Habits

Habits, perhaps a subset of rituals, have been on my mind lately. When I think of habits, I immediately consider whether a particular one might be bad or good. Perhaps there are also habits that are neutral, which don’t seem worthy of contemplation. Many habits are concerned with consumption, either dietary or monetary. The bad habits are the ones that we want to decrease or avoid altogether, such as eating sweets or smoking cigarettes; or buying single-use plastics or unneeded trinkets or lottery tickets. Of course, you can immediately see that judgment comes into play with my labeling of good or bad.

There is another kind of habit, though, that is not necessarily, though can be, a choice. This habit is, for me, unbidden, the habit of awe, of saying WOW to the universe. It comes very naturally right now, during spring, when the entire world is blooming or seems to be. Perhaps particularly as I age, I am wowed by the sight of the clouds in the sky, the grape hyacinths and tulips beside the street, and the generous, sprawling spring green of the sprouting trees.

This is in sharp contrast to the horrors taking place right now in the wider world. Yes, I know they are there and I take action when/where I can. That does not diminish my wonder at the world that I see on my street and in my neighborhood. Is my surprise because it seems impossible to hold two opposite ideas simultaneously? Or, is it because we must do exactly that?

Recently, a friend who holds very different political views than me, asked me how I would spend my time if I did not spend so much of it protesting and advocating. That question provoked some deep thought. First, it seems impossible to me that I would ever want to stop protesting and advocating, given the state of the world. But, I said to her that I would probably spend more time attending plays, concerts, and movies, which I love. Later, I thought to myself, how selfish to lead that kind of life, where I would only consider and feed my own pleasure.

Back to habits. I strongly believe that cultivating wonder and awe as a most admirable habit would be good for each of us and for the world. Part of that awe, for me, is of the bazillion parts in our bodies that must work properly to allow us to walk and talk and think and act with any degree of normalcy. That so many of us live these ‘normal’ lives is incredibly amazing! We generally take this for granted, hence are always surprised when a friend has a stroke or dementia or a heart attack. What if we developed the habit of thanking our bodies every day for functioning, our legs for carrying us around, our eyes for seeing, and our noses for smelling?

So, yes, let’s cultivate good habits and reduce the bad ones. And, let’s begin with increasing our awareness of the wonders that surround and fill us. We don’t have to forget the flaws that need our attention, in order to appreciate what we have.