Up & At 'Em

Up & At 'Em

The wise Aristotle, born in the year 384BC, said, “It is well to be up before daybreak, for such habits contribute to health, wealth, and wisdom.”  Benjamin Franklin, in 1735, later paraphrased by saying, “Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.”  I grew up hearing this age-old saying, from both my mom and my dad.  For as long as I can remember, they always told me that it was important that I go to bed early so that my brain could get the rest it needed.  When I went to bed early, I also had to get up early so that I could prepare for the day with a clear head.  Of course, when I got up early, I had plenty of time for exercise sometime during my day, no excuses there!  As for the “wealthy” part, well, I haven’t quite reached that point yet, but it’s a little early for that.  I think the fact that I awake with a positive attitude, ready to challenge the day, can certainly improve my chances of achieving a fair income one day.                                        

           This saying was especially important in early mid-America when farming was the main occupation.  Farmers had livestock to feed and cows to milk.  There were crops to plant and it was cooler in the morning to get their work completed.  The farmers needed their wives and families up early too so that they could prepare breakfast and help with chores.  Everyone in the house was up, ready for the day.  Rising early reduced their exposure to the sun, helping them to be healthier.  They were able to get more work done, making them wealthier, and this promoted a happier home, making them very wise, indeed!  It had the added bonus of bringing the family together, forming a strong bond that stabilized all its members and contributed to a vigorous society.  We may not still be an agrarian society, but we have certainly benefited from our past, Americans’ are an uncompromising, independent lot that thrive, even in adversity.

The wealthy part must come into play with “the early bird gets the worm.”  All you have to do is look at the New York Stock Exchange to see that Wall Street is busy early in the morning, with the stock market opening at 6:30am in California.  Since the majority of the worlds’ wealthiest people trade stocks, they must rise early.  Just look at many of our founding families, the Rockefellers’, the Gettys’, the Vanderbuilts’, the Kennedys’, etc, all families that valued long hours and hard work, beginning at “the crack of dawn!”

Perhaps ‘ole Aristotle knew a thing or two after all.  If not, why would Benjamin Franklin have reiterated nearly this very same thought, hundreds of years later?  And, here we are again, hundreds of years after Mr. Franklin, still reciting that same proverb.  It is, most certainly, because it is so true, even after all these years.  The animal world knows it, you won’t see them sleeping after the sun has come up, which certainly helps to keep them from being eaten by another animal who didn’t sleep late.  When you actually stop and think about it, we humans are basically very smart animals; so really, we should just do what comes naturally and we would all be the better for it!  

I must admit that it was my parents that made me go to bed early when I was young.  They were also responsible for getting me up with my chickens, yes, I have chickens, to begin my day, and sometimes I grumbled a bit.  However, now that I am older, it is my choice whether or not I want to go to bed and wake up early, and, I do.  I have come to realize that I love waking with the sunrise, and even earlier than that in the winter.  The air is fresh and cool and has that moist, grassy smell I love.  The birds are singing their beautiful songs and I find that this refreshes my soul.  It makes me bright eyed and bushy tailed, I feel terrific and ready to tackle whatever the day may possess!