Sunday Mornings — 78 Cups

Before I start, I wanted to make note of little hiatus that Doreen and I have taken. For those of you who knew our mother and understand the significance of the 78 days, you will know why we might not have been on our game just now. This time of year, even 12 years later, slows us down a little.

Last Sunday, I read an actual newspaper while having my coffee. Not the online version, as I usually do, but an actual broadsheet. Doing this got me thinking about rituals. There was a time in my life that every Sunday morning started with a coffee and newspaper. I haven’t had as much time for that lately.

As a child my Sunday mornings did, for a period, consist of going to church. My family was not overly religious so this was not a consistent activity but it was there nonetheless. Later in life Sunday mornings were reserved for very strong coffee and a debrief with the girls about the previous evenings events. One of my favourite Sunday morning rituals occurred during my marriage. We would get a snack pack of Timbits to go with our coffee and binge-watch (before the term even existed) the weekly episodes of Coronation Street.

I enjoyed all of these activities. They gave me time to slow down and spend time with people I cared about. As I mentioned earlier it feels that I have become too busy for these types of rituals.

I am not going to deny the convenience of being able to shop on Sundays or having access to all the amenities that we do on any other week day. There is something, however, about how this access contributes to the pace at which we live our lives. It makes me wonder if this is just another sign of a world that doesn’t take time to connect in meaningful ways any longer.

On the TV program Blue Bloods (I am still a sucker for Tom Selleck and that moustache), the extended family has dinner together every Sunday. I will admit that I often watch that scene with envy. Not necessarily that I would expect to have that with my family, for the majority of us we are lucky if we can accomplish this on holidays let alone every week. Rather it is the time spent with people you care about in earnest conversation that makes me jealous of this fictional family.

Whether it be family dinners or binge watching Coronation Street, I believe it is important that we take the time to participate in those activities that help connect us to the people we care about. We need to give our hearts and minds a little feeding and just slow down for a moment.

According to an article in Happify Daily by Jessica Cassity people have the ability to control their happiness to a certain extent (well 40% of it actually). This is something a truly believe in, maybe not the exact percent but the overall concept. Her article states that, “It's an oversimplification to say that every single person can control exactly 40% of their happiness, but scientists have determined that your happiness level is a result of a complex interaction of genes, behaviors, and life circumstances.” So whether you agree with the exact percent or not, consider the value to taking the time to do the things that ground us. If we find space for those “rituals” in our lives they will have a positive impact on those life circumstances that result in our happiness.