My morning routine – What I learned today to make it better.

I start every day with a meditation from the Insight Time app. There’s are a few favorite instructors I listen to. I did a search when I started a couple of weeks ago during my Gratitude focus, and included the word gratitude.

These rituals sort of slow down time for me. Before my day starts and I’m at the gym, or I’m involved with some other daily life thing, I make time for myself and focus on gratitude.
But getting to my location that I have reserved as my meditation corner take a little work for me. I’m not complaining by any means. I am very thankful to have a Corner devoted to this daily practice. But seeing down a very dark hallway at the ridiculously early hour of the morning that I have deemed the best time for me to get stuff done can be a challenge. The whole way that I calm down is black and I am on two forearm crutches. I need to make a left turn down the hallway into my kitchen, which is also dark. I can’t exactly just put my hand out to switch on the undercabinet lights because of the angle that I’m coming down the hall, so I have to come in and stop and touch the undercabinet light button.

Then I go to my dining room, where I prepare my tea and the refrigerator where I have a little bite to eat before the gym. Then I go down the kitchen space to put it in the microwave. I don’t really like moving around too much because I’ve always had a risk of falling. And I’m by myself. I am very careful, because I know that I am a falling risk. If few years ago, I fell to the floor and landed on three rips that broke when they contacted the kitchen counter corner. My countertops are grounded. Ouch.

I also have to put on my dining room light and do it to my Alexa app because I have all smart lights in my home. Last year, I hired an electrician to hardwire all the lights in my house, to be smart and work with my Amazon echo dot devices. It makes it truly easy for me when I walk down the hall and forgot to turn off some thing and I can just yell, “Alexa turn off living room.

So this morning on my way to my Gratitude morning routine at my dining room table I set up the Alexa app to have a “Vickie’s morning routine“ routine. I’ve never set it up before so A pretty good thing to do during learning week. I am really focusing on things that I need to learn to improve.

All I had to do was tell Alexa the phrase that I needed to say for her to take some action. It’s kind of like a trigger to fire the bullet. And the bullet was to turn on my turning on the lights in the kitchen, pendant lights, which are the undercabinet lights. We have a praying mantis in a mesh box on the corner of my counter towards the window. I don’t want to flip on the main kitchen lights with the pendant lights to all of the sudden scare this little creature that has no wireless. It also has some amazing vision I’m learning, but enough about that. Maybe I’ll do another post on my little muse, praying mantis.

I needed to have control over my light before I get there. And when I leave. It saves me a trip to the light and from the light.

Today I really improved my life and made it a safer place for myself and more productive way to start my day. Now I don’t have to focus on. How am I going to turn the lights on and hold on, and put it at the brightness that I want. I’m just going to have my smart phone ready in my bedroom before I go down the hall and start my day. I am completely grateful today!