My last few months have been occupied by thoughts of routines and rituals.
Why?
Well, it occurs to me that we spend a lot of time doing things we have to do – cook, wash dishes, brush teeth, make the bed, and mountains of other chores. We tend to build routines around these chores so we remember to do them and to simply make them more efficient.
After a while, it starts to feel like work. Depending on the routine, it can range from boring to drudgery. Why would we want to spend our lives like that when there are ways to make those routines something special?
After painting my bedroom earlier this year, I began focusing on bedtime rituals. This was easy because the new paint color and decor made me long to spend more time in my room, enjoying its new vibe. You can read about the new bedroom here but note the winter bedding has been swapped out for blue and white floral sheets and a fluffy white comforter. The curtains are now flowy and white too! It’s much prettier now!
I turn on some music – typically a classical selection of soft music accompanied by the sounds of nature. Frogs, rustling leaves, and flowing water are understated and relaxing. I flip on the nightstand light and turn down the bed before stepping into the bathroom. There I brush and floss before washing my face and moisturizing.
This step is vital because I visualize literally washing away the day and letting it all go.
Sometimes I journal or read in bed. Sometimes I scroll Pinterest but try to avoid stressful places like the news or Facebook. No need to junk up my brain with social media nonsense when I have worked so hard to clean away the grime from the outside world.
I often start to drift off while reading, sometimes outlasting the music and sometimes out like a light.
This is the only time of my day when I’m able to do exactly what my body says it needs.
This is my evening ritual and it has mostly served me well.
This summer I began turning the ceiling fan on low and that has added a whole other level of relaxation to the evening. Soft sheets, the fan breeze, and waning summer light create a delightful space to simply exist without external demands.
Scout has embraced this ritual as well. If I don’t collect him on time, he will follow me around, silently asking with those big, beautiful eyes why we aren’t resting yet.
Why not romanticize these chores a bit and transform them into a ritual I can enjoy?
I’ve been doing this for months and occasionally wonder what other ways I can incorporate rituals into my day. The bedtime routine has worked great because I do it every day around the same time.
The rest of my day tends to be incredibly unpredictable and often rushed. I have thought about working on a morning ritual, inspired by blogger tips about waking with the sun or sitting on the porch with a cup of coffee. I don’t know what those people do for a living but I tend to drag my sleepy-eyed self out of bed before the sun is up and race to make it to work at 7:30.
There’s not much time for porch mornings!
Perhaps ritualizing meal prep would help me make tastier, healthier dishes to nourish my body. That sounds reasonable.
Do you have rituals? I would love to hear about them!
