Daryl Wood's Blog

I have had decades to perfect a morning ritual that incorporates all the activities necessary for a grounded, focused, ‘ready for anything’ day. Each time I added in something that felt absolutely right I knew I had ‘it’. The best plan. Until that is, things changed and what was a solid foundation began to feel like delicious carrot cake with no frosting.

All the wise people I’d met and many I simply read about offered beautiful wisdom that worked for me. And when it didn’t feel like a good fit anymore I slipped into scowling in the mirror at my inability to follow the ‘rules’ for success. What didn’t occur to me was that my heart and soul had other ideas. Some days they knew that traditional meditation or journalling could be overruled when the lake was calm and kayaking to wide open space was necessary.

The first few times I noticed a wee bit of guilt and self-admonishment. I mean really, who was I to make up a revised plan that wasn’t even achievable every day because weather is at best unpredictable? In her lovely book “Stitches” author Ann Lamott says “I love ritual and repetition. Without them, I would be a balloon with a slow leak.” Oh yes, I am afraid of that leaky balloon and all the angst that goes along with feeling untethered. I want routine in my life. Routine that, even for short periods, feels safe.

The shadow side of routine is inflexibility. When I am not willing to pivot at the calling of my wise inner woman then I risk being bored or always wondering what I’m missing. Worse yet, I might lose the opportunity of discovering something that resonates deeply with my being for the sake of living by someone’s else’s mandate.

I began to learn that there is a way to create a container that holds the familiar and the unknown with equal gravity. The familiar is the quiet awareness that being present and breathing in and out will almost always be good for me. And the unknown is the gifts and miracles that show up every day in everyday ways extending an invitation to source more peace and meaning.