Small Rituals

the Front Porch

The Front Porch

I’ve been thinking about the small rituals that make my life sweet. I love to sit on my beautiful front porch in the summer as the sun comes up over the ocean, listen to the birds, feel the breeze on my face, sip my coffee, and give great thanks for all that is in my world. And then. . . I do the Sudoku.

So what makes this a ritual and not just ritualized behaviour? To me ritualized behaviour is all about going through the motions of living and not being very present to yourself or the world around you – just doing the next thing you have to do. The thing that makes my summer mornings on the porch a ritual is that my brain is not churning about the past or the future. I am fully present with the pleasure of the moment and giving thanks for what is.

And maybe the Sudoku is a form of meditation since I don’t think of anything else for a while – or maybe not.