"Morning Reads" - Marty Coffin EvansMarty Coffin Evans

“Morning Reads”

By Marty Coffin Evans

Each morning, unless I’m heading out for a breakfast meeting, I pour a cup of coffee, settle into my blue chair and reach for the books/booklets which help ground me for the day. Before opening the first one, little white poodle-mix Simon assumes his position on my lap for a post-night nap.

During our pandemic months, several friends emailed requests for quotes, recipes, along with suggestions for meditations or books, all in a chain-letter type format. I respectfully declined, believing my stash of six meditation books/booklets adequately helped me begin the morning.

The first book I reach for, Today is Mine, remains the oldest, having been given by a friend April 2007. When I opened the book, its April 25 meditation and title, “Just Enough Obstacles,” totally fit my circumstances. Mine included the months-earlier passing of my husband, mother’s death and my own cancer surgery, coming within nine days. Regardless the intervening years, Today is Mine still provides timeless, thought-inspiring meditations.

Next, I move on to three faith-based booklets with messages for each day. On occasion, I’ve copied or removed pages to pass along to others.

My two remaining books, both volumes of Cherokee Feast of Trails, complete my morning reading before I move onto the daily newspaper. I don’t remember how or where I found the first volume of this small daily meditation book. Even after acquiring volume two this year, I’ve kept reading the first one. Both focus on family, seasons, friendships, life’s challenges and more.

All of these books have provided inspiration for my own writing, often after reading their different meditations. Selections about the seasons of the tree or reaching back to take another’s hand in support have been shared with different groups.

Might you have a morning stack of books to begin your day? Or, do yours end the day?

October 2024