[August 11th, 2015]
I've been giving a lot of thought this summer to the importance of "routine" for most people, myself included.
With the prospects of moving from apartment to apartment each month in NYC, so many people have started talking to me about "the unknown"—isn't it going to cause a certain anxiety each month? Not knowing where or what you're going to come home to over the course of the next year?
Enter routines.
Is there something that you do, or go out of your way to do each and every day? Something that gives you a sense of security? Or makes you feel like your morning, afternoon, or evening is complete?
For some it's a morning shower—with a certain water pressure. For others a certain workout after work in the evening. Heck! Maybe you have a specific machine that you've claimed at the gym; disrupted in routine anytime it's taken. Another one that I must mention for the sake of New Yorkers is that glass of wine...or two, (3??), in the evening. That's definitely a must, right?
But what about stuff? Where the overwhelming security of a routine is certainty, objects and belongings, and the fact that they are sitting there, day after day, are also a form of certainty, no? Ultimately, I believe that we should do things and surround ourselves with things that make us happy. I think it begs the question: what around you makes you happy—and what will you be happy living without? Truly?
For anyone who has come to stay in our home in NYC—whether that home was on Wooster, or Spring, or Ludlow—they know that I wake up early, every morning, to drink lemon water and make coffee. I must. No matter where in the world I find myself, the first thing I do is buy water, lemons, coffee, and almond milk. No 'buts' about it.
We were lucky to travel to many places this summer, hopping from city to city after two or three days. The experience, which I've never had before (there was no Euro-trip for us!), prompted my mind to break free. I can live unattached to my own kitchen, my own bed, my own shower. I found that new surroundings actually made me very happy...as long as I had my lemon water in the morning. Hilarious, no? But so what? It's a healthy routine for the body. :)
I've always admired Aviv for this characteristic, among many others. This guy doesn't need anything—no routine, no piece of furniture. Nada. But there are many things out there in the world that make him happy. And there are many things out there in the world, whether they are objects, or experiences, that we want to possess—at least for some time.
And in thinking about the way we moved about this summer, I came home and realized we're surrounded by security blankets that we don't really need—and won't need ever again, if we're eventually planning to leave New York City. The puzzle pieces fell into place.
But who knows? Maybe we're mistaken. Maybe we do need all of these personal possessions around us? In any case, we're more than willing to learn; and to go on that journey to find out. Again, as long as we've got lemons.