17 April 2010

The Saturday Morning Magic Hour


There is one time of the week that I love above all:
Saturday mornings!

There is a time from when I wake up to when everyone else in the house wakes up, cinematographers call that the magic hour.  For them, it is that first hour of sunlight of the day (or the last hour of sunlight). That time is best for filming because the light is softer and the shadows are longer. Something about the light exposure on film is better than dealing with darker shadows and overly bright spots when the Sun is directly overhead. Depending on where on the planet one is filming or taking pictures the time and duration of the "magic hour" can vary. Therefore, in the filmmaker's and my case "hour" is used rather loosely.

I try to keep the same wake time everyday (makes it a little easier come Monday morning). During that two hour or so period there is, typically, no pressure to get out the door, get something done, or to wake up everyone in the house. That time is mine (all mine)...call me selfish, I do not care, it's still mine.

That "magic hour" is my time to reflect, meditate, and get focused. Now whether I choose to do all of them is beside the point, typically I will do one or two but it is very seldom that I do all three.

Of course, there are some mandatory things that I do during the magic hour. First, I brew a fresh pot of coffee and as coffee drinkers know there is nothing like a hot cup of java to get your day started. Next, either I crack open a book and catch up on my reading (currently: Joseph Jaffe's latest Flip the Funnel) or head over to the living room, fire up the laptop, and get caught up on required blog reading. That's about as intense as I want things to get, remember I am using this time to reflect, meditate, and/or get focused.

Now as the sun gets higher and the day starts to kick into high gear, my second cup of coffee is poured, and I am ready to get the weekend started.

I am curious, when is your magic hour?


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