Taking Time for Granted

I have a little ritual that I perform each morning when I wake up. It’s nothing elaborate, very simple. Each morning when I wake up, I engage in the obligatory cleanse and then I spend about two to three hours reading or playing my Kora. That’s it! I may have some juice, water or little something to eat while I’m reading or playing the Kora but that’s it. I find the really early morning hours to be more suitable for me to actually absorb the content of what I’m reading and the earth’s stillness and silence seems to act as a natural resonator for my harp playing. There’s something about the majority of people still being asleep that seems to issue a sort of calm across the land and being able to greet the sun each morning is something more than energizing.

Anyway, I’ve been doing this for so many years that I don’t really think about it anymore. Like I said, it has become a ritual.

One particular morning, after I had finished the “ritual” I made a phone call to a friend of mine who lives on the east coast, in Maryland. She is from Nigeria and her accent is a thing of beauty. I thought, to hear her speak, would be a wonderful way to start out the day following my little ritual.

When she answered the phone it was great because I could tell she was smiling on the other end of the line. This was a warm welcome into the heart and home of a friend. She asked me what I was doing and I explained that I had just been reading and playing my Kora. I told her that it’s what I do every morning before I venture out into the world.

She began laughing. This caught me off guard. I retraced the steps of my words and couldn’t find any humor in what I had just said. I asked her what was so funny.

After she stopped laughing she said that she was not laughing at me but that what I had just said had told her a lot about me; it pleased her. She said that she was happy for me because I had clarity of mind. She went on to explain that, in order to engage in the reading and music each morning, my mind would have to be unencumbered, free to concentrate on these things. I was starting to feel really glad that I made this call. I mean, who doesn’t like being told good things about themselves? I absorbed her words like a sponge.

She told me that I probably took this time for granted and that many people would love to be able to do this but are unable. She told me that the time I spend each morning should be viewed as a gift, a very precious gift.

I hadn’t really looked at it with this type of depth previously. We went on and talked for probably another hour or so. We both tend to be a bit chatty at times.

After we finished our conversation I had time to reflect. What I engage in each morning is definitely a gift. I made a conscious decision, following our conversation, to try and savor the time I am afforded each morning. My simple ritual has become an occasion I look forward the previous evening before I lay down to go to sleep. I never want to be the type of person who takes time for granted.

This is one of the reasons why I do what I do.

“Dooni dooni kononi bè nyaga da.”