Morning Gold and Muses of Dawn: ‘The Early Bird Gets the Worm’

Success is something achieved through daily effort and consistent discipline. (Super Prin/Shutterstock)

It isn’t just your imagination—morning is a special time. All things are waking, the mind is fresh and unburdened, and even the muses are ready to provide inspiration. Well, at least, that’s the case according to an old Latin proverb.

Our albeit somewhat clunky English saying that “the early bird catches the worm” reflects a long-standing understanding that morning is the hour in which to get things done.

Early to Rise

In Latin, the related muse proverb, dating back at least to the 1500s, is “Aurora musis amica (est),” which means literally, “Dawn is a friend of the muses.” For many of that era, a belief in the muses—goddesses who were sources of inspiration for artists, writers, musicians, and scholars—was very real. And, while the belief may sound a little quaint to many of us today, perhaps the concept was not unlike our idea of angels.

Other languages contain similar sayings to ours, such as the German “Morgenstund hat Gold im Mund,” which translates as “The morning hour has gold in its mouth.” Or the Hungarian, “Ki korán kel aranyat lel,” which means, “Who rises up early gathers gold.”

And in Hindi, they say, “Who sleeps late gets the bull-calf, he who rises early the cow-calf.” The cow-calf is considered more valuable.

As far as English is concerned, our version of the concept, i.e., “The early bird gets (or catches) the worm,” was likely first put in print in 1636. That version was slightly more elegant than our modern one, however, which was “The early bird catcheth the worme.” (Try saying that to your kids!) It was published by English historian William Camden in the fifth edition of his “Remains Concerning Britain.”

A slightly later version, published in 1732, read as “‘Tis the early Bird, that catcheth the Worm” and appeared in Thomas Fuller’s “Gnomologia: Adagies and Proverbs; Wise Sentences and Witty Sayings.”

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The popularity of the international bestseller “The Miracle Morning” by Hal Elrod is a testament to the preciousness of morning as well. It describes practices and routines that you can implement into your mornings to ensure productivity and success for your day and, long term, your life. Many people swear by this.

Is the Saying True?

OK, so the concept is straightforward: If you are somewhere first, you have your choice of the pickings. Yet some contrarians like to argue that “the early bird gets the worm” isn’t terribly accurate because, perhaps, the first bird to rush out into the forest or field may be the first to get preyed upon by larger animals.

Yet let’s think for a moment about what, exactly, the original saying stems from in the natural world. Birds rise early (if you go to work early, you have likely heard what’s known as the “dawn chorus” of birds). Think about the state of worms and soil first thing in the morning. Early in the day, the earth tends to be more moist—because of the dew dropped overnight by condensation—and worms tend to be more active and more visible on the surface of the ground at that time. As the sun rises higher toward midday, generally the soil dries and worms need to stay below ground. So in fact, the birds who arrive early really do have their choice of far more worms.

The Lessons Behind the Proverb

In what ways is this very old saying and concept helpful to us today? I had a friend who became a great musician. He got up earlier than everyone else to practice his trumpet. Always cheerful in the morning as he worked a bit harder than everyone else, he said to me, “Well, as they say, the early bird gets the worm.”

This saying is, of course, related to one-off cases such as getting seats at an event, a parking place, a table at a restaurant, or even a job opportunity. But it is far more than that—it reminds us that success is something achieved through daily effort and consistent discipline.

This success can be of an earthly or a spiritual type. Whether it be working on a dissertation, authoring a book, composing music, writing poetry, or painting a great work, these all reflect (in the case of classically created pieces) long-term, consistent effort.

On the spiritual side, I find that those who really excel at devotional or meditative practices—the work of spiritual growth—generally have a daily routine that they follow in the morning as well.

Naturally, there are times in life when morning routines may not be possible. When we are confronted with illness in ourselves or a family member, have to attend to child care, or have other demands on our time, the morning can escape us. Yet so many find that when they are able to manage a steady morning routine—even if just 10 to 30 minutes—it can change their day and much more.

The morning is gold, the morning is the hour of the muses, and the morning belongs to the steadfast. I wish you creative inspiration and spiritual insight.