Sunday, October 9, 2022

Little rituals

In New York Times, readers share rituals that keep them going. I’m reminded of the fourth of five tips for success in college that my daughter Rachel wrote sixteen (!) years ago.

My rituals for daily sanity: tea, writing and posting, a long walk, coffee, a meeting of the Four Seasons Reading Club (reading with Elaine), one drink in the evening. You?

[The Times link is a “gift” link. No need for a subscription.]

comments: 5

Fresca said...

I love this tip of Rachel's: "Become comfortable with failing".
Applies to everything, not just college.

Rituals too, yes.
Settling into a new apartment, not having familiar rituals, I feel unsettled, and as I develop new ones, I feel more and more at home.
Very intimate everyday things:
Most important: Where do the coffee and the coffee-maker go?
Because drinking coffee every morning is the ritual that anchors my day.

Reading in bed rounds off the day, even if that's only reading a paragraph. Maybe I should say instead, "holding a book in bed before I fall asleep".

Fresca said...

P.S. What is your one evening drink?

Elaine Fine said...

Practicing is my best “go-to” ritual. It’s a life-long habit, even if I have nothing to practice “for.” I love the ritual of writing music, but when I don’t have music to write, I turn to making arrangements. Work is my best medicine. Walking, coffee, and reading with Michael give me daily doses of joy.

Michael Leddy said...

Rachel’s advice is esp. good for students who expect instant success in, say, a writing class. I have to add, for the record, that Rachel did great in college.

My drink is two ounces of Scotch, or sometimes a beer.

By the way, I liked the NYT comment from the reader who reads Nancy Drew every day. But I too would fall asleep if I tried to read before falling asleep.

Michael Leddy said...

And now it’s time to drink coffee and read. : )