20 minutes

You may call them morning routines, or rituals, the things you do after waking up.

I like the word ritual, it feels mindful. You do not just do things but you choose to do them.

Lately, in my house, we have taken some 15-20 minutes to meditate before we get up, get dressed and take Hilma out for her morning walk.

There was a time when I thought I had no time to meditate, or have a good breakfast. Turns out, I actually have no time not to.

In a way, we are reborn every morning. The choices we make during the first two hours we are awaken are like seeds that we plant and water. In the afternoon, it is harvest time.

Get into the busy mode in the morning, and you will feel disappointed by the evening, regardless of how many things you took care of and succeeded in during the day. It was not enough. You should have done more...

Or, begin your day peacefully, mindfully, without a rush, and you notice that not only you get more done, but going about your tasks is more fun too.

Besides, the thought of not having enough time easily makes you focus on the lack aspect of things elsewhere as well: in yourself, other people and the world. There is a lack of good ideas, lack of brilliance, lack of money, lack of beauty, lack of good manners, lack of kindness, lack of well-being...

You see what you think.

And what you choose to think in the morning, is what you will most likely to see in the afternoon, only then it is super-sized.