Are you a morning person, or an evening person? I’ve never liked to be boxed, so I typically answer, Both. That said, dawn-time always feels to me like, Ok here we go. While dusk takes a deep breath and whispers, It’s alright, let it go…

Because I so often have to remind myself to mentally exhale, it helps when the entire sky is encouraging you…in swirls of purple, pink and silver clouds. Magic hour…

In my religion, the Baha’i Faith, day actually starts at sunset. While it sounds counterintuitive, the more I sink into it, the more it makes sense.

So often, when night falls, I crash. In this hectic, overwhelming world, it’s easy to justify curling up and tuning out – typically through some form of media escape. We all need downtime – which lets the brain heal, the imagination wander, and our bodies rebuild.

But there is something mind-altering in this simple shift:

This night is the start of a new day.

When I say this to myself, I try just a bit harder to fall asleep with a good word in my mouth. This word acts as viaticum – which in Roman days meant food or money for the journey. In the Christian faith, viaticum is Communion bread and wine offered to the sick and dying. Provisions for the soul’s journey.

All dreamers need viaticum too. It is the energy we need to swim the waters of sleep and awake refreshed and not burdened with fear and doubt. So often, I wake with a heavy heart, worrying about all I haven’t done, all I need to do (and what I’ve done wrong or inadequately).

Is it possible to turn this anxiety into assurance?

Each new religion brings a calendar, a new way of shaping time. The Baha’i calendar names weekdays and months of the year after a name or attribute of the God. So for example:

Sunday = Beauty

Monday = Perfection

Tuesday = Grace

Wednesday = Justice

Thursday = Majesty

Friday = Independence

Saturday = Glory

With all the hurts and distractions we face, it’s easy to forget that these attributes are in us too. More often, I want to wake up with a new meaning on my lips – Beauty, Justice, Grace. Viaticum for the living…