It’s really feeling like fall in the PNW as we crunch through the lawn on fallen leaves and layer up before heading out in the morning. The fall feeling has me in a reflective frame of mind.
It’s no surprise that each season brings new routines, rituals and traditions that help to mark the passage of time. I’ve always been very routine and ritual oriented, but since becoming a parent, traditions have gained an entirely new meaning. Personally, our family uses rituals and routines to help ground us and stay true to our values in daily life, while traditions are those magical, anticipated events we can count on throughout the year. They are those things that make our family uniquely ours.
What do rituals, routines and traditions mean to you and your family? Let’s Jump In!
“Rituals are the formulas by which harmony is restored.”
Mitch Albom
Something to Read
Family rituals: What are they and Why are they important?
Family Traditions: Including Weekly Traditions, Birthday Traditions and School Traditions
Autumn Holiday Rituals that Nurture Family Connection
Something to Try
Here is an opportunity to reflect and possibly even share some of the new ideas mentioned in the previous articles with your family. Are there are new rituals or traditions you’d like to start? Any old ones worth letting go?
For this exercise, take a moment to make a list of your individual and family rituals traditions that already exist. You might be surprised by what you find—there may be a surplus or space to create more!
Write them all down, the silly ones, the deeply rooted ones, the new ones, the aged ones…there’s no right or wrong as it’s simply an exercise in exploration, self-awareness and reflection.
Then, like the radiant, flaming leaves falling from this season’s trees, consider letting go. Consider letting go of the exhausting practices, the ones that don’t fuel you, the ones that no longer serve.
By doing so, you create more space for space itself, or if you’re feeling inspired, for something new.
Something to Create
You can find me in the kitchen on Sundays; with an herb roasted chicken in the oven and veggie broth simmering on the stove. I’m a creature of habit…not the most exciting person, honestly…haha! But, I do know what I need to feel nourished, grounded and soothed. As a result, my family has come to enjoy the comfort as a well.
Fall Sundays call for Soups, for Broths, for Roasted Veggies and Homemade Breads!
Here are a few to try:
Something to Consider
Life is busy and full. The world is chaotic and the news is terrifying mostly.
That being said…
Consider how you might nourish, ground, comfort and soothe yourself this week. It doesn’t have to be exciting, it just has to be right for you!