The Importance of Rituals
This week I am visiting and helping family, so my regular routines have been interrupted. Because of this, my focus in in different areas and I am not quite feeling as centered as normal.
Time to check in with myself to be sure I am being intentional in creating or recognizing what is meaningful to me.
This is where my rituals come in. My rituals are actions I regularly take to help me with this.
Revisiting goals. This morning I re-read my goals and intentions that I wrote at the beginning of this year. They answered the question, “If I am on my deathbed and looking back at my life and I accomplished everything that was meaningful to me, what did I do?” Based on that, I made goals that I wanted to focus on for this year. There is comfort in knowing that there is a long-range plan in place and that I am either still on track or adjustments need to be made.
Asking questions. It is one thing to set goals, and then it is another to be flexible regarding what life brings your way. This reminds me of when I plan a trip – I know the destination I want to go to, but also want to be flexible regarding other sites or events to see that I didn’t know about. This is where the real learning happens. Life can be messy and unpredictable, and I want to be my best self in all situations. These are some questions I ask myself:
Am I where I want to be today given the circumstances? Why or why not?
What are my priorities now?
What are my intentions for making today meaningful?
What am I proud of or grateful for in this experience?
What learning is here for me today?
Re-centering. Centering is coming to the calm place in me that is not in my head with all the distractions and thoughts. For me it is in the “center” of my body, the knowing place that is deeply connected to my personal self and my purpose in life. I re-center through mediation, walks outside and journaling. What will help me to re-center today?
My rituals are like an exercise program. They help me to build the muscle of listening to myself and revisiting what is important to me so I can be my best self. One of my goals I listed for the beginning of this year? Spend more time with family. My rituals reminded me I am right where I want to be.