Get out of that rut!

Glimmers

May 27, 2009

“Through some moment of beauty or pain, some sudden turning of our lives, we catch glimmers of at least what the saints are blinded by…” (Frederick Buechner, Listening To Your Life, p. 169)

Rut n. 1. A sunken track or groove made by the passage of vehicles. 2. A habitual, or unvaried way of living or acting.

I am a creature of habit. You probably are as well. My morning routines are, well, routine. I awake to either the coffee pot at 5:27 or the alarm at 5:30. I feed the cats, get coffee for my wife and myself. I do some reading, take a walk, exercise a bit and get ready for work. I drive to work and park in the same parking space almost every day. When I do park in a different spot I will most likely walk past my car in the afternoon, headed for where it usually is parked. Lately, as I alluded to in my last Glimmers, I’ve been in a rut.

Even the most exciting things can become routine as you repeat them over and over in the same way. They can become unconscious activities performed with all the animation of a creature from Night of the Living Dead. Ruts are comfortable. And that’s the problem. It has been said that a rut is just a grave with both ends knocked out. Ruts rob life of excitement. To maintain our sanity and joy, I think we need to be challenged and stretched every now and then. So if you’re tired of the “same old, same old,” break out! Take a class in dancing, photography, ancient history, or Aikido (like me). Visit a state park you’ve never seen. Or, horror of horrors, sit in a different seat at worship! Doing something new, or doing something you do often in a different way, can change your perspective and restore some lost joy to your life.

Blessings to you all,

Jerald