I created this illustration for the upcoming Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators Draw This contest. The prompt word was “Ritual” which naturally got me thinking about the rituals I do daily. (I’m pretty sure my dentist doesn’t read my blog, but in case he does, I DO brush and floss daily.) To be honest, as a teen I used to floss only sporadically, but that all changed one day when I saw a sign in my dentist’s office that read…
“You don’t have to floss all your teeth. Just the ones you want to keep.”
(And just like that I was turned into a flossing convert.)
These days I’m also a yoga and meditation convert. I wish I could say that I’d been smart enough to make yoga and mediation a part of my life all along. Unfortunately, it took many years of Type A behavior – of constantly pushing myself to the limit and eventually getting super anxious – to realize that I needed to reevaluate my life, priorities and the way I viewed myself. But better late than never, right?
Drinking more water regularly is the next ritual I’m hoping to adopt. How about you? Do you have daily rituals that nurture and sustain you? Are you hoping to add any new rituals to your routine?
This illustration is pretty impressive, and I hope that they love it! The ritual I hope to adopt is going to bed earlier. I am terrible about late bedtimes, and it doesn’t help when my cat decides he wants to go outside early in the morning, because he doesn’t take no for an answer. I think I can do it if I just start some of the late night activities earlier!
Hi Helen, I hear you on the earlier bed times! We’re terrible about getting to bed at a decent hour. Last night we should have been in bed really early (waiting for our overnight flight to Lisbon right now), but we went to bed at 1 a.m. We were supposed to get up at 7:30 a.m., but I accidentally set the alarm for 6:30 a.m. Oops. So we’re exhausted now.
I, too, hope the judges like my illustration. They’ve passed on the last two submissions, so who knows.
Ciao dearie! (Sweet dreams!)
Joana