Rituals
Watercolor by Cathy HuangIt’s 9AM on Monday, the beginning of a work week.
Pre-pandemic, what would the next 15 minutes look like? Do you work in an office setting where you’re just walking into your cube/office/shared workspace, exchanging pleasantries with your colleagues? Or maybe you’re on your way to class, picking up a large cup of coffee to stay caffeinated for the next set of lectures.
Whatever your routines were, they all came to a screeching halt in March when across the world, the global pandemic forced us to stay home. Work dynamics changed and I found myself working 24/7. The idea of having an “end time” for work, or work-life balance, was thrown out the window. I let go of my routine of running before work because it felt like I had no time.
Needless to say, I fell apart after almost 8 weeks of just continuously working. Social distancing felt more like social isolation. I wasn’t seeing friends and family, and while I was lucky to have my partner with me and to have a job, he was working too and didn’t share the routines I had.
As someone who has identified as a runner for the last seven years, I started questioning why I even ran. There were no race schedules on the calendar, so why should I get up early to log in miles and workout when I wouldn’t even get the chance to perform? I not only questioned running, but whether I had wasted my twenties training instead of pursuing other endeavors that may have had more fruitful outcomes. My mind was going down a dark path and I was struggling to find a way out. I questioned everything.
Through a friend, I stumbled upon a virtual class focused on rituals. The facilitator defined rituals as visible expression of invisible values, and that really resonated with me. What are my values and how do I express them?
I reflected on my morning running routine and realized that I had let go of not just a morning routine, but actually a very important ritual. Running in the morning was time I was dedicating to myself. I was giving myself the time to pause and reflect before starting my day. I may not have always wanted to run in the moment, but I always felt better after, and that productive start grounded me for the rest of the day. Through the last few months, I didn’t realize how sacred that time to myself was, and I had let it get away in a time when I needed it the most.
I got back into running and asked friends to keep me accountable. Sometimes I would run with friends but only in groups of 1-4 people so that we can run socially distanced, and with a mask on, of course! I created new rituals. I have weekly workout dates with girlfriends, where we push ourselves to try a new workout while also catching up on how our week has been and what the highs and lows were. I learned more about each of our values than before the pandemic, and our friendship got stronger.
So, I ask the readers to consider what their rituals are. It can be as simple as having dinner with your family/partner every night. It can be an annual event, like celebrating your birthday. Or if you don’t think you have rituals - start creating rituals that matter to YOU!
Whatever your rituals are, remember that all rituals need intention, attention, and repetition. What do you love about those rituals and what do you want to get out of them? What are the underlying values?
We use rituals to check in with ourselves. While the rituals may be the same each day, month, year - the outcomes can be different. It’s easy to minimize or ignore the importance of rituals when the dates roll around, but rituals can become an anchor in our life - space for feelings. Find what works for you to help you get through this pandemic.
And if you want to start running, looking for a running partner, or want to discuss this topic of rituals further, hit me up! Hey, we can discuss over a run!
