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The Meaning of Routine

 

            The idea of a routine is doubtlessly as old as humanity.  Even for those of us who have led a relatively stable life, the idea of a routine is still meaningful.  I qualify as one of those who has led a very stable life.  Growing up on a dairy farm means a daily schedule.  Cows must be milked morning and night.  There are no exceptions. Unless you can find a fill in, you are in charge.  I remember as a little boy how delighted I was to be able to go with my dad to milk the cows.  In those earliest years I don’t think it occurred to me that one day soon, I would have to do that job.

            As I grew up and went to school, it was no secret what I would do when the bus dropped me off in front of my house.  Frequently, my dad would ask me whether I wanted to milk the cows to tend to the many hogs which we produced.  Somehow there never was a third option!  Most of the time I did not mind.  It was life as I knew it.  Some kids went home from school and watched tv; that was not part of my life.  As I look back, I am not sorry for that.

            What I also did not realize in those early days was how much those experiences were charting my life journey.  As I reflect now, there is no doubt I learned to appreciate the role of routine.  I know some folks hate routine.  Boring is the first word that comes out of their mouths.  But I appreciate routine.  Let’s look at it in more detail.  Routine normally means something like the same.  That might exclude variety, but I don’t think that is necessary.  Routine means I do the same things on a regular basis.  In my life eating is routine; taking a shower is routine. 

            Typically, there is a level of predictability in routine.  To be engaged in routine is likely to feel like repeating an action.  In my farm experience I milked the same cows the next morning that I milked the evening before.  More than likely, the cows looked exactly the same.  And usually they gave the same amount of milk.  That was the point.  We were in dairy farming for the milk the cows produced and which we sold.  Their milk was putting food on the table, gas in the car, etc. 

            Seen in this light, it did not seem boring.  I understand the experience of being bored is not being interesting.  If someone tells me I am boring, that means they do not find me interesting.  Boring is an interpretation of an experience.  Boring is not inherent to something.  Milking cows twice a day may sound to a city kid as really boring.  I get it that’s how someone sees and interprets their sense of what milking cows must mean.  But it didn’t seem boring to me.

            That does not mean there were times when I did not want to do it.  No doubt, some days I would have preferred sitting down and watching tv.  I would have thought that was “fun.”  But today if I think about watching tv all day long (which I can do if I want to do it), I can’t imagine how awful that would be.  It would be beyond boring; it would be hell!  So, I argue that routines are not inherently boring---or interesting. 

            Routine usually means some kind of structure to time and/or space.  For me routine has normally meant a structure of time.  It might be milking cows twice a day.  In my life as a college teacher, it means classes at the same time on the same days of the week---at least for a semester.  A nice thing about routine for me is I don’t have to think about it.  If it is Monday I go to my classes.  I don’t have to ponder it.  I don’t quibble.  Especially when I chose the life which becomes routine, I have even less reason to complain. 

            Sometimes I laugh at my college who write off some classes because the students are boring or incompetent or whatever.  Again, these are all interpretations.  As I think about my hour in a classroom, I prefer to see it as a privilege.  There are structured times each week where I get to be with a select group of people to think about things that are interesting and engage in conversation about life, purpose and meaning.  It is stable, predictable and regular.  I love that.  Why would I want to watch tv instead?

            Finally, all this is easily translated into my spiritual life, too.  When I get the chance to teach my class on Spiritual Disciplines, I am simply given a chance to talk about how to routinize spiritual practice.  In fact, I am quite dubious anyone can have a meaningful spiritual journey without some form of discipline or routine in place.  To sustain our spiritual journey, we need regular engagement with and interaction with God or the Holy One or Ultimate Reality---however you want to name it.

            Routine is not the same thing as a prison sentence.  Seen rightly, routine offers a great deal of freedom, spontaneity and creative possibility.  Routine is the structure or crucible, if you will.  What we do with it and what we take from it are the contents.  I suggest it is possible to find a great deal of joy and some peace from routine. 

            And I think there is one more benefit from routine.  On the edge of routine and at the margin there is always the possibility of the surprise and serendipity.  Routine is not immune from serendipity.  This suggests that we should be in the middle of routine prepared to make the most of it and to enjoy the predictable process of routine.  At the same time, we should be open and, even, expectant to the new, the fresh and the serendipitous will break in and grace us in ways we could not have expected.

            This is exactly what God does!   

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