Habit, Routine or Ritual ?

Habit, Routine or Ritual ?
I am thinking about the difference if there is any between the Habits we have and the routines we develop and if they in the end turn into rituals.

Take getting up in the morning now I have a routine, get up when the “beep” tells me to (I would rather have the radio but given I don’t have control of the alarm then a beep it is). Put on a pair of sports shorts and a football shirt and wander off to make coffee and a cup of tea for Judi which I take back to her as she never gets up until the 3rd beep. I give the cat a very small amount of milk in fact only enough to say you have had some, more a couple of drops but she does get excited about it.

I turn the radio on as I don’t like silence and sit sipping coffee. The radio is set to a local station which if course I don’t really understand but the music is mostly in English although they do have some interesting stuff “Like a hobo from a broken home I’ll come running back to you” is one of the current favorites. I am collecting silly lyrics for a later blog. On the 3rd buzzer I will check the kettle to make sure there is enough water in the kettle for more coffee. Judi appears as if my magic with tea and shoes in hand, tops up her tea and puts her shoes on. We talk briefly about things which need doing that day then she is gone. 

My routine continues make the bed which is really just straightening the duvet then onto the Yoga. I am continuing with the Yoga even though I don’t like it. I just want it over with but know you cannot really rush it. It is not circuit training and you are supposed to relax into it. I am sure it is doing me good and it was one of the time slots I made for myself in the early days. That done get dressed and start the day.

It’s a very repetitive process broken only by slight changes on the weekend so is it a routine or a ritual, well I think routines can be broken but rituals are fixed like religious ceremonies they are written in lore and cannot be changed. There is something unnerving about a change of routine, as humans we are creatures of habit so changes upset the balance and cause anxiety and confusion which is the reason for this particular blog.

The Australian open tennis is on and the matches are starting early so as we get up there are results to check and live tennis on the TV. This interrupts the normal routine and the calm and tranquility. TV’s and Pc’s need to be up and running and sports web sites scoured for comments. All of this before 8 am in the morning now that is a little cruel for a man who likes peace and quiet as a start to the day.

Not only do I have all of this but I am designated watcher which means I have to continue checking progress so I can give a running commentary later in the day. No don’t get me wrong I like tennis and am developing a cool backhand slice on the Wii game but it is difficult to watch and retain all that is happening. There was a match lasting five and a half hours the other day so all of my routine was shot to pieces. I am actually writing this whilst Federer struggles in the early stages of a match with Davydenko. It fine but only 10 o’clock in the morning. I was never a daytime TV watcher so I still feel guilty about having it on before tea time.

So my daily routine has changed. I know it will be over next week and we will return to normal so I can live with it and try and remember it is just a routine not a ritual.

So what’s your ritual ? getting ready to leave the house, setting the table, the route you take shopping, when you do you laundry, how you clean the house, there are many habits we develop which become routines which in turn become rituals.  What if done differently will send you into a tail spin and completely throw off your day. It is worth remembering “if things don’t change they stay the same” a very silly saying but would you want to be dictated to by a routine you developed or are you a free spirit who can adapt to the situation at hand.

I need to stop now as Federer seems to have got the measure of Davydenko and may be closing in for the kill we shall see and I shall comment later tonight.