What to Remember When Waking: a poem by David Whyte

Katie Pietsch
Mar 4
2 min read

In that first hardly noticed moment in which you wake,

coming back to this life from the othermore secret,

moveable and frighteningly honest worldwhere everything began,

there is a small opening into the new daywhich closes the moment you begin your plans.

What you can plan is too small for you to live.

What you can live wholeheartedly will make plans enough for the vitality hidden in your sleep.

To be human is to become visiblewhile carrying what is hidden as a gift to others.

To remember the other world in this world is to live in your true inheritance.

You are not a troubled guest on this earth,

you are not an accident amidst other accidentsyou were invited from another and greater nightthan the one from which you have just emerged.

Now, looking through the slanting light of the morning windowtoward the mountain presence of everything that can bewhat urgency calls you to your one love?

What shape waits in the seed of youto grow and spread its branches against a future sky?

Is it waiting in the fertile sea?

In the trees beyond the house?

In the life you can imagine for yourself?

In the open and lovely white page on the writing desk?

-- David Whyte

This poem is a gentle reminder of the power of mindfulness. It highlights how the first thoughts we entertain upon waking can set the tone for our entire day.

Consider this: a study shows that positive morning routines increase happiness by 25%. For those practicing yoga, grounding ourselves at the start of the day can significantly improve our emotional resilience and clarity. Simply dedicating 10 minutes every morning to ourselves through mindfulness or meditation can lead to improved focus and reduced stress.