Living is about routine. Since many of us have been home more than usual, we may think of this as boring, but we don’t have to slant it that way.
We have always done the same things again and again. We do them without thinking, for example brushing our teeth. We utilize muscle memory and neural grooves. The capacity to do this was built into our brains by the creator. It’s good.
Yesterday I saw a baby mockingbird in the backyard. As it walked through the grass it lifted its wings. Flight training? A wing strengthening routine? I know that kind of prep goes on with humans.
My daughter sends me videos of her 2 1/2 month old baby. Same thing. Lots of arm waving and leg kicking. Leg prep for walking. Arm strengthening for picking up and grasping things. She does this everyday. By this routine she is developing, engaging an interior, autonomic, built in gift. It’s her daily regimen. I love to watch her move. Nothing routine or boring about her.
We were made to do some things. How wonderful! God designed us just that way!
We can do so many things instinctively, intrinsically — walk, gesture, sleep — and we can initiate our brains for things we choose to do, new things, needed things.
What do you want to do next? What would be productive, maybe artistic? Perhaps within you lie exactly the right mental and physical gifts to make that a new routine.
Yesterday I made an espresso drink. I value coffee and precision. To me coffee is an art form. I weighed the fresh, locally roasted beans —18 grams — ground them on setting 9 on my burr grinder — achieving the required texture, close to the consistency of flour. I then pulled a two ounce shot — which takes 23 seconds — and frothed some whole milk, the wand at just the right angle and depth to produce microfoam. Exactitude tastes exquisite. It is a routine that I never find to be routine.
I’ve been in pain, chronic pain. At times it shuts me down. Sometimes I can’t manage it.
What helps?
Yesterday I texted encouragements. People love. I cleaned the house. Home love. I washed the cat. Creature love. I watered our garden. Earth love. I fed myself. Self care. My friends and family contacted me. The love of others. Love is a routine, yet beautiful.
Our used SUV — but new to us — came with an interior lighting issue. When you opened the doors, the interior lights didn’t come on. I figured it was just a setting. It was. On the interior roof consul by the sun roof controls there’s a button with the meme of a light on it. It also says “Door.” It simply needed to be pressed. Now the lights work.
What buttons must we press to do what we need to do next? Some buttons have already been pressed. They initiate our beautiful, well-lighted routines. What other buttons need to be pressed?
Life is routine, and the best routines involve pressing the buttons bearing the memes of love.
Thrive! 