A personal ritual is something you do to release stress or calm yourself down. Let me give you an example of one of mine so that you can better visualize what it looks like.
I’ve talked about my love of rabbits on this blog several times in the past, but I don’t think I’ve ever told you about Bunday in detail.
Bunday happens when I take a few minutes to look at all of the rabbit pictures, gifs, and videos that I’ve stumbled across lately. The name of this ritual, as I’m sure you’ve already guessed, is a combination of the words bunny and day. I wasn’t the person who came up with it, but I like it all the same.
This is something I’ve been doing for several years now. There isn’t any specific day of the week when this ritual happens. It could happen two or three times one week and then maybe not again for a few weeks after that.
Why do I do it? Well, there are a few different answers to that question. One, I love rabbits. Two, it’s incredibly fun. Three, our world is full of ugly, terrible, and frightening things. I think there’s something to be said for occasionally taking a break from the news and focusing on something that uplifts you.
It’s kind of like pausing to rest when you’re carrying a heavy box to somewhere far away. Catching your breath and stretching your sore muscles before picking up that load again can make the difference between injuring yourself and feeling perfectly fine the next day.
Taking long walks outdoors is something else I like to do when I’m feeling overwhelmed or simply want to relax. What I especially like about Bunday, though, is that it can be done on days when the weather is bad, I’m pressed for time, or I’m sick.
I’d say that everyone needs at least one personal ritual in their lives, although how that looks in your life might not be the same as how it is for me.
For example, one of my relatives loves to cook and bake. She is happiest when she’s in the middle of some grand experiment in the kitchen. What is really cool about this is that she’s actually parlayed this into a part-time home business. Not only does she get to release stress, she sometimes gets paid to do it as well!
Someone else I know keeps up with a few dozen different TV shows throughout the year. It’s gotten to the point now where he can predict all of the plot twists for a show that he’s never seen before because he knows so much about how storytelling works on the small screen. He also can tell you about many of the different shows that specific actors worked on decades ago because his memories of their past projects are so strong.
If you already have a personal ritual of some kind that brings joy to your life, I’d love to know what it is, how it started, and how long you’ve been doing it.
If you don’t have one yet, why not give it a try? You might discover that you really like it!
I’d have a Bunday just because I love rabbits. We have them all over the yard, usually, though ours often get decimated by the wildlife on the mountain. Not much we can do about that, however.
I’d also have to have a Caturday (I think they call it that on the twitter) because I love photos of cats, but you probably know I love cats.
I guess my fave ritual would be my Sunday morning one, where I have coffee and a pastry in front of the picture windows, and then read the news (if it’s not too horrific).
Hugs,
A
Cool!
Yes, I’ve heard of Caturday. How fun.
What kind of pastry do you like to have on Sundays? My favourite ones are the ones that have some kind of jelly filling.