Spring Forward Re-Commitment Challenge

Routine vs. ritual.

This message comes to you from a bright, sunny and quintessentially west-coast spring day, the kind where you could trick yourself into thinking that it’s summer if you’re standing in the midday sun but, head outside without a jacket before 9am, and you’ll quickly be reminded of the crisp bite the ocean still carries from winter’s slow departure.

This message also comes to you in real time — no pre-writing necessary — as my plans for ten days of silence at Vipassana were foiled by a nasty cold that left me bed-ridden and anguishing over my decision of whether or not to pull the plug on my commitment to this ancient Buddhist technique for shy of two weeks.

After making the decision to cancel, I reflected heavily over any presenting lesson and was left steeped with gratitude for the ways in which my personal rituals expanded in the six weeks prior, anticipating these ten days of silence and retreat. Motivated also in part by my partner’s 5am wake-up time for work, I luxuriated in a few hours of reflection and self care before the sun came up. Engulfed in darkness, I would practice lengthy meditations, write morning pages, read and drink tea + matcha until it was time to brush my teeth and move into more economic endeavours on my laptop.

Fast forward to now, cold symptoms (nearly) behind me and the sun is rising earlier with each passing day. I relish the seasonal shift but can’t deny the potentiality of a dark morning to keep one’s internal eye gazing inward for many more moments after waking.

Routine vs. Ritual

Then I came across this image (below) on the internet and was stopped mid-scroll. As someone who personally uses the word “ritual” to describe many of my routines and those we make space for in HOME WORK, I was forced to consider whether they met the requirements based on the qualifiers of this random, arbitrary, source unknown image. Were my pre-Vipassana mornings brimming with ritual or simply composed of routine?