I discovered Good Morning by the Beatles when I purchased Sgt. Pepper in late 1975. So that’s my title for today 😀.
Back then, 1967 seemed a lifetime away. I was only 5 in 1967. But it was just 8 years back – like 2018 is now 8 years back.
Anyway, what’s all this got to do with my morning rituals? A recent ritual is to look at a different year of my life each day and reminisce. I think of all the news stories, music, movies, events and people. It often provokes me to pray for old friends and colleagues. I created a series of pages on a private Google Sites site, where I’ve documented my entire life. It was great fun. I do hope to add any additional memories that come to mind.
What else do I do in the mornings?. Apart from having morning coffee and breakfast, I like to listen to my Spotify playlist, where I’ve added many of the older hymns and worship songs. And, of course, I go for a nice walk, if it isn’t too wet. I should read too, but it takes me a little while to get my brain into gear. I am a morning person though.
I often listen to a Daily Reading from YouTube, but only if I’m sure that I can concentrate. If not, I catch up later.
Perhaps I should have used Good Day Sunshine as the title for today’s post. But we don’t get much morning sunshine in Ireland 😀.
And what fascinates me about Good Morning Good Morning is that when I first heard it, I thought that it was an awful song compared to the early Beatle songs, but like many of the later Beatle songs, it grew on me. I was 14, and perhaps I was moving to a stage where I could appreciate more sophisticated music. I think that I discovered Pink Floyd around then too. I also remember purchasing the Band on the Run album by Paul McCartney and Wings just before Christmas 1975, which is probably the best album by any of the ex-Beatles.
I always like to close my post with a couple of hymns. Holy Holy Holy has the line “early in the morning, our songs shall rise to thee.” That’s exactly what I want, and it’s what generally happens. It’s a little easier for me now that I’m pretty much retired. I don’t have work to worry about. But I don’t think that there’s any stage in life where everything is easy. You do go through easy periods, but like the Apostle Paul, I’m eager to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far.
Paul was torn between wanting to be in heaven and wanting to be on earth. He knew how useful he was on earth. I feel a bit useless much of the time, but I can be of some use, especially through prayer. I probably didn’t do enough of that in years gone by. Now is my chance to make up for it. And though I have great fun reflecting on a different year each day, it’s also beneficial to my prayer life. And there’s much to thank God for. So here are some morning hymns. I almost forgot – I generally look at some WordPress.com posts first thing in the morning too, and start on tomorrow’s posts 😀.
Hibernia Gospel 