“What day is it?” asked Pooh. “It’s today,” squeaked Piglet. “My favourite day,” said Pooh.
– A. A Milne
If you would ask me what happens daily in this town I live and work in at the moment, I would say – not much. On the other hand, there is always something special that is hidden from us or invisible to our untrained lazy minds and eyes. It takes courage to let go and admit that we are – blind.
This is a story of everyday events because every day counts and every one/ everyone is precious. Are you ready to meet your Routine?
Ginger cat jumps on the trash bin and looks around, he is sitting in the green grass of Maria’s backyard, listening to sounds and possibly finding one to follow. Only, nothing special is happening here, he says, just grass and that human looking at me from the window.
It is me trying to establish a contact, deeper contact with the cat. He is also a member of the ‘routine change’ family that is taking place now and here where I am. Since we are approaching the end of this year, named 2021 in this human reality, it is a good time to relax and breathe in the what, who, where, why and how we have been living and doing. For me as an artist routine is important, as an organizational tool. It helps me navigate through my intentions and allows me to dive into the processes of a deeper comprehension of how I live. This routine is also important as it stays flexible and changes from time to time where it is necessary to let go and adopt a new tool and experiment further. Routine is not a killer, as I once read, though it is very ego connected and very seducing into giving way to whatever, feeling overwhelmed and too small to act and own agency. Agency for me is working with your being, in a holistic way, and the higher Spirit, God, Buddha, Krishna, Creator, however you want to name it/ them, to recreate yourself daily into a new powerful being as we all are, stones, trees, sea, human, cat, rat, owl or pet. It is your mission, reason of being. While reducing our living by doing and focusing only on the routine by a Western human, limits our potential, I am interested in the routine in general, whether practised by monks, artists, housewives and on and in its potential and awareness as a key ingredient.
Photo: Ivana Filip, 2021
Aware of our schedules, we should be aware of the potential of a moment within it, its magnificent electricity to create something new, something even more vibrant than it used to be, not harder, faster, but more present, more real than what we might see as real. For example, I used to draw every morning for a few hours after my morning routine, but now, in a new scenario, country, people and temporary job, it has changed and it was irritating. And I love irritation! It is one of my honest companions who puts a mirror up into my face – look darling, you do not like this or that, this is not as you want, this is… you are…., and on and on. It is my twin sister, but heavily annoying and sometimes I just would like to shut her mouth forever. But, she continues… so I learned to listen, more often as she seems to be even wiser. Look at that, ironically, I said, as ironical as we are nowadays. She teaches me to listen to myself and work it through, slowly with patience, breath by breath, release her out, and set her free from me. So, I asked her to help me settle into this new routine/ organization/ discipline and show me where to loosen up and what to invite into the new timespace scheme.
Today I slept longer because my being needed it and I did not set up the alarm. I stayed in the bed, daydreaming about my life and snuggled with my cats in my mind, strongly smelling and feeling each of them, their hair. And then, just after my morning meditation and hanging out with the higher teachers, a ginger cat jumped in front of the door, not allowing me to immediately sit down and do my morning writing. Another routine glitch! Thank you, Ginger, good! Therefore, routine, irritation and awareness are DNA related; there are many more, known and unknown. Though, as you get to meet each of them, more of them get excited and impatient to meet you, since they waited for so long. Imagine that – so many of your virtues are waiting to meet you! Someone there was waiting to meet you and dedicated to following you and assisting you, but you had no idea, not until maybe now, or now, or now…. now is forever. Good luck and keep on searching!
Thank you for reading. Let me know your thoughts! I wish you a Merry Christmas with all its blessings!
Love,
Ivana