My Need For Rituals

 

I was thinking about writing about my lack of blogging and whatnot but I didn't want to see myself whine here so instead I'm doing this.

I believe I've said this before but I do like my daily rituals. I like my walks with Darcy in the dark, my first cup of coffee, scrolling through Facebook, and reading my comics before going to work and or doing anything else. If I didn't start my day with this daily ritual I'd really feel discombobulated. I still haven't gotten into the daily writing routine but one thing at a time.

Some examples in my daily life:

- I like my coffee in one coffee-cup: currently it’s my 30^th anniversary Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back mug. Any other mug just won’t do and I hate it when I can’t find it (which is why I usually keep it in my room unless it’s time to wash it or pour coffee into it). In addition to my Empire Strikes Back mug I also like this certain mug for my milk in the morning. It’s this mug with a chicken and a chick on it that my grandmother probably gave me twenty years ago. It keeps the milk cold and I guess it is a good memory association for me, hence the reason I like the mug and don’t want to use anything else in the morning.

- My morning coffee: I can NOT go without. I like to say coffee is my real addiction if you will and I never want to start the day without it. I have a two-cup-a-day habit and just feel like I can’t function without it. And I now have a real coffee maker and can use my bean grinder for fresh-ground. Now I’m in coffee Nirvana every morning. J

- My morning routine: it’s modified somewhat over the years but now it’s get up before dawn, walk Darcy around the apartment complex, have my coffee and breakfast, then read Facebook/mysa.com/comics before I go to work. I’d like to add writing into that routine like I used to do ages ago. But I like a quiet start to a morning and can’t fathom how anyone can do otherwise. It’s like I bristle at the thought of a loud and dashy morning when I like to take my time and ease into the day.

And as I think about this I also think about how it relates to my quasi-religious beliefs. I was baptized Catholic but don’t identify as one now (that’s another blog entry for another time). My roommate is a Buddhist and I’ve been to her temple services and as I sat around talking with her fellow Buddhists I realized that a lot of my personal philosophy and beliefs are very Buddhist in nature so I don’t think I would have any trouble becoming a practicing Buddhist. Yet I’m also drawn to Judaism. I’ve had a life-long fascination with Judaism and have considered learning more about a possible conversion. And I think one of the reasons I’m drawn to Judaism is the ritual and also that many of the scholars and teachers of the faith seem to challenge it so there isn’t a lot of a dogma-feel to it (which is one of the main reasons I don’t feel drawn back to Catholicism).

Right now I want to get writing back into my daily ritual. I used to write for close to two hours every morning and two or more at night then more on the weekends. Then my life went to hell in a handbasket and I’ve been playing trying-to-catch-up since. I just can’t seem to get up earlier in the morning though I know I can if I well and truly want to. This week I’m planning to get up earlier, walk Darcy, do the other stuff then edit-revise these blog entries before posting then work on my novel in the evening. I won’t set hard and fast goals though I will log the word counts into my spreadsheet.