15 Comments

Routines or the illusion that we don't have routines sit at the very centre of how we voyage through the days ... many of our routines may be ones of avoidance and denial, but still, even activities which we feel waste our time are very revealing to observe and underscore and even open up the creative doorways we are deathly afraid of approaching. DW

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The memory of that coffee in the photograph makes my mouth water, issuing as it did from the dark and sublime beans of Durán Barista in Granada, Spain. Durán Barista was part of my morning writing routine, The aroma of the coffee, the background hubbub of steam and morning conversation, the wooden grain of the desk and the flow of my nib on the page all combining to make a spell-like ritual out of what only looked like routine... DW

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I find routine to be so settling for my nervous system, structuralizing for my sense of self, stimulating for my mind and sensual for my body. And it's incredibly difficult as a nomadic-- for me.

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I’m reporting in Sir, as I sit here by the window on the world, on this side, giggling at “our appreciation of life and the delightful details and ABSURDITIES of every day existence.” Well, you named for me! Take it easy, Geraldine

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Long-live the delightful absurdities of existence, Geraldine... DW

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Routines have grounded me. Routines have have carried me. Routines, at pivotal moments in my life, have saved me.

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I now have my signed and treasured hard copy of this new volume and it sits with several other books of poetry, science, philosophy and spirituality on my kitchen table. One of my valued routines is to read a little from each of these every morning before I let the world lure me too much into doing and distraction.

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Thank you for this wonderfully timely post. My only routine for most of my life has been novelty and more than a bit of chaos. As life would have it, things changed and I had to create set routines to get through the day. I found myself deeply appreciative of watching the seasons change, of knowing the positive feeling I get from seeing a made bed and waking up sitting in the morning sun and reading poetry. What amazing gifts I missed out on the first half of life.

Thank you 🙏

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I vow that tomorrow, I will not look at my phone until noon. I so want to rid myself of the damn offending thing! But it is useful like a gulp of cheap vodka is for a morning hangover; it dims the wrench of yesterday's poor choices, then fires the never-ending search for poison. I believe I can establish a new routine where the only thing between me and my writing material is the air in my sunroom, the warming winter's scent seeping under the wood door, and love for the work before me. Wish me luck, as I lack discipline.

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Our Waking Up community discussion made it clear that we need an essay exploring the meaning of "timeless." Please, professor, heed our cry. debengineer in berkeley

edit: I found what I was looking for: “The invisible transcends our understanding of time. Many times the invisible reveals itself only after the fact: the love perceived in our mother’s sudden harsh voice, years after we were scolded; our own youthful sins we could never fully articulate, now brought to understanding through the mature lens of our later years and then, as a triumph and almost beyond belief, a future once only intuited, now lived out on a daily basis.  “

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it's a balance isn't it. we have to be able to break away from the comfort of routine. otherwise routine become rut. so enjoyed this, thank you David - fodder for thought

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never felt this compelled to experiment with the smaller things i latch on to throughout my day

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Read this while preparing my weekly routines. Very well put.

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I find routine to be so settling for my nervous system, structuralizing for my sense of self, stimulating for my mind and sensual for my body. And it's incredibly difficult as a nomadic-- for me.

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I find routine to be so settling for my nervous system, structuralizing for my sense of self, stimulating for my mind and sensual for my body. And it's incredibly difficult as a nomadic-- for me.

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