"We are every day betrayed by the blank state of custom. The commonplace accessories ... weigh us down."
____Llewelyn, "Earth Memories"
As the dark November days draw in, our working lives begin similarly to draw close about us. The daily round begins to grind: the very position of a desk or table, the same blank faces on the street, the systematic regularity become like the beat of a hammer, emphasizing how very dull and ordinary every day seems.
How do we keep our lives fresh and sparkling with energy when we hit to doldrums of the habitual and the familiar? If our daily surroundings and routine are beating out a rhythm so regular and unchanging that we are going to shoot the conductor soon, then it is time to introduce a new melody, a counterpoint to the rhythm. That does not mean that we stop our daily tasks, only that we begin to dance through them in a more conscious way.
When personal focus becomes one-eyed, it is always good to get another perspective, to invite a friend over, spring a change on our partner. If we are the routine-holders in our family, we have a special responsibility to ring the changes; without help, we can get into 'corporate' ruts so deep that we cannot leave them. If we live alone, we need to go out with friends, practice our special skill,s find the deep nurture of the things we enjoy.
In nature, all life is stripping off its finery to reveal its essential bare self. If the surface of our life seems dull and unmoving, we have only to look deeper and find where our energy is tending. In what secret place is it biding to wake refreshed?
"What are your strategies for coping with the habitual? How can your own routines be enlivened?"
[From: "The Celtic Spirit" by Caitlin Matthews]
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