Owl Have a Cup of Ritual, Please

This morning I am beginning the day with my ritual of drinking coffee but one thing is different–an owl mug, a gift from Dayla’s girls. That owl holds a lot of coffee and I rather think he is pleased to be useful.

Rituals! Isn’t it funny the way we establish them without even meaning to? Or, do we mean to begin a ritual? And then, we cling to them…they become a part of our lives, like the early morning ritual of making coffee and feeding Nemo.

Oh, and speaking of rituals–writing! Coffee, Nemo, and writing, and of course, you! A very good start to the morning.

It’s a funny thing. The women in my cozy mysteries begin the day with drinking coffee too. And Flora, at least, begins the day with prayer and Bible reading. After that, things get a bit more active. Ned enjoys coffee but now and then, she has a cup of chamomile tea just to calm her nerves. For example, after the nightmare that woke her that autumn morning, the chamomile had a hard job. It seemed the awful dream was the start of a lot of strange things happening: the man in the fog, the accident at the Old Houses luncheon, the sudden death of…oh well! It must have been the nightmare, not the cup of tea in By the Fright of the Silvery Moon.

Here is a question: do rituals have anything to do with choices? Do we choose a ritual or does it choose us? Are rituals simply habits or are they more meaningful? Do we cling to them because they give us a sense of security, something we can rely on? When faced with options, do you find making a decision hard or easy? Do you make a list of pros and cons or do you just go with your instinctive and first decision? Then, after making a decision, do you look back and wish you had chosen the alternative? Is there a relationship between choices and rituals?

I’d like your input concerning rituals and choices. What do you think? Is a ritual like the oil that smooths out the kinks in your day? And, how many of you start your day with coffee?

Cemeteries, Coffee, Floods, Crazed Killers, Fog, Luncheons, Old Houses, Mysterious Caves, Intrepid Women, Cherokee Legends,