Just Because You Love Something Doesn't Mean You Have To Own It

Is this what they mean by "owning my morning?"

I have a dilemma.  After the real estate market crash here in ground zero (Las Vegas),  I did not emerge unscathed.  In fact, there are scathed people everywhere in the real estate industry here.  Currently, my most precious possession is the mantra I tell myself anytime the "ownership" feeling starts rearing its ugly head, "Just because I love something doesn't mean I have to OWN it."  (Serenity now….).  

Which brings me to my current dilemma.  I LOVE mornings.  It is hands down my most favoritest, gloriousest, fuzziest, joyest, funnest, lack-of-anything-having-gone-wrong-yet time of day.  And now, NPR's new mantra for why I should continue to tune into their morning newscast (Morning Edition….I bow to you!) is that I will OWN my morning if I continue as the dedicated listener I have been for the past….how many years?  How can I explain to them that I am not allowed to OWN things I LOVE?  

I found myself perplexed with this phrase, "Own your morning".  To be quite honest, I hadn't heard it before, which isn't surprising because there was a time in the not too distant past that I had to ask who this Kardashian character was and which selfless act of charity was she alone responsible for that she should be so widely recognized?  So, a little research of "ownership" and "morning" led to a site that linked to an article in "Entrepreneur" magazine, and the highlights of "owning your morning" included:

• Having a routine works wonders for keeping your mornings calm and relaxed.
• Don’t press the snooze button! However tempting it may seem, snoozing can actually make us feel groggier for longer.
• Get moving! – Whether its just a stretch or a full body workout, it gets your blood pumping and keep you feeling more alert.
• Don’t check your work emails before you get to work – remember the morning is yours to enjoy!

Well, I'll be brief:
    #1.  But I DO have a routine!  However, my animals unfortunately are not routine about how and where and when they vomit or otherwise release their bodily fluids during the night, so often, my routine is thwarted by "Attention: shoppers! wet cleanup in aisle 3!", putting me already behind schedule!  Oh, crap!  Wait a minute….I must stay calm and relaxed.

  #2.  I LOVE my snooze button.  More than once, I have felt disappointed in my new phone because it only allowed 3 snooze sessions.  Maybe I should just be honest with myself and reset the original wake-up time?  But, I love the routine of swiping the snooze icon!

  #3.  See #2.

  #4.  Guilty as charged.  Ok.  I think I can do that.   I could stand a little "the morning is yours to enjoy"….

So, I guess this "ownership" they are talking about is really "taking responsibility" for how you want your day to go based on how you spend your first hours of the day, or something like that.  Ok.  Honorable.

Meanwhile, I'm really trying to rid myself of the need to own things, including time.  

Time is something we rent, not own.  It isn't ours to keep.  It is ours to use.  I don't want to "own" my morning.  I don't want to ever experience buyer's remorse for time spent doing one thing when I could have spent it on something else.  I want to "rent" my morning with the same immediate purpose that I rent anything else in my life.  I have a definite purpose when I rent something, be it a car, a tool from Home Depot, a movie, a boat, a bike, whatever.  

And when I'm done, I return it to where it came from. 

And when I'm done here, I'll return to where I came from.