A Little MS with a Little MSW

My first thought upon waking this morning was of a tulip farm.

Our new state boasts one of the best tulip farms in the country, and they just opened this past week. Tulips are one of my favorite flowers, not to mention the burst of color and vitality a fresh bouquet adds to a home. Besides, a dash of floral should mix nicely with the maze of cardboard that is this new home sweet obstacle course, don’t you think?

Anyway, I shared this first thought of tulips with my husband and his response was one of amusement. This got me thinking: IS it weird for tulips to be my first thought? We often hear of people sharing their dreams or keeping dream journals, but once we shake off the remnants of our dream state, where do our thoughts go?

I know what a lot of you are thinking…’I have to pee’ or ‘I’m hungry.’

And I’m sure you are right. I’m sure those are extremely common first thoughts. But let’s normalize tracking our first conscious thought of the day, shall we? Is it of a person? A place? A thing? One of Maslow’s aforementioned basic needs?

The first thought of our conscious mind waits impatiently every single day, hobbling back and forth from foot to foot, holding its crotch, much like a child needing to pee, until our unconscious mind exits the room and it is able to take its rightful place in our cognizant realm.

Sometimes, we are busy sluffing off a dream in our initial moments of semi- consciousness. Dreams can be stubborn and our thoughts can often linger on the themes presented to us during our slumber. But that’s not what I’m talking about. I’m talking about that moment when Present Day demands your attention.

Today, my first cognizant thought was of a flower. One of the first I learned to draw and one of the easiest to draw. It pairs nicely with a stick figure – the only other visual construction I have effectively mastered. Today, I am thankful for the simplistic and beautiful nature of my first thoughts as I embark on this new chapter, in a new state, amidst the tulips…