Choreography

Summary

The content describes the author's meticulously choreographed daily routine, characterized by repetition and precision, aimed at simplicity, health, writing, and meditation.

Abstract

The author details a highly structured daily life that has evolved over the years, emphasizing a love for frugality and simplicity. Each day is a replica of the previous in terms of meals, activities, and timings, with the author engaging in the same practices, from eating the same foods to walking the same routes at the same times. The purpose of this strict regimen is to promote physical health, mental clarity, and spiritual well-being, setting the stage for effective meditation and reflection on Buddhist teachings. Despite the potential perception of this routine as obsessive or overly regimented, the author finds contentment in this lifestyle, which allows for a clearer perception of reality.

Opinions

The author takes a modest pride in their efficient movements and the economy of their daily activities.
There is no intention to impress others; the routine is self-imposed and self-satisfying.
The author's routine has developed naturally over time, reflecting a personal philosophy of frugality and simplicity rather than a deliberate imposition of strict scheduling.
The author acknowledges that an observer might view their consistent routine as compulsive or indicative of an anal personality.
Despite this, the author believes that their disciplined approach has been beneficial for their health, writing, and meditation practices.
The author values solitude and personal space, preferring a cabin over a house and enjoying solitary walks and ocean gazing as part of their daily schedule.
There is a deep appreciation for the predictability and structure of their daily life, which is seen as a pathway to maintaining health and achieving enlightenment.

My Daily Dance

Image by Author

My days are not so much well-planned as exquisitely choreographed

It is not that I take pride in economy of movements (well, I’m a little proud to be honest) or that I aim to be the most efficient I can be (a little of that, too, but not too much). Nor am I the result of some meticulous time-and-motion study (definitely not; well, maybe definitely not).

Nor do I dance for applause, for there’s no one here but me (this, finally, is one hundred percent).

No, it is more that I eat the same things every day, prepared in the same manner every day, using the same galley every day, wielding the same implements every day, opening and closing the same fridge door, in the same sequence, every day.

I’m sure (though I don’t remember) that it didn’t start out like this, as this choreographed sequence of steps and movements, but as the years have trickled by, and as my natural love of frugality and simplicity have put their stamp on the proceedings, each day resembles the previous day more and more, and in finer and finer detail.

I have thought, more than once, that if someone were to film me Monday morning and then Tuesday morning and then perhaps even Wednesday and Thursday as well for good measure, and then view these snippets of Wolf proceedings one after the other: well, nut-case (or anal) may be the first adjective to spring to mind.

Yes, I have — trial-and-errorly — arrived at and now live by a workable schedule; one considered and refined over the years — one aimed at health, writing, and meditation.

I walk from my cabin (or cottage — though I prefer cabin, just definitely not a house) to the new airport terminal (2.1 miles) and back (another 2.1 miles) about the same time every morning.

I walk to my lookout point/bench by the ocean (0.65 miles) and back (yes, another 0.65 miles) at about the same time every day. Weather permitting, I take a seat and just gaze/enjoy for a minute or ten.

I sit my morning sitting, and I sit my evening sitting at more or less the same times every day.

After my morning sitting, I halve and slice my grapefruit, at more or less the same time every day.

After my grapefruit, I light my candle to read my Buddhist Elders and reflect upon their wisdom by about the same time every day. Done reading and reflecting, I check email, post a Wolfku about the same time every day.

I brew my teas, I eat my banana, I eat my apple, I chop my vegetables, mix my lentil-rice and most other things all at about the same time every day.

And the upshot — well, purpose really — of all this precise activity is that when I sit down to meditate, I am in good health, well rested, wide-aware, and happy to have earned another day of seeing things as they really are.

Choreography

My Daily Dance

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