Rituals. Where would we be without them? They are related to the whole routine thing, but different and even more important. Athletes use them to bring good luck. We use them to express spirituality. They help us mark the passing of time.
I have grown to love my post-work rituals. The unhurried breakfast, followed by leisurely scanning Facebook, doing my Lumosity "workout," reading parts of the newspaper I previously ignored. The year is full of them as well. I was afraid that once I left teaching I would not be as aware of the passing of time. Starting fresh every fall makes one acutely so. As does running into former students who are now parents. But the year is still full of rituals. We just passed through the winter holidays, and are into the looooooooongest part of the year.
The other day, I was able to summon up just a glimpse of the dread I used to feel starting back after Christmas with no break to look forward to, still in the part of the year when it is dark or at least gloomy most of the time. I realized how lucky I was to be doing what I am doing. I resolved this year to use January as the Chinese do: make a clean sweep. The house, the attic, the soul. So far, so good.
The swearing off the negativity, especially on Facebook, has worked wonderfully well. Now if I could only get people to stop believing that every story they see reposted is real!
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