Rituals

“It’s a simple act, but doing it the same way each [day] habitualizes it – makes it repeatable, easy to do.  It reduces the chance that I [will] skip it or do it differently . . . when you [follow daily rituals], they impel you to get started. Whether it’s the act of carrying a hot coffee mug to an outdoor porch, or the rock’n’roll that gets a painter revved up to splash color on a canvas, or the stillness of an herb garden that puts a chef in a culinary trance, moving inside each of these routines gives you no choice but to do something. It’s Pavlovian: follow the routine, get a creative payoff.” –Twyla Tharp in The Creative Habit: Learn It and Use It for Life

Do you have a daily ritual? Something that grounds you? My daily ritual is getting up, dressed and out the door every day to meet my friends for coffee. We have been doing this for fourteen years now since I retired. I find I need this social time in my life. It gives me a reason to get dressed and get on with my day. I have great friends and they have been such a support system for me helping me when things go wrong and cheering me when they go right. We mull over life events and make plans together. I am so lucky.