Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Early Bird

I have learned this much – Buddhists wake up early.

At the Bhavana Society, a large metal gong reverberates through the woods at five A.M., and should you somehow manage to snooze through that, the neighborhood dogs immediately explode into a barking frenzy.

I stumble down the hill in the morning darkness to the meditation hall, where we sit on our cushions from five-thirty to six-thirty.

- Dinty W. Moore, The Accidental Buddhist

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I think I live an unusual lifestyle.

In the city I live, it is typical for the folks to sleep at 2am on weekend, and wake up at 12 noon the following day. I typically go to bed before 12 midnight, and wake up at 7am.

Weather is one reason which explains my lifestyle. Malaysia is a very warm country. I jog in the park or wash my car in the early morning before the mercury rises to an unbearable level. I sometimes take an afternoon nap.

Perhaps, being a Buddhist is another reason I wake up early.

Furthermore, I am a photographer. Experienced photographers know that there are ‘magic hours’ for taking photos. These usually refer to early morning and late afternoon, when the sunlight is not that harsh. Apparently, if I want to shoot pictures at 7.30am, I have to wake up by 7am.

I may be different, but I don’t regret that…

15 comments:

  1. so i'm the weird one here. on weekends/holidays, i always stay up till 7am and wake up at 2-3pm. And i'm a buddhist gosh!

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  2. yup,nice shoot is at early morning, and late afternoon. :)

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  3. kyh
    Do you party until 6am? (-_-")

    kikey
    Looks like you know photography too...

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  4. Actually it's good to sleep early and wake up early - good for health and your liver. I try to do so, but I'm a night owl, so it's a struggle every time!

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  5. foongpc
    Good luck trying :-)

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  6. ever since i started working, i hardly stay awake past 12 other than insomnia nights . hehehe

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  7. did you shoot any? if yes ..share it here for us to see :D

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  8. I am a late bird. :)

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  9. xin
    So you are a rare breed too, hahaha...

    lisa
    I shoot with camera, not gun, LOL...

    neo
    Then you should join the lenglui portrait shooting workshops more often. Most of them start around 8am.

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  10. 早起的鸟儿有虫吃。除了有工作之外,假期我丢回来个大睡特睡。:P

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  11. It's not wrong to be special... different people have different lifestyle...

    Anyways, Merry Christmas to you!

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  12. I wake up early daily. I do not need any alarm to wake me up basically.

    I prefer to wake up early and sleep early.

    But in city life especially IT field, we hardly can go home on time..

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  13. christine
    So you sleep until 'wong see part an'? :P

    day-dreamer
    Merry Christmas, night owl ;)

    keeyit
    I understand that. A few years back, I worked nights for months. That's tough...

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  14. I'm a night person. But I love waking up early. :D I don't like the afternoons.

    Merry Christmas!

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  15. 就睡到自然醒咯!嘻嘻~

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