Lately I’ve been listening to a lot of podcasts on the importance of rituals.
It’s intriguing.
It got me thinking, what are my rituals and how often do I stick to them.
* * *
When I was in my late teens and early twenties, the only rituals I stuck to were drinking.
Heavily.
If you weren’t hung over, you weren’t trying hard enough or having enough fun. No wonder I got kicked off a plane…but that’s another story for a different time.
By the time I hit the mid twenties, I had a serious boyfriend and all of a sudden drinking wasn’t so sought after. Sure it was fun but the bar scene is best for the singles. The new ritual became weekends only usually at our residence.
As it turns out, my hangovers and remedies are different from those around me. I liked to get up, put on a chick flick and sweat out the booze on my treadmill. It made me feel better and I was getting in some movement. If that isn’t two birds with one stone, I don’t know what is.
Fast forward another 5 years and then babies came into the picture. My late beer nights turned into nursing sessions and the last thing I wanted to do was be hung over and wake at the break of dawn to care for babies.
This is also the time in my life that I would meet my soul mate, my partner in crime, apple of my eye and my savior.
Coffee.
It just makes all things possible when you’re a parent.
* * *
Fast forward to the present years, my routine has changed but late nights and drinks are still apart of me. More on the making the drinks rather than taking them in, which is perfectly fine with me; but it is interesting how some things just stay around.
I have found that morning routines fit me better than the at night ones. Every morning I get the kids up and ready for school. When I get home from dropping them off, I like to lazily make breakfast. I’m talking brewing some coffee, savoring it and then warming the pan I’ll make my breakfast in. It’s a good hour of me getting started in my day.
I’ll sit with a book while I slowly eat my breakfast and possibly enjoy another brewed coffee before I sit in meditation. Once I feel fully present and awake I move to the dishes, laundry and other house chores.
Once the productive feeling of accomplishing those little check marks on the Get To list…then I move on to my work out & work in (Yoga). Movement is such a big part of the person I GET to be. It feels good and it’s easy. My body LOVES it and my mind NEEDS it.
Sometimes I think we get caught up in the who people think we should be phase instead of being the person WE need to be for our own health. It’s easy to get caught up in the BS of what everyone else is doing, but what do YOU need to be doing?
What makes you feel alive?
What makes you want to jump out of bed in the morning?
Do more of that. Other things that align with the perfect you will fall into place. And when you find yourself not being your best self, ask yourself what have you stopped doing, perhaps starting the things you’ve put on pause will be enough to jumpstart your perfect you.
Happy Being!
Much love,
Jes xoxo