Books and bookshelves are plentiful and, for most, easy to obtain. Add in that many people choose to read from devices rather than printed books, it is easy to see that bookends are no longer as prevalent as they once were. However, despite not actually owning any bookends, I like the idea of bookends as a metaphor for how I start and end my day.
Everyone needs order in their life. The amount of order we need varies but order is important. At the same time, we also need spontaneity. We each need to find our balance between the two. I have a very low boredom threshold. Too much order, too many things scheduled and I veer off. Having no order in my life feels unsafe and can quickly lead to a shutdown. One way I find balance is in my morning and nighttime routines. I think of it as the bookends to my day.
No two days begin or end at the same time for me. With both fibromyalgia and PTSD, sleep issues are ever present. So the length and quality of my sleep will determine what time my morning routine starts. Health issues also have an impact on how tired I am in the evening. A very tiring day can result in a very early bedtime. That doesn’t mean I’ll sleep early. Often times a painful or tiring day means a longer time in bed letting my body and mind wind down. Regardless of the time on the clock, my starting and ending routines – the bookends on my day – are a constant.
I have trouble winding down at night. I’ve found that doing my nighttime routine with mindfulness combined with a longer, slower pace helps me wind down faster. My youngest has likened it to shutting down a computer that has many programs running. It takes time to get to save points and shut everything down. I’ve quit stressing about having a consistent bedtime and focus more now on getting quality sleep. The larger, slower nighttime bookend has helped ease me into that.
This is a new thing in my life – only a couple of months. I realized this morning that these bookends evolved from my mindfulness practice. Thinking with more intention about how I start and end my day. Both bookends involve a definite mindfulness practice – guided meditation and/or yoga. They also both involve skincare routines and aromatherapy that are also a relatively recent additions to my life. The rest are specific to morning and night.
I’ve tended to think of my life as a large firm picture frame with a changing, abstract picture inside. Perhaps it is time to change that metaphor. With bookends to each day, perhaps a bookshelf metaphor works better. Strong, deliberately placed shelves and distinctive bookends on the shelves. However, the selection of books is eclectic and dynamic. Moving around books is easy. Changing bookends is also easy. Moving and changing shelves is more work and requires deliberate planning and attention to detail.
Bookends are perhaps more than a way to start and end my days. It’s the start of reframing how I think about my life.