an invitation for ease
intentional, mindless rituals
Swimming back and forth in the pool is one of the kindest things I’ve been doing for myself lately. I almost never feel like going, but go I do, always leaving the YMCA with a zen-like aura protecting me, floating through busy Brooklyn streets like a cloud on my bike.
I think about all the pool/sauna sessions I would have missed had I not listened to James Clear when he told me: MAKE IT EASY! in his book Atomic Habits. Exercising has always been hard for me, so my new routine had to be one of ease. I created a ritual so simple that, throughout it’s entirety, all I need to think about is avoiding the cars parked in the bike lane as I ride to the pool.
I’ve planned everything else ahead of time: where my swimming gear lives in my home (hanging together in a tote bag in the closet, ready to grab at a moments notice) and which route I’ll take and where I’ll lock up my bike. I know I’ll walk through the doors and store my phone in a tiny cubby near the entrance, gifting myself forty-five minutes of silence - bliss. I know that I’ll go change into my suit and choose a lane to join and swim a quarter of a mile, getting lost in the feeling of gliding through space, that simple weightless joy. I know that after my 18th length I’ll hop out and let freezing cold water splash out of the shower and onto my body until I shiver. I know it will feel worth it when I rest in the dry sauna for 10 minutes, reading and breathing. I know I’ll rinse myself in ice cold water once more before changing into my street clothes and sliding back into the world in a calmed state.
I’ve made my new ritual so easy, I find myself in the midst of it many times a week. After just one month I can already feel my spirit lighten, my mind clear, my body strengthen.
I began to wonder where else I can make my life easier, while leaving space for the spontaneity that makes being human so special. Where can I add intentional rituals that can be mindlessly incorporated into my life?
Maybe in the way I visit my ceramics studio, increasing my time there to strengthen my practice and work. Maybe in the way I engage in communications, blocking off time to respond to emails instead of finding myself in a constant stream of check-ins. Maybe in when and where I sit to write, allowing space for writing to you more often.
When the brainstorm begins, the rituals feel spacious and endless.
To make it easeful, to make it feasible, to make it actually happen - I’ll begin with just one. And here I gift you an open invitation to join me.
May we all be easy on ourselves in a thousand little intentional, mindless ways.
I’m spending the next couple of weeks meandering aimlessly and being fully present in the wilds of Alaska. The sun is out all hours of the day and I’m contemplating how we experience time through a personal creative project involving tiny ceramic tiles and paints I brought along, and losing myself in this book.
I can’t wait to share more here soon xoxox
