“To love your days is to love your life.”
I’m always inspired by the ideas of James Clear (if you aren’t subscribed to his 3-2-1 newsletter you should be). When I came across what he had to say here (the last part especially), it resonated with why I feel so strongly about photographing the lives of families the way I do.
"Many people view their habits and routines as obstacles or, at the very least, obligations to get through. Making the morning coffee, driving your kids to the next activity, preparing the next meal-we often see our routines as chores to be completed.
But these are not moments to be dismissed. They are life. Making coffee can be a peaceful ritual-perhaps even a fulfilling one-if done with care rather than rushed to completion. It's about the amount of attention you devote to these simple moments, and whether you choose to appreciate them or bulldoze through them on the way to the next task.
Find the beauty and joy in your daily rituals and you will find beauty and joy in your daily life. To love your habits is to love your days, and to love your days is to love your life." - James Clear
Life with young kids can feel like it’s just work…all the time. When your days are a string of routines that lead you to bedtime with little time left for anything extra, it can feel really exhausting. It IS really exhausting. Maybe, if we can see that string of routines as being the point of it all—rather than a thing to get through so you can get on with other things—we will be able to see and feel more ease in our days.
And if your family is anything like my family, your routines still may not feel ease-y even with a mindset shift. But I promise, if you can have someone show you what it looks like, you will see that there is still beauty and joy in the way you tend to your family during those routines. I hope that by seeing your days you will come to love your days and in turn love your life. Cause even when the days feel messy and chaotic, there are opportunities for tender moments of connection within the daily routine.
Thanks to this family for reminding me to find the joy in shared rituals.
