Stay with each item in turn... visualizing it… one after the other. Notice the warmth you feel inside of you. Do you feel a smile creeping along your face, even as your eyes remain closed?
If you prefer the moment to yourself, focus gratitude upon life itself. Feel your breath as it rises and falls. Notice how your inhalation will take care of itself. That is your life force wanting to live on.
Remember, ‘You can turn over a new leaf every hour if you choose.’
