Morning Mood
Afterwards, he considered it a blessing that the barking dogs woke him up, although it was well before dawn. If it hadn’t happened, he wouldn’t have experienced the bliss that now filled him. A dream had taken him back to early childhood, where feelings of joy, trust and total oneness had been hiding. His normal morning anxiety was magically gone.
He got up and went to the terrace. Filled with peace he sat there, watching how the first rays of sunshine slowly transformed the anonymous grayness into a colorful, beautiful garden.
A piece of music, Grieg’s Morning Mood, started playing in his head, and he remembered an early, quiet summer morning when he was still a teenager. He was walking home from a late party with a rising sun playing hide and seek with him at the horizon. Everything seemed different, innocent and fresh; as if without a past. He felt happier than ever.
This morning, more than 30 years later, the same connection was there. Feelings of joy and gratitude overwhelmed him, and he thought, “There is no outer reason for this sensation. It should be possible to return to it at any time, even in company. I only have to resist the temptation to enter into annoyance, anger, frustration.”
The door suddenly opened and his wife appeared. Without greeting him, she mumbled, “Those damned dogs woke me up again. I hate it!” Then, louder, “You should throw those pajamas away. They’re ugly!” And, with a groan, “My back is killing me. I think it’s the pillow.”
He looked quietly at her. Any other day, he would have joined her, complaining, arguing, finding reasons for irritation. But today, he simply looked at her with a warm, loving smile.
“Have you noticed the stillness?” he asked softly. “Have you smelled the fragrance of the roses? Listen to the birds!”
She made a grimace, turned around and headed to the kitchen to start breakfast.
“Patience,” he told himself. “She needs patience. And love. We all do.”
He got up from his chair to join her. She would need a helping hand.
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To Leave Comments - Please SignIn with GoogleThere is nothing like a bit of nature for a balm to the soul. It’s something we could all take a lesson from. Nice story
Thank you, Carrie. Yes, nature often is a good help in distressing times. But we need the willingness to take time to enjoy it.
Hiya Christer, I’ve just made a coffee and I am looking forward to reading your story along with as many as I can manage. I really enjoy commenting on the stories, as I know that, I feel the same when someone takes their time to read and pass comments on to me. The first thought I have is that this is a situation that most will have encountered at some time or… Read more »
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To Leave Comments - Please SignIn with GoogleThank you for your nice words, Eric. I’m so glad that you enjoyed the story. I had to cut back a lot of words from the original version, and while reading your comment I had to go back and check a detail: I was glad to see that the word “temptation” could stay in the text. As you say, it is so easy to join in the negativities we often are surrounded… Read more »
Your story really resonated with me, Christer. I’m sitting here in Australia sipping my coffee, minutes after sunrise. I, too, was woken by a dog… mine! Before dawn we went for a long walk and with each lap of our small acreage the darkness got a little lighter, the frogs croaked on the dam and kookaburras laughed at us from the trees. Pure magic! I adopted Lily, a deaf Mini-Dachshund, seven months… Read more »
How fascinating to read your comment, Sandra, not only for the great visualization of how your morning in Australian is played out, but also that it is right now, in this moment, as I sit here in southern Colombia, and the time is 3:15 PM. Morning is definitely gone here, with barking dog, rising sun and promising birds’ song. The animals are early risers, and it’s a blessing to have their help… Read more »
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To Leave Comments - Please SignIn with GoogleI loved how he rose above his wife’s complaints and didn’t lose that inner peace and happiness he’d found Christer. Nature can be so beautiful and music can instantly take us back to times gone by. I dream every night, sometimes more than once! I could totally relate to how he felt waking from such a happy one. A really positive story, well written.
Thank you, Linda. Yes, we need other humans and nature for our well-being, but we also need to connect with our higher self, which I think is hidden within, underneath our conscious thoughts and automatic reactions. When we have that connection, as can happen with dreams or in the oneness with nature, sometimes in the quietness of early mornings, we have to try to stay there for a while and “charge our… Read more »
Hello Christer, I just read your comments about my story, so I came over here to read yours. Strong parallels with two characters, one seeing the good side and the other only the bad, from the same situation. Good story with interesting visual images.
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To Leave Comments - Please SignIn with GoogleYes, Alan, you are right. There is a parallel in our stories with two different characters mirroring each other. With my experience, after a long life filled with details of different qualities, I am inclined to say that we all carry the content of both opposites within. (Maybe that’s why we can write about them.) The moral is that we should try to refrain from judging too harshly. When I do, after… Read more »
Hi Christer, I’ve enjoyed reading a few of your stories now, and your comments are insightful. As soon as I read Grieg’s Morning Mood I switched it on, on YouTube. It’s an uplifting piece of music. It’s just after midnight here and I have just learned that ‘pyjama’s’ can also be spelled/spelt, ‘pajamas’. Also, I like how your story had a transformative effect commencing with the dream that took him back to… Read more »
Hi Andrew. It makes me very happy to see that my story spoke to you and that you even took the step to listening to Morning Mood by Edvard Grieg. I had a profound experience with that music when I first listened to it as a student, which actually was in Bergen, Norway, where the composer lived. As a teacher, I once had to replace a music teacher with no time to… Read more »
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To Leave Comments - Please SignIn with GoogleThanks for sharing this wonderful story. The first sentence itself is so profound that I couldn’t stop reading till the end.And then this line, “Everything seemed different, innocent and fresh; as if without a past. ” where you have expressed an emotion hard for me to even express. In just a few words you have revealed a sea of emotions. I have learnt so much just by reading your story. Please keep… Read more »
Wow! You just made my day, musing mind! If you only knew how much your comment means to me. With a response like yours, it is easy to go on putting in the effort it takes to keep writing. I’ll do my best not to become arrogant :-). Thank you so much!
Hello Christer! When I first read your title, I heard Grieg in my head, little realizing that you would talk about that very music! How amazing that you heard “Morning Mood” for the first time in Norway, where it was conceived. Norway is a far cry from Colombia – but the music easily crosses all borders. Your story is lovely, as is your life’s view. I always look forward to your stories,… Read more »
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To Leave Comments - Please SignIn with GoogleHow wonderful, Juma, that your thoughts went to Grieg already when you saw the title of my story! Yes, I was introduced to the musician in the summer of 1969, when I also saw his home, which by then was a museum.
Thank you so much for your kind comment. It made me very happy.