The Alarm Didn't Go Off (And That's Okay)

For forty years, that alarm was your commander-in-chief, dragging you from dreams into duty with military precision. Now it sits silent, and you're awake anyway at 6:47 AM, staring at the ceiling with nowhere urgent to be.

Your body spent decades learning to wake before the alarm—a skill so ingrained it outlasted the job that created it. This isn't insomnia or restlessness. It's muscle memory from a life well-lived.

Instead of lying there cataloging worries, get up and claim this found time as yours. Make coffee the slow way, step outside to notice what your neighborhood looks like in the early light, or read three pages of something that has nothing to do with productivity.

**Journal Prompt:** What would you do with an extra hour if no one was watching and nothing was expected of you?