I made it in here this morning at 6:00 am, so that was great. I got up at 5:30, which was my goal. I picked up a good book at the library yesterday, though, so I sat in the living room and read and had a cup of coffee first thing this morning, which is my usual ritual anyway. I have to think about how important it is for me to actually be doing something in my studio at 5:30 am, because sitting and reading and drinking coffee first thing in the morning has been a ritual for at least 15 years for me. Is it adding value to my day? Most of the time, yes. But I have definitely been guilty of using that "ritual" to avoid getting started in my day, or avoid doing a task that needs to be done. It's also my alone time since no one else is up yet in the house, and often, it's the only time I read during the day. If it's a good book, I'd rather get up in the morning and read than potentially stay up late reading if I have trouble putting down the book. Beginning each morning in a quiet, comfortable way usually helps set a gentle tone for the day for me, too.
So yes, at this analysis, reading first thing is a valuable ritual for me. Maybe I should move a comfy chair into my studio so I can read for the first half hour and drink coffee before doing things in the studio so that I can still be here, but can start the morning with the same ritual every day.
The book I was reading this morning: Goodbye, Things: The New Japanese Minimalism by Fumio Sasaki. Even though the link is to Amazon, I got it at my library because I am not buying books as part of the minimal shopping year I'm developing - although actually, over the last several years, not buying books has become a priority so it's not so hard at this point anyway. Libraries are one of the best (or maybe the best?) institutions civilization has to offer, in my opinion.
No comments:
Post a Comment