Let’s face it: life can go at a pretty fast pace, with a myriad of competing demands and pressures. It’s way too easy to get lost in the details and feel overwhelmed unless we make a point of pausing to breathe, interrupt the manic whirl, and regenerate.
Establishing a ritual is a wonderful way to do just this. It anchors us in the here and now of our lives, and helps ensure we pay close attention to what’s happening inside us. It tunes out noise and grounds us in one or two chords we can really listen to.
I have created a morning ritual with my eight-month-old son. I created it rather serendipitously as I need a bath daily (I’m committed to running regularly) and he needs constant watching!
Each morning I run the tub and fill it with Epson salts while my son sits buckled in his little sling chair next to it. When the tub’s nice and full, I sink into it, and into heat and heavenly relaxation for ten minutes. I read a page from Pema Chodron out loud, meditations on love and compassion. Even if my son can’t understand the words yet, I’m sure he can feel their energy and effect on me. We play hide and seek with a towel. He chews on my bracelet. I feel how wonderful life can be.
IDEA: Create a meaningful, pleasurable ritual in your life. If you have one already, pay extra special attention to how you feel. Let yourself detach from all the details of your life to soak up the pleasure of your pause for self-love.
My new ritual:
___________________________________
Three feelings or thoughts I have when I’m practicing it:
1. __________________________________
2. __________________________________
3. __________________________________
Photo credit: Tracey Ayton
I felt more relaxed the moment I saw the photo … and was smiling internally and breathing more deeply by the end of the post. This is wonderful on so many levels — lovely, practical, empowering, and on and on the list could go. Life is so hurried and hectic, as parents we definitely “imprint” our moods onto our children (and research shows that young children actually absorb stress into their little bodies). What a gracious way to counter that and produce/maximize positive energy (for him and for you).
Sidenote: Like you, bath time was one of the things I did *not* surrender as a new mom. I incorporated Daken into the ritual too. He is five now, and a few months ago after I had “drawn a bath” for him, complete with bubbles, he sank down into the warm water, stretched his arms back over his head, and declared with a sigh: “This is the life.”
Daken sounds charming.
Oh Daken sounds so funny! A wise man already …
Great idea and good for you. Bathing is really something most moms let slide when they have a new baby!
What a wonderful ritual! Morning rituals are so important to beginning the day with intention.