Tea, Toothbrush and Truce

Every morning begins the same: the toothbrush waiting for you by the sink in its holder, the saucepan murmuring (or is it more of a roar, perhaps a sizzle?) on the stove - Days starting in small ways — toast one morning, bakarkhani or cake rusk the next. Nothing lavish, just the humble comfort of routine. And somehow, that very simplicity feels like a blessing.

It makes me smile how my mind drifts, out of nowhere, to that old English text we studied back in intermediate? Bromides and Sulphides. Strange how it surfaces now. The bromides stood for the dull, the overused, the predictable. And yet, these repetitions don’t feel like that at all. They are not bromides, not stale clichés. They’re quiet anchors.

The hands rehearsed in the choreography of brushing your teeth the same way every morning. The saucepan bubbling (yes, bubbling feels right) at its usual time. Familiar flavors lingering. The walk down a road you could trace with your eyes closed. Even fingers tapping away on the keyboard in a rhythm so natural you hardly notice. These little repetitions don't make your heart race, but maybe that's the point - they steady it. Not monotony, but an anchor. And you soon realise that not every day needs to surprise you to matter.

Some may take all this for granted, but certainly I don’t. I like the stability, and maybe the predictability. It’s not a bad thing. In fact, perhaps the hardest thing in this era is consistency.

Don’t mistake consistency for stagnation. You can be steady and still be evolving. Always thriving, improving, becoming a better version of yourself, for your community, your family, your plants even, without needing a new adventure every day. You can be consistent, repetitive, and still be growing.

Because routine doesn’t have to mean standing still. It can mean moving forward with quiet strength. And sometimes, the gentlest joy is in knowing exactly what comes next.

Not a thunderbolt,
but an even hand on the wheel.
Not the unknown’s bright shout,
but the hush that keeps me whole...

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I just remembered something...

It's totally unrelated, but I once read that ironing clothes together was apparently so therapeutic it actually saved a couple from divorce. Yes, you read that right - the steam, the hiss, the repetitive strokes of the iron somehow kept them calm and talking instead of fighting.

Well… here I beg to differ. Maybe it works in cooler climates, but in Pakistan? With forty-plus degrees for half the year? Add the heat of an iron into that and you’re not saving marriages; you’re testing them. If it’s a steam iron, let’s just say you’re fast-forwarding the divorce proceedings!

So yeah.

Jokes aside, what’s one small ritual in your day that steadies you?

_{Look at Microsoft bing AI... Toothbrush in Tea}

_{Again, although I entered the command: Tea, Toothbrush - separated!}