Intentionality. Intentionality. Intentionality. I’m really working on calling attention to the smallest things so, by example, my granddaughters learn to stop and see the gift of routines and rituals. Having them in my life has been the best reminder of slow focus.
I'm an aspirational cook who, almost weekly, tosses a crisper full of lovely vegetables into the trash.
That sentence has the potential for SO MUCH routine AND ritual (and self-care and budgeting, for that matter).
So the routine would be to prep the vegetables when I get home from the market. Or at least do that the next morning.
And the ritual would be the meal planning and preparing, the place setting and centerpiece, and the music.
And all of that begins with self-care, which I am not doing a great job of lately.
As always … you make me think and plan, and you give me hope.
My one new ritual has been to take my coffee to my front porch before I head to my desk to open my laptop. My intention is to gradually turn those few morning minutes into a few more that look like meditation. There's too much evidence out there that meditation is a healthy and kind way to treat oneself (there's that self-care again).
I'm not there yet. The pull of connecting via email and the socials is real.
I guess what I'm saying is that after all this time of being alone in my life, I'm floundering as to how I want to navigate it. I'm impulsive, not deliberate. I don't stick to schedules or routines because I don't have work or people tugging at my time.
I have read this and reread this and reread this because even though we are in different places in our lives… We are sort of in the same.
Work people 9000 miles away they’re not tugging :-)
Launching that KIDult
I rock the intentional in someways – the morning meditation – I tend not to with the meal preparation yet and what you describe above I’m reading and rereading and thinking that’s it.
Perhaps you and I both commit to starting with ONLY ONE night a week – – shifting that from aspirational to HAPPENING
It’s what you say about self-care, and I keep thinking how nurturing that would feel to each of us.
Right now, NOT nurturing is making me feel sad. Like … why WOULDN'T I?
One night a week sounds good. (Interestingly, I started having a monthly dinner party because I like to cook and want to be more social. So it's okay for me to cook and nurture others – but not myself.)
And it makes me wonder if – book coming :-) habit stacking :-) — if we could reframe this as the four nights a month, you cook for yourself and maybe try new recipes and set the table and put on music and light candles… IS REHEARSAL for the monthly dinner party.
I mean it’s taking some liberties with habit stacking because #carla but you’re in the habit or routine of that monthly dinner party or at least let’s pretend that for this moment AND this new habit to that should make it easier to begin!
It makes me smile to envision – so please report back even if the report is “I’ve not done it yet!”- and you’ve gotten me thinking as well about habit stacking one night a week for making a dinner intentionally and filled with ritual for ONE.
Intentionality. Intentionality. Intentionality. I’m really working on calling attention to the smallest things so, by example, my granddaughters learn to stop and see the gift of routines and rituals. Having them in my life has been the best reminder of slow focus.
Great post!
I'm an aspirational cook who, almost weekly, tosses a crisper full of lovely vegetables into the trash.
That sentence has the potential for SO MUCH routine AND ritual (and self-care and budgeting, for that matter).
So the routine would be to prep the vegetables when I get home from the market. Or at least do that the next morning.
And the ritual would be the meal planning and preparing, the place setting and centerpiece, and the music.
And all of that begins with self-care, which I am not doing a great job of lately.
As always … you make me think and plan, and you give me hope.
My one new ritual has been to take my coffee to my front porch before I head to my desk to open my laptop. My intention is to gradually turn those few morning minutes into a few more that look like meditation. There's too much evidence out there that meditation is a healthy and kind way to treat oneself (there's that self-care again).
I'm not there yet. The pull of connecting via email and the socials is real.
I guess what I'm saying is that after all this time of being alone in my life, I'm floundering as to how I want to navigate it. I'm impulsive, not deliberate. I don't stick to schedules or routines because I don't have work or people tugging at my time.
Maybe it's time to reboot.
I have read this and reread this and reread this because even though we are in different places in our lives… We are sort of in the same.
Work people 9000 miles away they’re not tugging :-)
Launching that KIDult
I rock the intentional in someways – the morning meditation – I tend not to with the meal preparation yet and what you describe above I’m reading and rereading and thinking that’s it.
Perhaps you and I both commit to starting with ONLY ONE night a week – – shifting that from aspirational to HAPPENING
It’s what you say about self-care, and I keep thinking how nurturing that would feel to each of us.
Right now, NOT nurturing is making me feel sad. Like … why WOULDN'T I?
One night a week sounds good. (Interestingly, I started having a monthly dinner party because I like to cook and want to be more social. So it's okay for me to cook and nurture others – but not myself.)
Oh!!! This is so powerful.
And it makes me wonder if – book coming :-) habit stacking :-) — if we could reframe this as the four nights a month, you cook for yourself and maybe try new recipes and set the table and put on music and light candles… IS REHEARSAL for the monthly dinner party.
I mean it’s taking some liberties with habit stacking because #carla but you’re in the habit or routine of that monthly dinner party or at least let’s pretend that for this moment AND this new habit to that should make it easier to begin!
Excellent plan. Thank you for working that out with me.
It makes me smile to envision – so please report back even if the report is “I’ve not done it yet!”- and you’ve gotten me thinking as well about habit stacking one night a week for making a dinner intentionally and filled with ritual for ONE.
In case it’s not clear that one is me 😂
Photo or it didn't happen!