I am not all that fond of tradition. It can be used as an excuse for all sorts of things. A reason, so it seems, to keep on doing something that perhaps is best left in the past.
But it’s tradition! The catch cry of the season. If you ask me, that is not enough of a reason to keep on keeping on. There needs to be something more compelling to make me want to join in.
I take comfort in ritual.
It soothes, calms, the peaceful knowing of well rehearsed movement through space.
I am a tea drinker.
Red kettle, lid on, gas lit, waiting for the whistle.
Long loose leaf tea spooned into a waiting pot.
The lapping pour of the water, the clink of the teapot lid.
Brewing
Sugar from the sugar bowl.
Hot, brackish coloured liquid, a dash of milk and a stir.
There is something calming and relaxing about doing this,
Meditative – the mindful making of a pot of tea.
What about you? What rituals do you have?
I have read a few blogs on ritual and comfort this week, like Jane’s and Melissa’s and it got me thinking about my own.
Wellbeing has been playing on my mind lately, as can be seen in my ramblings on roller coasters and the small happy. For me, ritual means a number of things, comfort, familiarity, belonging… a sense that all is right with the world. It can be hard to find that sense somedays. Work, family, house hold tasks can all sometimes pile up, in the case of the washing that needs folding, quite literally.
This, then is a good reason to have a few rituals that help make the mundane less so… for me the washing folding takes place after the kids are home from school. This started before either the Green Eyed Girl or the Blue Eyed Boy were even approaching school age. When they were both down for an afternoon sleep, I would try to make sure I sat with a cup of tea, a book, a cooking magazine, the tv… just some time out for myself. Upon their waking, as they shook the last remnants of sleep and began rummaging for food I’d begin to fold the washing. It stuck. Now days though I am lucky enough to have two people old enough to help with the washing folding, so things go a lot faster.
I have other rituals too, and these are the ones I really want to talk about. Not the ones that have to be done… but the ones I want to do.
Tea is one such ritual. Most afternoons as I come in the door I like to dump my work basket and put the kettle on. While I wait for it to boil I place an earl grey tea bag in my favourite cup, add a spoon of sugar and sit at the kitchen table. Once the kettle has boiled I pour, stir and let it brew. There is something almost meditative about the way I do this. Every part of the process the same, every day, done with a sense of easing calm. Once the tea has brewed I add just a dash of milk and give it a final stir before sitting at the table again. I might browse through a magazine, chat to the kids, read the school newsletter, even tweet on my phone, but it’s still time out, a chance to catch my breath after the day.
Something else I like to do when I’m pottering about the house is light incense. It fills the house with a wonderfully sweet, earthy smell… one that makes me think of my sisters and my mum. When we move to a new home, the first thing I do is light nag champa day and night until the home is ours. I guess it’s my smudging ceremony. On days that I am home, I light one after the other… and when I go into my sisters or my parents homes, they have that same scent welcoming me back.
Rituals like these are small, and although I said they don’t need to be done, I think perhaps they do. It’s the little things like this that can make a day, give you a sense of comfort, of happiness, of lightness and wellbeing. For me, that’s what the ritual is for… so I’m placing mine in the must do pile.
