Routines

When I say the word, "routine" what kinds of feelings come to mind? Mostly positive, or mostly negative?

Most of us have some type of routine. Mine weekday morning routine involves hitting the snooze as long as possible, grabbing a yogurt on the way out the door, checking email at my desk, and making myself a nice hazelnut cappuccino at our coffee machine.

In the evenings, I often I come home from work, make supper, enjoy eating with my husband, and after the dishes are put away- consider what else we want to do with our evening.

When I think about these activities, so often repeated- I'm torn between the charm of the ordinary and the desire for the extraordinary.

There is joy in routines, in knowing what your day holds, in appreciating a hand to hold for prayer before meals and a favorite juice kept stocked in the fridge. There is pleasure to be found in every day life.

But there is also joy in the uniqueness of a day, in new discoveries, in new experiences. Sometimes it seems the mind longs for fresh air to blow in through it's windows.

So, as with many things in life, perhaps the answer lies somewhere in between. The balance of the routine and the new. And the things that are neither habit nor novice, but those that re-inspire our hearts and should thus be given more generous portion of our time.