The Ballet, recipe Part 1

The alarm clock rang with the inane sounds of WZKY’s “Morning Zoo Crew” laughing at jokes that weren’t funny. They banged on pots and pans, farted, shouted profanities, and attempted a variety of “comedy” bits, all loud, all scatological, all seemingly designed to annoy you so much that getting out of bed was worth it simply to turn them off. This was Miriam’s thought as she bolted upright in her bed and banged her iPad alarm with her fist. I don’t know why I listen to that noise, she thought.

It was going to be a long day. She had meetings scheduled every two hours, and her first one was just a couple hours away. Enough time to take a leisurely shower, get ready, and still make the train. She put on a pot of coffee, turned on the shower, let it run for a bit to heat up, and stepped in for an eye-opening steam bath. After a couple moments, she closed her eyes and began to pray. This was a regular habit, even though Miriam didn’t really consider herself religious. But she’d discovered that, for her, the only way to deal with the noise and rush of the day was to start the day in silent meditation. She wasn’t usually praying to anyone or for anything, she would just close her eyes and take in the warmth of the water. Maybe she would think, Holy God, or Universal Energy, or whatever is out there, if you’re out there, help me get through this day without ripping someone’s head off. She wasn’t sure this was an entirely appropriate prayer, but she figured it was better to pray for calm and serenity than for the disembowelment of the people who constantly pissed her off—although there were plenty of people pushing that religion of revenge. Which is pretty much why she didn’t consider herself religious.

To be continued…