I’ve been thinking a lot about rituals recently. When I think of rituals, I can’t help but think of church (specifically Catholic Church, even though I was not raised Catholic), but really, we all have so many rituals. How we wake up, and our morning routines are rituals. Our evening routines are rituals. How we pray. How we mourn. (Again, the church thing). So much of what we do as humans can be based on rituals. And I don’t know about you, but with the pandemic my schedule and my rituals are off.
I can tell you what sets me up for my best days-my rituals. Naming at least 5 things I’m grateful for, a couple of goals for the day, at least one HUGE cup of coffee, a walk, a hard workout. But lately, these rituals have been all over the place. There are days I’m ready to go at 7a, and days I sleep into 9a. (Don’t get me started on my sleep schedule in the pandemic). I’ve been thinking about how I could set a morning ritual- but so far nothing has stuck.
If you’re in the States, you can agree that our rituals for mourning (the huge number of dead) and the loss of so much (life isn’t back to “normal”) have gone completely out the window. Which makes mourning, on both a personal and a national level difficult. It can make functioning difficult.
So, if on many levels, our rituals are being disrupted, what do we do?
Honestly, I don’t know.
Do we do our old rituals half way? Come up with new rituals? Wait till we can do what we need?
Maybe? I don’t know
This is what I’m doing.
I’m trying to stick to the rituals that work for me- which means making my mornings work no matter what time I wake up. It means sticking to my rituals even when it’s just me and it’s imperfect.
I’m adapting. I’m trying new things, new routines, new rituals. Some are working and sticking. Some are not.
I’m waiting. I’m hoping there will be normal, we can mourn and do our rituals together. I’m not stopping our lives, but I’m holding space.
How are you dealing with your routines and rituals right now? Are they different? What do they look like?
I would love to know and learn from you!
Wishing us all a week of comforting rituals and amazing shoes! Xo RA
