Habits are anchoring for me. I like the same morning routine. You might be shocked to hear that if I am thrown out of my routines, I can get grumpy. I hear the collective gasp. The truth is that for 98% of the time I am going with the flow but that 2% can be extremely stone like. Ironically my life has required more and more of that 2% to become flexible. Death, Divorce and Disease can force you to flex, pivot and adjust. Maybe that is the key to being young. You let go of the reins and learn to react less dramatically when things are demanding adjustment. My thoughts this week went to a situation where a new start was warranted after 56 years. That is a jolt after so long, but we are not clairvoyant about the future. We can’t yell into the darkness expecting the world to react to our routines. We either adjust or die. Bend at the knees and take the first step when our routines are no longer relevant. We need to create new habits with new environments. Life often demands that we deal with a set of new circumstances forcing us into new patterns. Maybe exchanging a known chaos for a new unknown chaos is required to remain at the helm of our lives. That 2% is mixed up for a time forcing us to let go of old ways and embrace new ways. I am sure that it won’t be long before a new routine has worn a path in our new lives.
Albert R. Hartley
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