Morning Rituals

It's been argued that our daily habits can either help promote our success or suck the positive outlook from us before we even walk out the door. I realized recently that while I had very set morning rituals as a child, I've let most of those fall away as an adult. So I've been taking a closer look at what I do (or don't do) every morning. I think I lost some of my structure, ironically, when John and I first moved in together. It's much easier to do things in a set pattern when it's just you determining when things are done or how. 

But it's easy to cop out and become lazy, if lazy is the right word. My first cup of coffee is probably the last familiar part of my daily ritual, but it keeps me anchored. I check Facebook every morning, which has the potential of lifting my spirits or turning me into a raging ball of piss and vinegar. Then I wait for John to get up or at least for John's alarm to go off because I always wake up before he does. I start on breakfast. I feel like I'm caught somewhere between lover and mother hen as I'm making sure he's prepared for his day and hasn't forgotten something. This, of course, would be the days that I'm not working which are probably going to be more than the days I am working at least for now. 

I almost never start writing before he's out of the house. There's something about the early morning that I simply cannot bring myself to write on my stories. Maybe it's just having that focus that there's no one here but me and the cats. I know many writers have been successful with early morning writing, but I doubt I'll ever be one of them. I think my brain is not firing on all cylinders first thing in the morning and is disinclined to consider the intricacies of the written word. Still, I'm blogging, which is a form of writing, I suppose. Perhaps I can retrain myself with the early morning blog. 

Lately, I've begun a new ritual that takes place before the first cup of coffee when I'm still trying to pull myself to full consciousness. I take one card each from my oracle and tarot decks to lay on my table. I study the cards throughout the day and try to consider them as possibilities for improving the day. It's been rough realizing how often my emotional and/or spiritual health has taken a backseat so I'm trying to reclaim that a little bit at a time by changing my habits or at least adding to them.