When it comes to cultivating the ebullient empire of you so you can body forth with your work in the world in-line with your vision, you must remember that you are an artist. Artists know discipline.

Artists can sit with the blank page, they can explore their inner spaces, and they can be with stillness and silence. They can be in these seemingly austere spaces in order to create and move their vision into the world. 

(And yet, why do these spaces seem so scary to the rest of us? Why do we fear digging into the depths and fullness of our human experience?)

Bindu Wiles talks about discipline on Day 8 of her 21.5.800 challenge:

“Discipline is a type of confinement at first glance. In order to to say yes to something, you’ve got to say no to lots of other things. … The act of doing something each day, the same thing each day, can take your life from the level of amateur to professional.”

When asked “If you only had one word to describe the secret of happiness, and of living a fulfilling and meaningful life, what would that word be?” The Dalai Lama replied, “Routines.”

I love that routines can be so transformative. Perhaps we could consider them as rituals?

A dear old friend of mine came to live with me a couple years ago and remarked, “Al, your life is so regimented. It always has been.” The way she said that was imbued with the sense of concern for the potential lack of  ‘fun’ in my life. For as long as she has known me (since our high school days) I’ve held quite the daily schedule as part of the flow of my day, starting bright and early with a good walk and a smoothie before the day starts.

These days, I still get up with the sun and get in yoga and a hike before my day begins at the studio or office. It helps set the pace. It keeps me centered. (And, it’s always fun). I hike the same trail every morning. Yet, every day the trail is different. It provides a profound sense of place to walk the same terrain and notice those nuances and daily shifts in the landscape.

Artist and Scholar Deborah J. Haynes writes in her book Art Lessons:

“Disciplining the body means taking your seat, committing yourself to particular artistic practices, going to the studio, being present, developing a critical and analytical perspective on your materials and media, choosing technologies that  appropriate to your ideas, and learning firsthand about others – other people, other cultures -  and about the natural world. Without such practices, your art will be like a dandelion seed, wafting on the wind, looking for a place to grow.”

And therein lies the beauty of your daily rituals: they become your practices for cultivating your one wild and precious life. They give you the ground to dig into the rich experience of your humanness – the place from which your art/work sprouts into the world.