When my belly got big with my son, I started routinely waking up around 3 a.m. as the pressure on my pea-sized bladder got to be too much. Same thing happened with my daughter – up at 3 a.m. like clockwork.
Then, for several years in a row, I found myself awake at 3 a.m. nourishing hungry, growing babies.
Of course, for any child there are night time fevers, and bad dreams, and then my own grief which prompted quiet 3 a.m. checks to make sure they were still breathing. Sometimes I needed that silent nighttime check to reassure myself that everything was going to be OK. So I could sleep.
And after so many years of that routine, I guess I got used to it.
Today, I find myself awake at 3 a.m. more often than not – an echo of the past lodged deep in my bones. [Plus, there’s still that pea-sized bladder issue.]
And I have come to love 3 a.m.
It’s wonderful. Unless you live in a college town, there’s no one coming home at that time of the morning. There’s no one heading off to work, either. There is nothing in the sky except stars. No cars whooshing by on the streets.
Even the birds are asleep.
It’s so still. So quiet. So calm. Creating an open, inviting space to just… be.
3 a.m. is a drink of cold water to a thirsty woman in the desert of busyness and doing-doing-doing that seems to be the way of our modern world.
At 3 a.m., I find I can breathe. I can lean against the door jamb for a minute and just be in the stillness, full of remembrance. And gratitude for this life, this time.
Aware of the gift of it all.
Which never fails to usher me back into a restful sleep.
The other night at 3 a.m., I heard a fox call in the night. Perhaps – a mom, too – she was up nursing her kits, and was looking for a kindred spirit who loves the morning.
She certainly found me. And me, her.
And, you know, I would never have heard her call in the regular hubbub of the day.
Your time for stillness and gratitude may not be at 3 a.m., but you’ve got a special time. You sure do – we all do – maybe you’re just too busy to recognize it.
But you need it.You need your own still, calm time as the antidote to the stress of your day.
So find it. Ready?
Deep breath.
Discover stillness.
Locate gratitude.
Hear the call in the quiet.
And live happier.
Exquisite! Thank you for this. What away to honor the moment!
Yes, I so relate to the sentiment of your article. Although I’m glad 3 am is not my time to find that peace you refer to. I’m glad for you that it works so well, your description of your experience certainly makes me wonder what 3 am would feel like, then I shake myself back to my reality and am grateful that I have my quiet time just before bed between midnight and 1am. In my time I choose to meditate and speak with my Spirit Guides and Listen as they speak back to me; focus on working through issues applying several of the personal growth tools I find most helpful for self help and when the peace settles in it’s time for my head to hit the pillow. I seldom remember anything beyond lying down and letting my body let go ……. and then the morning. It works well for me. Yet, I am intrigued about the quietude of 3 am and I shall try it some time and let you know what my experience is. 🙂
Beautiful refreshing writing! Thank you for this 🙂
I too enjoy 3:00am (and have a pea-sized bladder). I get amazing messages at that hour…the quiet is so rich with energy, so full of communication. It’s so much easier to listen at that time.
Glad you love it too!
You sure you’re not a Quaker?
🙂
Oh! Thank you! I have been a 3 or 4 am person for almost 2 decades and I felt a little odd. So often I simply lay in bed enjoying the heaviness of the covers echo the heaviness of the silence. I feel the warmth of my husband’s leg near mine. I am grateful. People didn’t understand me. Yes, I am grateful for this quiet space in the dark to dream and wander and listen without agenda.
You are a saint to let me know I’m not alone in the dark.
I like the sound of 3am! However, I rarely have any trouble sleeping (much to the chagrin of my wife) but when I have my time clock disrupted for whatever reason, I find that one of the best things you can do is just accept it. If I cannot sleep for whatever reason, I just get up and occupy myself with something productive until I start to feel tired again.
One night I could not sleep and I was watching an infomercial by Tony Robbins that I was absolutely spellbound by, and it led me towards life coaching and self development.
I salute the wee hours of the night. And acceptance of them if you are awake when everyone else seems to be asleep.