Posts Tagged: routines

“KEEPING THINGS FRESH”

On March 5, 2018 by Dteb With 0 Comments - down to earth believer

A friend proposed a wonderful topic the other day in my 12-step meeting: how to keep recovery fresh.  As with anything else, those of us who are in recovery from addiction can (and sometimes do) get stale.

Of course, this question is a good one for all kinds of activities and relationships, not just 12-step recovery programs.  All kinds of things can get stale: from bread to jobs, marriages, friendships, hobbies, churches—you name it.

While it was a good question that my friend proposed, I’m not so sure that I have equally good answers.  However, the wonderful thing about a good question is that it gets into your mind and rattles around in it and shakes things up.  A good question is itself a refreshing thing.

So, while I don’t necessarily have any earth-shattering insights, perhaps some random thoughts might be in order.  You can add your own.  The purpose of blogs is not to simply be read, but to provoke your own thoughts.

First, here is a thought from Heraclitus the Obscure, one of my favorite philosophers.  Heraclitus said, “No one ever steps into the same river twice.  The river has changed and so has the person who steps into it.”  There is a sense in which change and freshness are woven into the very fabric of the universe.  Perhaps freshness isn’t so much created as it is acknowledged.

But second, there are things we can do to keep our lives fresh.  And these things can also help us to refresh other people as well.

A friend of mine is taking art classes.  Somebody asked him why he was doing that.  “Are you particularly interesting in painting?” he was asked.  “No,” he replied, “I just thought it might be interesting.”

Trying new things isn’t easy, but it is refreshing.  There are some types of food that I don’t care for.  I can still order and eat them.  There are certain kinds of music that I don’t like very much.  (Hip-hop comes to mind!)  I can listen to it anyway.

I have a tremendous craving for routine.  That is not necessarily a bad thing, but it can easily become a rut.  When a routine becomes a “rut-ine,” my routine has become a problem.  Someone has said that the only difference between a rut and a grave is depth.  Yes!

One last thought: Hang around with people who can stretch you.  My wife is so good at keeping me from getting into or staying in a rut.  She likes to try new recipes, to order different things at restaurants—or even to try new restaurants.  She is a wild one!  (If it were up to me, we would always go to the same restaurants, I’m afraid.)

Cultivating new friendships as well as taking fresh approaches to old friendships is a wonderful way of stretching yourself.  As I get older, I value more or more old friendships and making new ones.

My 12-step friend’s question was itself refreshing.  Perhaps asking and savoring some new questions, as well as taking fresh approaches to old questions, is one of the best things we can do to maintain a green, growing edge in our lives.

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“THE ROUTINES THAT FREE US”

On September 12, 2017 by Dteb With 0 Comments - down to earth believer

“Most of life is routine – dull and grubby, but routine is the momentum that keeps a man going. If you wait for inspiration you’ll be standing on the corner after the parade is a mile down the street.”  (Ben Nicholas.

Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/routine.html.)

“Routines are normal, natural, healthy things. Most of us take a shower and brush our teeth every day. That is a good routine. Spiritual disciplines are routines. That is a good thing. But once routines become routine you need to change your routine.”  (Mark Batterson.  Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/routine.html.)

I have always craved routine.  I’ve also always resisted routine.  Why the craving?  Why the resisting?

I crave them because I’ve always suspected that the opposite is not spontaneity, but chaos.  I still suspect that this is true.  I think that Ben Nicholas (in the first quote above) expressed very nicely one of the reasons for routine: It keeps us going.  It provides momentum.

Too often, I sit around waiting for momentum and inspiration to hit me.  They won’t.  Momentum is sustained by action, and inspiration often comes to me (when it shows up at all) in the midst of my routines.  And when inspiration and momentum get married, they often produce some really nice children.

Why do I resist routine?  Probably, I resist them for several (non)reasons.  Laziness comes to mind immediately.  Then too, there is the fear that the quote above (from Mark Batterson) encapsulates: I am afraid of my routines becoming routine.

And, of course, that is indeed a possibility.  However, a possibility is not the same thing as an inevitability.  Routines can be put to one side for a little while.  They can be supplemented.  I can substitute one good routine for another good routine.  Routines don’t have to become routine.

Some of the most creative, spontaneous, fun people I have known have also been people who greatly valued their routine.  They had a routine, but the routine did not have them.

I want to conclude these musings with someone else’s musings.  The following is from the site http://www.sixfiguresunder.com/powerful-routines/, and nicely sums up both the dangers and opportunities of routines.

“ ‘You will never change your life until you change something you do daily.  The secret of your success is found in your daily routine.’  – John C. Maxwell

We all have habits, for better or for worse.  I’ve noticed that some of my routines not only make my day smoother and more productive, but also save me time and money.  Other routines or habits do just the opposite.  Building up and improving the productive routines and rooting out the wasteful routines will improve the flow of life and cash.”

Note well!  Improving good routines and grubbing out bad ones doesn’t simply improve cash flow.  Such activities improve the flow of life.  I can’t add much to that!

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