Sex and the City
No, this post is NOT about sex but I am going to posit a question a la Carrie Bradshaw, she of Sex and the City. Plus I figured having sex in the title might be a good way to draw readers.
Before I retired, many already retirees would look at me with something akin to sympathy and tell me that it would take me awhile, but I would find a routine. I've been ruminating over this quite a bit, which leads me to wonder--Why is it important for people leaving the routine of the workforce to then burden themselves with a new routine? Because, after all, isn't that something we're all looking forward to with baited breath once we retire? That we can jettison the routine, do whatever we want, whenever we want?
(I previously wrote about the value of getting into an exercise routine, which I have been adhering to rather religiously. Therefore, I exempt exercise from the ensuing conversation about routines.)
And don't get me started about schedules. Definitively that is the one thing I've known for quite a while that I did not want in retirement. No schedules, which to me connotes being beholden to someone's beck and call other than my own.
So I'm thinking what I want/need in my life is a rhythm.
Now perhaps, if you're a regular reader of this blog, you're thinking, here she goes again with the differentiation and semantics of words, since we already went down this path with guests and company.
It's true. I love words. Once an English major, always an English major. I got a 6 on my ACT in math so I am much better suited to manipulating words and phrases that mathematical theorems.
When I was working, on occasion I would find myself, for lack of a better phrase, "out of sorts." In an attempt to figure out why I was feeling that way, it usually came back to the notion that I was out of my rhythm. Being pulled in too many different directions. Noshing as opposed to eating meals, and noshing on things with little or no nutritional value. Having a lot of start/stop/restart/interruption/redirection. Accomplishing little. Spinning wheels mightily. No exercise. Poor sleep.
I had the routine. I had the schedule. I lost the rhythm.
Rhythm has an ebb and a flow. It feels organic, internal, has its own sense of motivation and timing and ease. It's liquid, not unlike the high and low tide of the ocean or the gentle lapping of a lake over the stones near the shore. Rhythm possesses the ability to offer tranquility because you have the power to adjust it. The routine owns you. The schedule can strangle you. Rhythm oh so magically reminds you of who you are, to pay attention to that. Rhythm is a yoga breath, the Ujjayi Pranayama, or the ocean breath or victorious breath. It heats and energizes the body, releasing tension in the mind while building feelings of mindfulness and presence in the moment.
Yep, that's it. That's the rhythm. That's what I'm continuing to circle around, embrace, configure, reconfigure, let go, reconnect, explore. As I continue to get my sea legs underneath me, increasingly I believe I'm seeking rhythm.
No offense intended, and I hope none taken, to those who advised me to find a new routine. At least today, I don't think I'm looking for routine. Today, at least, it's rhythm.
Cooking:
Last week, I made Arista, which is a Tuscan roast pork. It smelled exquisite, even before I put it in the oven, because of the combination of fresh rosemary and garlic. Highly recommend.
BONUS FEATURE:
On a recent Saturday Night Live, there was a skit that Dan and I found so funny, we almost fell out of our chairs laughing. I think you need to be of a certain age to share our degree of merriment, but take a peek for yourself. Prize to anyone who can list all the different names the actors have for Alexa.
Before I retired, many already retirees would look at me with something akin to sympathy and tell me that it would take me awhile, but I would find a routine. I've been ruminating over this quite a bit, which leads me to wonder--Why is it important for people leaving the routine of the workforce to then burden themselves with a new routine? Because, after all, isn't that something we're all looking forward to with baited breath once we retire? That we can jettison the routine, do whatever we want, whenever we want?
(I previously wrote about the value of getting into an exercise routine, which I have been adhering to rather religiously. Therefore, I exempt exercise from the ensuing conversation about routines.)
And don't get me started about schedules. Definitively that is the one thing I've known for quite a while that I did not want in retirement. No schedules, which to me connotes being beholden to someone's beck and call other than my own.
So I'm thinking what I want/need in my life is a rhythm.
Now perhaps, if you're a regular reader of this blog, you're thinking, here she goes again with the differentiation and semantics of words, since we already went down this path with guests and company.
It's true. I love words. Once an English major, always an English major. I got a 6 on my ACT in math so I am much better suited to manipulating words and phrases that mathematical theorems.
When I was working, on occasion I would find myself, for lack of a better phrase, "out of sorts." In an attempt to figure out why I was feeling that way, it usually came back to the notion that I was out of my rhythm. Being pulled in too many different directions. Noshing as opposed to eating meals, and noshing on things with little or no nutritional value. Having a lot of start/stop/restart/interruption/redirection. Accomplishing little. Spinning wheels mightily. No exercise. Poor sleep.
I had the routine. I had the schedule. I lost the rhythm.
Rhythm has an ebb and a flow. It feels organic, internal, has its own sense of motivation and timing and ease. It's liquid, not unlike the high and low tide of the ocean or the gentle lapping of a lake over the stones near the shore. Rhythm possesses the ability to offer tranquility because you have the power to adjust it. The routine owns you. The schedule can strangle you. Rhythm oh so magically reminds you of who you are, to pay attention to that. Rhythm is a yoga breath, the Ujjayi Pranayama, or the ocean breath or victorious breath. It heats and energizes the body, releasing tension in the mind while building feelings of mindfulness and presence in the moment.
Yep, that's it. That's the rhythm. That's what I'm continuing to circle around, embrace, configure, reconfigure, let go, reconnect, explore. As I continue to get my sea legs underneath me, increasingly I believe I'm seeking rhythm.
No offense intended, and I hope none taken, to those who advised me to find a new routine. At least today, I don't think I'm looking for routine. Today, at least, it's rhythm.
Cooking:
Last week, I made Arista, which is a Tuscan roast pork. It smelled exquisite, even before I put it in the oven, because of the combination of fresh rosemary and garlic. Highly recommend.
BONUS FEATURE:
On a recent Saturday Night Live, there was a skit that Dan and I found so funny, we almost fell out of our chairs laughing. I think you need to be of a certain age to share our degree of merriment, but take a peek for yourself. Prize to anyone who can list all the different names the actors have for Alexa.
Have a great weekend and don't worry about rhythm
ReplyDelete