STOCKHAUSEN INK

            Whether we are conscious of it or not, we all develop our own rituals. We create preferences in how we do things.

            Think about your favored sleeping position. Do you like to sleep on your back, your stomach, or in the fetal position on your side? If you sleep on your side, does it matter which side? Do you fluff your pillow so you can nestle into it, or do you prefer the pillow remain flat? Perhaps you prefer no pillow at all. How well do you sleep when you can’t have your preferred position for one reason or another?

            Do you automatically put your sock or stocking on the left foot or right foot first? Which ear do you hold the telephone receiver to? How comfortable is it to switch ears? If you stop and really think about what you do when you’re on autopilot, you’ll see your list of rituals encompasses many of your daily activities.

            One of my daily activities is writing. In my book, “20 Things Every Successful Writer Knows,” one thing I list is developing your own rituals for writing. One writer puts his feet in a bucket of water. Since it takes effort to get up and walk away, he tends to remain on task and write. Another writer listens to jazz to get her creative juices flowing.

            I don’t listen to jazz as part of my writing ritual, but I do listen to my eclectic CD collection. The room fills with nature sounds for an hour, then explodes into patriotic anthems, then quiets into the soothing notes of classical or inspirational melodies. Sometimes I listen to movie scores or big band sounds to get my writing going.

            I’ve used music to help with spring fever too.. Several years ago, as the days lengthened and the temperatures climbed, I left the house and drove from place to place with the radio cranked as loud as my ears could stand it. The beat of rock and roll spewed out of the car’s open windows as if to spread its energy to everything emerging from winter’s confinement.

            The more I listened to the radio, the more I wanted to own some of the songs for my personal collection. It was easy to head to the record shop, plunk down a dollar bill or two, and bring home a 45 rpm. Some of them eventually turned gray from the times I played them over and over. Some got scratched and some even broke.

            If I really liked a song, I’d invest in an LP (long playing) album. For a few dollars more, I’d get a lot of songs I’d never heard before. I didn’t have to change records for a couple of hours as the record player dropped a new album on top of the one that just finished playing. The stack got taller as the discs went around, the needle rode the tracks in the top record, and the music kept playing.

            It was a wonderful way to fill the hours as I cleaned house, did laundry, or cooked meals. The music positively impacted my progress. The amount of work I accomplished had a direct correlation to the beat of the songs I listened to.

            But things change. We can’t buy records any more. We buy CDs. We’re hard pressed to find songs sold as singles. We have to buy the whole album. The February 23, 2002, issue of Billboard magazine listed that week’s top 40. Only five of the songs on the list were available as a single.

            It takes about $4.00 to buy a CD single containing less than a handful of songs. It takes about $20.00 to buy a CD album. The result is that young music lovers either save their money just to buy a song they really like, or they record it online.

            Rituals are supposed to help us, not bring on more stress. Take a look at the things you do on a routine basis. If they’re helping you reduce stress, great. If not, figure out why you keeping doing them. Things change. Perhaps your rituals should too.

Stockhausen Ink - 14314 Thrush Street NW - Anoka, MN 55303  
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