Upward Spiral

O My Soul:

Anyone who has had depression can acknowledge the helplessness of the downward spiral. Anyone who has had a bad day has experienced a similar event, maybe not as extreme, but similar.

But what about the upward spiral? The upward spiral is several steps that move me from a bad state of mind to a good and active state.

The upward spiral is helping my morning wakeup routine. I tend to procrastinate in the morning. If I'm tired, its easy to sleep in. If I don't have to be somewhere, it's easy to linger over coffee. And so on.

So, I have a morning upward spiral to get me started.

The night before:
1. I program the coffee pot to brew a pot of coffee a half-hour before I get up.
2, I set my cell phone alarm (get up at the same time each day).
3. I go to bed at the same time each night.

In the morning:
4. Turn off the alarm.
5. Make the sign of the cross (My hand prays for me and reminds me I'm baptized when my mind and mouth are not yet working.)
6. Drink two glass of water and then a cup of coffee (Hydration gets my body working)
7. Shave, shower, dress.
8. Pray a psalm or two (Matins at church later on)

This spiral takes me a good hour or two, so my wake up time is early. But by the end, I feel good and can help my family wake up, eat breakfast with them, and get to work feeling well prepared to think, write, and face the challenges of the day.

I am preparing a few other upward spirals. Especially during spiritual attacks, depression, anxiety, etc.

What is your upward spiral?

God bless,

-oms