A sample text widget

Etiam pulvinar consectetur dolor sed malesuada. Ut convallis euismod dolor nec pretium. Nunc ut tristique massa.

Nam sodales mi vitae dolor ullamcorper et vulputate enim accumsan. Morbi orci magna, tincidunt vitae molestie nec, molestie at mi. Nulla nulla lorem, suscipit in posuere in, interdum non magna.

Habits

“The chains of habit are generally too small to be felt until they are too strong to be broken.”

Samuel Johnson

To me, September has always felt more like the beginning of a new year than January.  It began when I was a child getting ready for the first week of school, and continued into adulthood when I became a teacher and later married one.  There’s a tangible change in the energy of our household.  It feels like a fresh start, a new beginning, a time to make Fall Resolutions.  Or perhaps it’s less daunting to think of them simply as ‘habits.’

I remember noticing how agile the elderly were in India.  They were always squatting.  They’d squat to visit, to eat, to work, to empty their bladders and bowels, and they appeared to have no difficulty transitioning from a squatting to a standing position.  I shared my observation with my hostess, Maduri, and she simply replied, “Habit.”

What are the habits that I would like to form this year?  And what are the habits that I would like to break?

One habit that my Indian family had developed was to meditate every day, three times a day with their children.  I’m not sure if three-year-old Baby was really meditating during these times, in fact I’m sure that she wasn’t, but she was still and quiet and she knew that it was a sacred time for her family.  I liked that.  After their meditation, they usually did a few stretches together.  I liked that too.

So this fall, I’m going to start a little morning ritual with my daughters.  At some point every day, we’re all going to go into the living room, put on some meditative music and do a few simple stretches.  I know that it’ll be great for my body, great for their little bodies, and perhaps it will help us all to feel centered as we progress through the day.

A habit I’d like to break?  My morning coffee.  No, it’s not the caffeine-habit that I’d like to kick, (I already drink de-caf,) it’s the damn cream and sugar!!!  I blame my husband for the cream.  I hadn’t known the beauty of a silky, creamy coffee before I met him.  And the sugar?   Honestly…there’s nobody to blame for that one.  I’ve tried drinking it black, which made me realize that I don’t actually like the flavour of coffee.  It’s just the warm,  soothing, sweet beverage that I find so enjoyable.

I think I’ll use a replacement strategy for breaking this habit.  I’ll still enjoy a hot drink in the morning, but I’ll find a yummy decaffeinated herbal tea to replace my creamy coffee.  I’m open to suggestions.  Any favourite teas you’d like to recommend?

So those are my Fall Habits; one to form and one to kick.  Anybody out there want to join me?  Let me know what you’re going to form and/or kick.

9 comments to Habits

  • Audrey Engstrom

    Oh!! Phooey!! Enjoy your cup of yummy, creamy, coffee. It’s better than whiskey in the morning.

  • Karen

    Ha ha Audrey!!! You’re hilarious!

  • Creamy Coffee Addict

    Right on Audrey!

    I love CREAM in my coffee and SUGAR. My compromise – one or the other. Best of both worlds. Hmm…do I feel like Cream today or sugar?

    I’m waiting for New Year’s to re-evaluate life. Right now, I’m off to enjoy some coffee with whiskey (option 3)

  • Karen

    Okay, you guys are not helping…now I realize I have to break my morning whiskey habit as well.

  • When I’m pregnant I switch from our household half-caf blend of coffee and have black tea instead. Pregnancy makes me realize that I don’t like the taste of coffee either – just the hot sweetness with cream and sugar. 😉

    I hate to break it to you, but decaf coffee does contain caffeine, just not nearly as much as regular coffee. So black tea might be an option for you. The tea shoppe downtown has so many lovely varieties of tea!

    You could try a rooibos tea, which doesn’t have caffeine but has tannins like black tea, which give it that satisfying round flavour. I know they have several varieties at the downtown shoppe. Good luck to kick the coffee!

  • Jen Bobroff

    i’m addicted to early grey cream right now…not decaffinated and i still take it with milk and sugar so i’m not really sure that this helps!

  • Aurora

    And here I am in Italy getting to like a cappucino where I drink black coffee at home. Hmm, changing my habit as well…

  • Penny

    Try White Tea with Blueberry and Pommegranate by Lipton. A friend of Mom’s gave it to her when she was terminally ill and it apparently has certain healing properties. I really enjoy this tea. Good luck kicking your coffee habit. By the way Black Tea has a lot of caffeine in it too…

  • Karen

    Thanks ladies, I now have a nice little tea-shopping-list ready when I head to the Tea Shoppe. Is White Tea anything like White Chocolate??? One can only hope. I’ve been drinking my usual creamy, sugary concoction until I completely run out of coffee…then I’m not buying any more!!!