As a result of the health crisis, the directive to “shelter in place” has meant that multitudes of us are learning to live within the confines of our homes for an indefinite period of time, with varying degrees of contentment on our parts. And the daily meaning of home for many folks has morphed to encompass office and school, all of which gives us cause to pause and rethink our new version of reality.
So, wherever you are on the contentment spectrum, here are some suggestions for spending your newfound free time at home: contacting loved ones; going for walks; eating meals together; watching family movies; decluttering excess stuff; re/reading favorite books; and finishing household chores, among other ritual activities. And while you are rethinking your reality, consider creating some daily routines to add some rhythm to your life.
One regular practice Linda and I established years ago is a simple morning routine. Typically, I fix our fruit and juice while Linda makes the bed. We then try to spend some devotional time apart in Bible reading, praying, journaling, etc. And nowadays, we are able to enjoy breakfast together before reporting to our respective home offices, now that she is working from home for the foreseeable future. But as commuters, I made our hot drinks to go (as pictured above).
Another realm where routine works its wonders is in the area of creativity. So writes Alex Soojung-Kim Pang, author of Rest: Why You Get More Done When You Work Less: “The reason it’s necessary to start writing, and to keep writing, is that creativity doesn’t drive the work; the work drives creativity. A routine creates a landing place for the muse” [emphasis mine]. So, whatever your creative endeavor, try to create your own “landing places.”
And lest the routines become ruts in our lives, consider this quote from writer Margaret Roach, author of And I Shall Have Some Peace There: Trading in the Fast Lane for My Own Dirt Road: “I have tactics to apply, countermeasures to deploy, quotes and sayings and lines of songs to say, and sing. They provide the proof that I am not the first, nor the only, to just go sit somewhere when life moved past simple answers; when rote stopped working as a routine.”