D is For Daily Routines or Rituals (A to Z Challenge)

The only morning ritual I had for years was fixing a cup of coffee in the mornings and rushing off to work. In my daily commute to work I started to turn off the radio or listen to an empowering spiritual message. There was so much noise at work I needed something before and sometimes just quiet on the way home to decompress. In many ways, that became a routine and ritual. I notice I especially enjoyed those times on the weekends I could fix a cup of coffee and sit down in silence before my daughter got up for the day. I also recall telling people not to approach me as soon as I walked into the workplace. Let me put my things down. Let me clock in. Let me have 15 minutes if it’s not urgent. I needed that time to set up my day. I guess I was setting boundaries then and didn’t know it.

Daily routines and rituals help ground you. It gives some control over your day. Your daily routines and rituals can shape your day. I think if you wake up complaining and griping, you’re sure to have a day magnified of the likes and you could ruin others’ morning before it starts. How rude of you!

When you wake up in the morning do you reach for prayer or gratitude or your phone to log in to social media or respond to texts? In a season of change and transformation, daily routines or rituals, morning, midday, evening, or night can certainly help you put things into perspective and ground you. It keeps you steady. As you think about your routines and rituals, or create them, remain flexible as they can change and they don’t always have to happen the same way, the same time, every day. I have found that can become a stumbling block as well. Being in tune with Spirit or the day helps me. Yet, one part of my routine or ritual is non-negotiable and that is prayer in the morning. Coffee runs a close second lol 😀

Some of my routines are prayer, meditation, coffee or tea, drinking water first thing in the morning before coffee or tea, stepping outside early in the morning to breathe in the freshest air of the day (this one is new!), and journaling daily. I have started journaling whenever I need to as opposed to only at night before bed.

What are some of your routines or rituals?

~Nikki

#atozchallenge2024