I get up in the morning because I need to stretch, need to feel sleep run out from me. I get up because my days are numbered and I want today to be among the ones I lived.

So that I can make myself tea, strong and milky, or coffee, dark and fragrant. Eat my favourite meal of the day. So that when good news comes, I'll be there to hear it. So that when bad news comes I'll be among those who comfort or fight it. So that yesterday's mistakes get just a little further away, and so that I learn to live without deleting what I said, or apologising for everything I can't take back. So that tomorrow's hope becomes clearer, and all of the joys I'm yet to live are just that little bit closer.

Life will happen, whether or not I'm there to see it. So I want to be up when it happens. That's why I get up in the mornings.

I don't really live

I'm not really alive

I am only concious

and awake

for this finite life of mine

because my heart

stubbornly continues to beat

I don't really live

I just spend my days

my weeks

my months

not dying

I don't really live

I continue

waking up every morning

simply because

the sun shines in my eyes

I get out of bed

simply because

my mother drags me

by the ankle

excited and curious she asked me,

"what get's you up in the morning?"

i forced a grin

and through my teeth i simply lied

"i just have so many things to look forward to."

You are the reason

I wake up every day.

No. Reset.

You are the reason

I get out of bed.

I wake up

because I’m not dead yet,

but I get up

I eat, drink, bathe

I cook, clean, run errands

I read, write, sing, dance

I listen to music

I laugh at jokes

I work

at being

the type of person

of whom you can be proud

someone

you want to be around and

share moments of your life.

You are the reason

I grab the phone

every time I hear

your ringtone

or a text notification,

the reason

I smile

the moment I open my eyes

ready to start the day,

ever joyful simply

because you are.

Why do I wake up in the morning? Well, that's a tough one.

The kids won't go back to sleep.

Too noisy as the household wakes up.

The sun sneaks in the window and won't go away.

Can't sleep the entire day - it would be a wakeful night.

:)

None of the above?

Then it must be - because I'm alive! And want to live the day out in all its joy and sorrow. All the little irritations, the little happinesses get bundled up into the ultimate joy of living.......

I wake up in the morning because aeons ago in the fields of Ethiopia a humble goat herder named Kaldi suffered because his goats failed to sleep at night. The ever-watchful Kaldi tried to discover the reason for their insomniac behavior and soon caught his goats nibbling on strange, dark berries.

When Kaldi picked the berries and brought them to his local abbot, his friend determined they should brew them - as good abbots do most things. Thus they rendered the first cup of bitter human elixer which to this day has been the only reason I don't stay in bed until the ungodly hour of noon.

I may have countless reasons for getting up in the morning even though the morning isn't guaranteed. That's where Hope sets in, to give me some glimpse. I want to be a part of the next day because that's the only way I can continue to lighten up the gloomy world of the underprivileged and those in need. You may think it's by chance but to me waking up every morning is a miracle.

©️Duncan Alidza

Recently my personal life has unfolded with the dramatic pace of the popular Netlix series Ozark. For those not familiar with the series starring Jason Bateman - it is binge-worthy material requiring full attention in order to keep up with the story line. For this reason I get up each morning out of genuine curiosity as to what the next plot twist will be. Each day is an interesting blend of a dangerous level of stress with scary high blood pressure and hysterically funny moments that no one would ever believe to be true. At times I look around for cameras that must be streaming this insanity live in high definition. Curiosity may have killed the cat but for me it is a survival tool to get up in the morning.

Sometimes it's becuase I have to.

I have school or practie that I can't miss.

Sometimes it's becuase I can't wait to feel the sun's kiss.

Othertimes it is simply becuase I am awake,

Or I have all things that just can't wait.

Somtimes I feel like not getting up.

What if I were to sleep in, and never wake up?

That's when I count.

I count all the things that I have got.

That's when I realize that I have a lot.

I have a reason to rejoyce.

That's why I make this choice.

I count to five,

and that's when I rise.

Why do I get out of bed?

There could be several reasons

Hunger

Thirst

both good motivators.

Sometimes it's just boredom

Can only lay in bed wide awake for so long

5 days a week my alarm gets me out of bed

I have work

Every once in a while, there's actually something I want to do

and for that, I get out of bed

But really?

I get out of bed because

If I don't, people ask

Are you ok?

Is something wrong?

I get out of bed because

Society

Survival

Require it.

And, sadly, neither of them will fuck off