Best Candles for Your Morning Routine

How my morning routine has changed over the years

Mornings have looked very different throughout my life.

There were years when morning began before I was ready for it. Medicine brought its own kind of urgency. There was always somewhere I needed to be, something that needed my attention, and a day already waiting for me before I arrived. 

Later, my mornings changed again. Five children to get up and moving. Breakfasts, school bags, missing shoes, appointments, and all the ordinary things that somehow had to happen before everyone could walk out the door. 

And now, at this stage of my life, I find myself appreciating mornings differently.

I still wake early. But I’ve learned not to immediately hand the day over to everything that needs to be done.

Some mornings I sit quietly before the house really gets going. I have my coffee. I think about what is ahead. Sometimes I pray. Sometimes I make a list. And sometimes I simply enjoy the fact that for a little while, no one needs anything from me.

It isn't an elaborate morning routine. I don't think it needs to be.

It is simply a small space between waking up and stepping into the rest of my day.

I didn’t always understand the value of that space

When you're raising a family, building a career, or caring for other people, mornings can easily become about getting ahead.

What needs to be done?

Who needs to be where?

What did I forget yesterday?

What do I need to accomplish today?

I spent many years beginning my days that way. And sometimes, that is simply what life requires.

But with age, I've come to appreciate something much simpler: how you begin the day can change how you carry yourself through it.

Not because every morning has to be peaceful. Mine certainly aren't.

But because even a few quiet minutes can help you decide what deserves your attention before the rest of the world starts deciding for you.

This is where Rise came from

When I created Rise, I wasn't trying to create a “morning candle.”

I was thinking about that feeling I wanted at the beginning of my own day—something fresh and light that made the house feel awake without overwhelming it.

Lemon gives Rise its brightness. Lavender softens it. Musk gives it just enough warmth to keep it from feeling sharp.

I reach for it on those early mornings when I'm still easing into the day.

Coffee nearby. The house relatively quiet. A new day that hasn't quite begun yet.

It has become one of those little signals to myself:

Okay. Here we go.

And then the morning changes

Eventually, quiet morning becomes working morning.

These days, that often means sitting down to work on Leveiza. There are emails to answer, articles to write, orders and numbers to look at, photographs to work on, and an ever-growing list of ideas I want to pursue.

That's when I tend to reach for Aspire.

Aspire is lemon, jasmine, and driftwood, and I created it for focus and clarity. Where Rise feels like waking up, Aspire feels like settling in.

I think that distinction matters.

We often talk about a “morning routine” as though there is one perfect way to begin every day. But even within a single morning, we need different things.

Sometimes we need a gentle beginning.

Sometimes we need clarity.

And sometimes we just need to get on with it.

Your morning doesn't have to look like anyone else's

Maybe your morning begins before children wake up.

Maybe it begins after a night shift.

Maybe you have twenty quiet minutes with coffee before work. Or perhaps your house is already noisy before your feet touch the floor.

There is no perfect morning waiting for us to figure out.

I've had enough different versions of life to know that.

What I value now is simply finding something within the morning that feels like mine—even if it lasts only a few minutes.

Open the curtains.

Make the coffee.

Say a prayer.

Write down what matters today.

Light a candle if you want to.

Then begin.

Perhaps that's why I called this part of Leveiza Morning Begins.

Not because I believe we need another carefully curated morning routine.

But because every day gives us another beginning.

And after all these years, I've learned that I don't need to do very much with mine.

I just don't want to miss it.

Let the day be yours.