What tiny rituals: signal that your day is starting; help you ease into a creative project; give you closure from an intensive task; or mark other significant milestones in your day? What new rituals would you like to create in the new year?
I am a creature of habit.I eat the same things. I go to the same few places. I wear the same clothes.
Each day is basically the same as the day before. Rise, work, eat, work, prepare for the next day, sleep. And repeat. It's my own version of Groundhog Day.
Routine is a necessity with a large family. There's no way six kids could get out the door in the morning without a set routine that can not be deviated. Daily chores are assigned to everyone. They know who is expected to do what and when it is to be done.
For some reason though my kids will sometimes ask "what are we doing tomorrow?" My answer is always the same. "Well I'm going to work and you're going to school." Even they realize that the routine is a bit too much like Groundhog Day.
Because the routine is so structured and so necessary, there is very little room for ritual. At this point a ritual seems a bit extravagant. There's not much time for anything beyond what must be done.
The rituals I have attempted, and enjoyed, come and go based on life circumstances. I used to be an almost regular at morning meditation. But now I'm too tired to get out of bed early. For a few months I had a ritual of taking Sunday mornings for myself. But the cost of gas combined with the cost of yoga quickly became financially prohibitive. I'm not a coffee drinker so I don't have that ritual of enjoying the first morning cup like so many others I know. I do enjoy my weekly Friday afternoon 30 minute round trip drive alone into town to deposit my check and pick up an iced tea at Starbucks. I suppose that has become a ritual. Yet even that is a ritual with a purpose - deposit the check to pay the bills.
I think the lack of personal ritual in my life is because I'm so focused on getting things done that I don't take the time to enjoy the process along the way.
This post is part of #reverb14, a series of daily writing prompts to explore the year passed and to manifest the year ahead. This prompt was found at Kat McNally Words To Soothe The Weary Soul.
I find that rituals come and go as their usefulness grows and declines; and, sooner or later, something equally useful turns up to fill the gap. I hope something shows up for you soon so that you get some time to spare.
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