morning ritual as the path to a well-lived life

how just a good book, the gentle hum of jazz and a well-made cup of tea makes me feel like everything is going to be okay

mornings are my favourite time of day. i love waking up before the sun and watching it greet me slowly in the sky. i love being in the middle of a flow state—perhaps reading a book or writing in my journal—lifting my head and seeing that my living room has been flooded with sunlight (albeit more of a shallow flooding as autumn settles in). mornings are when i get to relish in activities that reaffirm who i am and an opportunity to show myself love.

and because i start every morning like this, i can say that i have done something kind for myself every day. and the ability to do this, to me, is what a good life is.

when people talk about “the good life” or having their life together, they think of external things like careers, relationships, finances and material possessions. how’s your marriage? are you in the right profession? how much money do you make? do you have a degree? what sort of car do you drive? but i think these are the wrong questions to ask. i think we should be asking questions our souls can answer instead of our heads: how much kindness have you shown yourself recently? what’s a kind thing you do for others regularly? when was the last time you felt awe? joy? flow? and how often do you feel these things? how do you make yourself happy when you’re down? what are three things you like about yourself that don’t include how you look?

one thing i’ve always admired about myself is my vivid imagination. ever since i was a child i’ve loved stories—reading, watching, writing them. characters become as vivid as the people who pass me in the street and plot lines can be like past lives of my own. i had countless imaginary friends growing up, and a story was always unfolding somewhere in the back of my mind. now, i honour that little girl by making that a priority in my life today. i am constantly surrounded by stories that i can jump in and out of whenever i please. it’s a way of showing myself love, and in turn, this makes me feel good. when i read on a regular basis, i feel good on a regular basis. I can say i’m having a good time and mean it.

one of the ways i make sure i’m consisistently having a good time is to make the most of my mornings. you may even say i have a morning routine, although, i no longer call it this. i have a mental list of rituals, some of which i pick and choose to engage with every morning.

we’ve all seen the repetitive drivel about morning routines circling online about reading three books, running a marathon and shovelling sixteen fruits, vegetables and mysterious powders into a smoothie maker all before six in the morning, but i think we all know by now that all these things are nothing but performative. morning routines don’t have to look one certain way. they don’t even have to be the same activity every morning; they just have to be something you enjoy that gives you a pleasant start to your day.

there is something special about the purity of the morning. it’s a blank slate, a new start, a chance to make as many good intentions for the day as possible. making sure i do something kind for myself during that time gives me a sense of control in my life overall. and being in control—of the things you can control—in my opinion, is the sign of a good life.

when i think of times in my life where i wasn’t having a good time, i realise now that i wasn’t doing anything to make myself happy. i didn’t have any hobbies, i didn’t make time for myself, i didn’t connect with myself in a way that would allow me to learn what makes me happy, life was just happening to me. i let it shove me here, there and everywhere and wondered why nothing was making me happy. i stood outside in the middle of a rainstorm with a closed umbrella in my hand and wondered why i was getting wet. i was miserable despite the fact that i had cheap rent, worked on my own schedule and lived minutes from beautiful countryside landscapes. now, for the past two years, i’ve had a full-time job, paid double in rent and have lived next to the world’s worst neighbours. but i’d choose this version of my life every time.

of course there are many different ways to define having a good life, these will differ among us all, but i think the way you spend those first precious moments in the mornings are a good place to start.

if you don’t want to chug a foul-tasting green juice at the start of every day and go for a three-mile run, then don’t. light some candles and do some painting. put some music on and dance. write a few pages in your journal. read a couple of chapters of a book with soft jazz in the background. make an over-the-top cup of coffee, go mad and get the whole teapot out. do something every morning that allows you to say that you’ve done something kind for yourself today. each little action will add up to something so much bigger.

everything i need for a peaceful morning (2025)

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hello quiet readers, i hope you’re all doing well. this is a slightly edited post from the archives that i thought i would reshare as we move into the darker months. creating rituals and doing things that make us happy are even more important now for those of us who struggle at this time of year.

it’s also a little bit of a hectic time for me right now, but hopefully this time next week i can give you all the details! so please forgive the blasts from the past for the time being.

tell me, what are some ways you like to start off your day? or perhaps you’re more of an evening ritual person. i’d love to hear about the ways you’re inviting slowness and ritual into your lives at this time of year too.

thank you for being here, i’ll see you next wednesday <3