This time of year I hear many people say, “It feels good to get back into my routine!” I enjoyed the holidays and the restful time leading up to the end of the year. Yet I too found myself looking forward to the familiar rhythm of my day-to-day life. Having time away from my daily habits has helped me see what routines I’ve created in my life in New York –- from getting up early to make the boys’ lunches for school to reading in bed and saying our prayers together at night. I am looking at the places in life that feel like ‘routine’ and am wondering how I can experience them more as ‘rituals’.
For me even the word ‘routine’ feels mechanical — like something that is practiced until memorized and then spit out over and over. As a ‘non-morning’ person many parts of getting up in the morning and smearing Nutella on bread, setting out the breakfast table, and making my pot of green tea can feel like a procedure a machine could do. In fact most of my morning routine is performed with my eyes mostly closed.
But a ritual feels more celebratory than a routine. Ritual might be carried out like a routine, just like the ritual of a handshake at hello or a hug goodbye. And to me rituals have a more ceremonial vibe. They seem like routines that whistle, dance and celebrate the everyday miracles of waking up, green tea, and Nutella.
This year I’ve decided to transform my morning routine into celebratory rituals! I’m lighting a candle at our breakfast table and listening to music while I make the boys’ lunches.
I’m sending some post-it notes in my boys’ lunch boxes with a message of love from mama along with their sandwiches, berries, and snacks.
This year I’m squeezing their small hands more firmly on our last year of walking a half-mile together each day to and from their neighborhood elementary school since Samuel is starting middle school next year.
If you’d like to create more ritual and more ceremony in your day-to-day life, here are some ideas:
- Light a candle – try a new place in your home or office
- Set an intention at the start of something that feels routine, like “May this time (working, walking, reading, packing lunches, cooking, sending emails) be joyful”
- Let music, plants and flowers brighten your work and home space
- Pray – I pray briefly and silently as soon as I wake up, when I drop off my kids at school, when I begin a task, when my airplane is about to take off, when I try to help my kids with their homework (that prayer is not always brief) and at many other times throughout the day. These moments make the ‘everyday’ feel sacred. A prayer can be as simple as “Thank you for… Nutella.” 🙂
- Send light to someone – When I sit in the subway sometimes I imagine a gorgeous white or golden light beaming from my heart to someone (or everyone) else’s hearts in the train. There’s a man who lives on the street on Broadway just a block from us. He doesn’t accept offerings of money or food, relying only on trash can scraps, so every night we pass him and wrap him in a white light burrito of warmth and protection.
- Mantras – Reflect on mantras that feed you while engaging in everyday activities. While washing dishes say, “I am abundant” (… because I have so MANY darn dishes to wash!). As you walk, shower, get dressed, eat or commute choose mantras that work for you (e.g. I am powerful, wise, strong, healthy, beautiful, fab, fresh and funky!). Have fun with yo mantras!
Even rituals can start to feel routine if we don’t keep them fresh. I love when Karen, one of my yoga teachers, forgoes her typical tranquil playlist and brings out the ColdPlay. Thank you for ColdPlay!
I’d love to hear about your rituals and ‘everyday sacred’ ceremonies too, so feel free to share them in the comments section below!
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