Routine

I have never been drawn to a life of routine. My reasons - I believe it can kill inspiration, innovation and creativity. Recently, I came to realise that routine has a purpose when applied in the appropriate way.

There are dangers to routine, that we can't deny. But sometimes your worst enemy can be your closest ally as well. For me the red lights concerning routine start to flash when it starts to penetrate all aspects of my life. When my life becomes a planned event. That kills all emotion, because without spontaneity I deprive myself from experiencing unexpected emotions. We start to loose our own opinion on matters in life, because it is through confrontation with the unexpected that we are forced to think, forced to form our own opinions. A life ruled by routine minimizes constructive thinking. We can't stay creative and constructive in an environment where everything is pre-planned, where the construction has taken place already. And lastly, but for me the most dangerous side-effect of routine is that it cultivates laziness. If I know that I will go home every night and watch television, have dinner, go to bed all at the same time then I do not need to think about my life. The unexpected, the things we do not plan for on the other hand, needs planning, it needs thought.

Routine creates frustration if not used as a proper tool. We need to construct our lives in such a manner that routine works for us, not the other way around. When carefully incorporated into our busy schedules routine has got definite advantages. It provides a source of safety and security. It saves us time, because the basic day-to-day events can be incorporated into a routine that needs less planning and daily effort to remember. In some instances it prevents us from missing things we might not have remembered if it was not part of our daily routine.

At the home I grew up in my mom planted ivy. It grew up against the brick walls and softened the house's facade. It had to be groomed continuously, because without pruning it, it always overgrown and defeated its purpose. Routine is like ivy. It is both a beautiful and functional attribute in our lives as long as we are prepared to maintain its growth. We need to cut it away all the time to make sure that it does not rule our lives, that we do not fall into the trap of the routine comfort.

On the topic of controlling routine - I find the following tips useful in my life:

• Identify areas in your life where you need control (ex. exercise, bible study)
• Outline the purpose or advantage that routine will bring to that area in your life
• Implement a routine that would cultivate that advantage
• Use the time saved by implementation of the routine to do something creative like making chocolate ivy leaves (see the recipe below)

Remember whenever you are making these leaves - that routine (the ivy leave) should always result in a creative by-product (chocolate ivy-leaves). If routine does not serve that purpose in your life re-visit the tips above.

Chocolate ivy-leaves

• 1/2 slab of brown or white baking chocolate
• 10-20 ivy leaves of different sizes

Melt the chocolate on the stove. Medium heat. Use a teaspoon to put chocolate on the coarse side of the leaf. With a knife spread the chocolate over the whole leaf. Put in the fridge until hard enough. Pull the leaf away from the chocolate, very carefully.

With your extra creativity put these leaves to use in any manner out of your daily routine.