Early Bird

What time do you usually wake up in the morning? You may say it depends on what time you go to bed. It is true.

About a dozen years ago, a Japanese woman, a prestigious environmentalist as well as a simultaneous interpreter, published a bestseller book titled, "You can do everything you want by waking up 2 o'clock in the morning." She describes herself "a common household wife" who turned into a interpreter in two years while doing child rearing. But you should not be deceived the word "common," because she has a graduate degree from Tokyo university, top-notch in Asia.

Setting aside her academic background, however, according to her book, she always goes to bed 8 o'clock in the evening and wakes up 2 o'clock in the morning. This is why she can make use of even 4 hours for her own affairs before every other family members wake up.

I was impressed by her way of living, but I cannot do the same thing. But I agree with her idea of making use of morning time. It is true that increasing numbers of companies in Japan are holding a morning in the meeting rather than in the evening. They say it helps employees work more productively.

As for me I usually wake up 5 o'clock in the morning. I spend one hour doing meditation and Seicho-No-Ie's Holy Sutra reading, which provides me with spiritual enlightenment. In other words, these make up a vital spiritual training for me that enables me to see a brighter side in my life and every man and woman as a child of God. After these conducts, I spend time keeping a diary, watching a movie with a portable DVD player in English, or studying English by using other material. Morning time is said to be compared to gold of the day, I completely agree with this notion.

-TA