Journal: 1/12/06

I’m continuing with my (very) early morning studies, and also with my evening outdoor exercises. Yesterday morning, as usual, I arose at 3:30 (after 6 ½ hours of good sleep) and studied and wrote for two productive hours. I truly love that early time. My mind seems fresh and rested, and I find the silence of the dark morning stimulating. I feel like I’m preparing myself, in a serious and almost ceremonial way, for the journey through the forthcoming day. The last thing I do before leaving for school is sit in my comfortable chair under the lamplight for thirty minutes of reading. I’m just getting into Dickens’ Dombey and Son these days, and it’s a joy to follow the adventures of his appealing characters for a half hour each morning. I think I carry some of his graceful sentences and profound wisdom with me throughout the day. I also love my evening walks up and down the long, steep hill of Granite Street. It’s lit by streetlights that send down a pleasant golden glow, and the sidewalks are amazingly wide. It’s as if I’m walking on a parade grounds or in an outdoor stadium. The cars rush noisily past me, but I’m almost oblivious to them, my thoughts being lost in absorbing meditations of one sort or another.