back into the fray

sometimes the building blocks of our life just go awry

photo by Deniz Altindas Unsplash.com

 I've been absent from my blogs -

life has been so busy that I just had to pause with some things,

most things in my life, actually.

But hey, I'm back

I do feel that sometimes we just have to let go, step back, pause, and wait for things to pass. I have been so crazy busy that each time I've walked into my home, I've done a few short chores, mainly laundry, hardly any dishes because I wasn't eating at home, then crashing and sleeping, then most mornings I was getting up mega early and heading out the door. Day after day.

having a little bit of routine in my life helps my mental health

But now life is getting quieter, and I am resuming my moi-ness. I am that strange little (I am quite short) person who loves and needs routines. Little ones. I actually frequently plan big routines, but can never maintain them. So little it must be. 

Without them, my eating goes weird, my home is messy (for me. Apparently it's not actually messy). And I don't get things done - things that really matter to me. When I'm organised, and I'm not really a mega organised person, then I get things like my blogs, done.

our passions matter too, for our psychological health

I love my blogs. I do feel that we need some activities in our life which are an outlet for our passions. It seems to add some substance to our mental and emotional health. 

As do routines, for moi.

Without knowing that I am doing a few simple things each morning when I wake up, and before I go to bed, my very active mind just doesn't stop. You would think that meditation would slow down all of this, but often, meditation just gets my energy up so high  that sleep is impossible. (I've meditated for decades)

What I do in bed, is to lie on my back, close my eyes and very quickly visualise myself doing whatever is most urgent the next morning. Then I look down with my eyes still closed, and have it in mind that I'm not getting involved in any thoughts or feelings. I get into the rhythm of the rise and fall of my abdomen with each spontaneous breath. Letting go of any physical tension with each exhale, so that the body becomes limp, and also letting the mind drift in the background. 

On a good night, the next thing I know my alarm is going off, because it's morning.

routines are like glue for me - they pull aspects of my life together

For me, this is part of the make-up of my four pillars (link is here) of my life. So I like my routines to include

• some physical exercise, which for me is mostly yoga, and in theory, walking. Morning yoga is now done when I wake up if I don't have to be out of the house when it's dark; or between breakfast and lunch, or even just ten minutes before bed. I'm having to be really adaptable, at the moment 
• I like order where I live. Strangely this gives me mental and emotional peace. And honestly and very importantly, saves me time to do things that I like to do
• some yoga breathing, and meditation - which covers spirituality. I also do other things which includes Maori healing
• when I have routines I end up with more time to catch up with friends and family. So important for our well being. Another of our four pillars of one's life

And because my days and nights have been so busy, my routines - well, I just had to let them go for a short while. Except for bits of my morning and evening ones. Tiny bits.

I realise that this all sounds quite anal. Much of my morning routine is now mostly part of my short evening routine. Exercise is now fitted in when and as I can. Everything is topsy turvy for me at the moment. And that's okay too. I'm sure that it's quite good for someone who is quite "fixed" in their life patterns (moi), to have to think and act out of the box. 

It took me quite a while during all of the busyness of the past months, to accept that I had to sort out some new form of routine. That's what it's like being fixed and having little "rules" for what you do, and when you do it. It took me ages to see that my previous ways were not working, and that new ways, it must be.

What do you do when you need to change your patterns and rhythms? I'm sure that I'm not alone in sometimes having to reassess and then regroup.