We tend to ignore or take for granted the little things we do every day, those familiar rituals like making coffee in the morning, taking a shower, listening to the sounds of the house as it wakes up with us, or opening the windows to let the new day in.
Our minds seem to be focused most of the time on major events, decisions we need to make, grand plans for the future. We believe this is what makes our lives meaningful; it is what we look forward to, what gets us up in the mornings and get us ready for a new day. And, of course, this is true. But it is the little things that are parts of our daily routines that provide the scaffolding for our lives. The familiarity of doing the same things day in and day out anchors us to the present, and provides continuity, predictability and comfort.
I love getting up in the morning and start my daily routines. I know exactly their sequence, from one to the next, as I have done in the same order for longer than I can remember. These times have a magical quality to them, suspended as they are between sleep and wakefulness. They allow my body to gradually transition from one state to the other, without pressure, and without too much effort. This is the time when I don’t think about what is awaiting me during the course of the day, or what happened the day before or the day before that. I JUST AM.
Likewise, we believe that our history is made up a bunch of events that happened to us or around us, one after the other, in a sequel defined by time and place. In reality, our past is mostly made up of day-to-day familiar activities, with something extraordinary sprinkled here and there. These familiar activities make up most of our past and keep it alive, reinforcing our identities.
When I remember the house where I grew up, for instance, I can still smell its smells, and hear the daily noises of life back then. I recall the daily routines that constituted my life. Now those routines remind me of a time in my life that stretched over several years, made even longer by the fact that, as a young person, time seemed to move at a much slower pace than now.
So, tomorrow morning when you get up and go through your routine daily activities, appreciate them as reminders that you are alive, that life is normal and you are the same person you were yesterday and hopefully will be tomorrow.
But what happens when we are in pain, when we feel depressed, anxious, sad, or lonely?
In the next blog I will discuss how the little things that make our lives great when we are in a good place may increase our stress and frustration when we are in pain.
