Ritual

I had the opportunity to discuss the value of ritual in out lives with Nate this morning.

When a lot of us think of ritual we consider it in a wholly religious sense relating to church ceremony, but it's not just that. It is something that can be a personal practice. Our lives are filled with habit but rarely ritualized practice.

A ritualized practice is something that we can do everyday to prepare ourselves for writing, playing music, or getting ready for work as examples. A ritual can bring us back to ourselves and remind ourselves of a relaxed time, a moment when we felt peace or joy.

For myself, a ritual that developed when I was on vacation this spring was getting up in a quiet house, making an espresso and heading outside to the deck with my notebook. Sitting in the sun and just enjoying the beverage and early morning light. Simply relaxing into that moment of time before starting my journal pages for the day. Another thing that got added onto that time was some walking meditation for about 10 minutes, just breathing and taking small deliberate steps in a pattern. Even though the location has changed, I am here and not on vacation, I can recapture that moment of quiet by simply going through the ritual of brewing an espresso and heading out the door to a lawn chair with my notebook in hand.

The problem with ritual is that even when we know that something has the ability to relax us, to allow us to experience a pleasure sensation, we tend to put it off in our daily lives because we don't have time. We revert back to the habit of looking after the daily grind, rather than taking 15 minutes for ourselves to be with ourselves.

It's good to be reminded that a daily practice, whatever it is that we choose to practice, is soothing for both the mind and spirit.

I'm going back outdoors, then back to the studio.
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Currently listening to Chocolate Drops - Emanate 7