Ritual
A funny thing happened recently. Lennart and I were having an ongoing “Coffee Talk,” that started on the phone, then continued digitally—“I’ve got a new Microworkout Program for you to try—the Get Jacked Program,” Lennart texted. I was immediately excited, and feverishly checked out the outline of the program, as we made plans for before and after pictures that undoubtedly would show evidence of his brilliant plan. And then I saw it—the program called for kettlebell swings just twice a week, in favor of more bodybuilding exercises. It made sense—but it didn’t sit well with me—”I’m a swing-every-day kinda guy,” I said to myself—and I slowly realized that I couldn’t leave my daily swings behind. They had become a daily ritual. “Sounds like a new blog article,” said Lennart. So here we are...
Connecting to ancient history
I’ve been swinging that kettlebell every morning since the first Coronavirus Lockdown in the Spring of 2020. And then I swing it three more times throughout the day. It was a routine that became a ritual. But what is a routine? What is a ritual?
We all have our daily routines that are our habitual behaviors that give structure to our days. For me, it becomes a ritual when it is based on an ancient idea or behavior—it deepens the meaning, and deepens the reward of performing it daily. The word “kettlebell” first appeared in a Russian dictionary in the early 1700s. It was thought to be originally used by farmers to weigh out crops. However, Shaolin Monks used stone padlocks to exercise in similar ways as the kettlebell came to be used, and there are even records of stone objects being used in Ancient Greece, in much the same way as we use kettlebells today. The point is, the object and the exercise is steeped in history—and when I make those swings part of my morning ritual, I am connecting to that history, and am grounded by it.
Other rituals means more history
After exploring my kettlebell ritual, I thought I’d take a look at my other morning rituals—breathing exercises, cold water immersion, and meditation. Hmmm...yeah, I see a pattern here. All of these are rooted in a deep history. Breathing exercises are a matter of record from before the dawn of the Roman Empire, used to sustain mental, emotional, and spiritual strength. Cold water immersion seems to also date back to ancient Rome, as soldiers used it to toughen themselves—as a blacksmith toughens steel. Meditation is, of course, the most ancient of all. The first documentation of meditation comes from wall art in India from 5,000 BCE, but it’s not lost on me that Marcus Aurelius’ “Meditations” is basically the “how-to” book for living a life based on Stoicism.
Ritual as a connection to a life philosophy
It seems all of my morning rituals have a connection to Stoicism—and the Serenity Prayer—a version of which I recite in the cold sea every morning, has been adopted by Stoics as their prayer of choice. I personally substitute “God” for “Creative Power of the Universe.”
“Creative Power of the Universe, grant me the serenity
To accept the things I can not change
The courage to change the things I can
And the wisdom to know the difference.”
You can’t really miss with that as a mantra. When set alongside my other morning rituals, I have a series of actions—rooted in ancient wisdom—that sets my day off in the best possible way. Hopefully they are training wheels for the rest of the day, and I have a shot at living my best life, a day at a time.
Until next time,
Scott and Lennart