Daily Prompt: Daily Ritual

I love rituals and think they have an important role in daily life. They give us a small sense of stability and I think holiness to even mundane and ordinary things.

I don’t, at present, have any rituals that I perform for myself on a consistent basis. These days, my rituals are centered around the Wee One: songs I sing when I change her diaper or the way I give her a bath. I’m sure we’ll create more rituals between the two of us, but none of them have a purpose other than bonding and familiarity. But I have, in the past, had rituals that meant a lot to me.

These are some rituals I had before the Wee One.

But to talk about one more in-depth, when I made chai on a daily basis, the process itself became sort of sacred. I kept the tea and spices in a special containers, and I poured them in the water with the temperature on high.  I would move around a bit for the few minutes until it began to boil, at which point I would pour the milk.

Then, I wouldn’t move.  I would stand in front of the stove top, listening to the soft bubbling, inhaling deeply to smell the spices, feeling the steam on my skin.

As I reflect on it now, I guess it was a small practice of mindfulness and bringing my awareness to my senses. And then, of course, the first too-hot sip was the signal the ritual was over and I went on with my day.  Even now, the occasional times I do make it, I still fall into this pattern and remember.

I wonder if the Wee One would mind if I started doing that again?

Are there any rituals you have?

In response to The Daily Post’s writing prompt: “Daily Ritual.”