The Food Podcast
EPISODE 11:
DAILY RITUALS
Daily ritual is an obsession of mine. I work from home, and when I come across others who do the same, with success, I want to know exactly how they do it: how their daily flow, from food, to sleep, to the time they awake, sparks creativity in their day.
So, for episode 11, I ask three ‘work from home’ creatives to share their daily rituals with me.
1. Mason Currey, the author of Daily Rituals, shares his secret clothing item that helps his focus.
2. Claire Cameron, also a writer, guns it through the dark, early in morning, then breaks the flow with something her husband makes for her…
3. Andrea Dorfman, animator and filmmaker, sneaks a little skinny dip in before her day begins. I once asked her what she thinks is the difference between routine and ritual. She replied – routine + spirituality = ritual.
But what do the academics have to say about ritual? Dr. Martha MacDonald is a folklorist who works as the acting director of the Labrador Institute of Memorial University. She dives into the history of ritual, using traditional Newfoundland ballads, Innu and Inuit food rituals to paint the picture for me.
Magically, the practice of ritual, she says, regardless of where they take place or where they stem from, explain WHY we, as creatives, need them in our everyday lives.
*Thanks to Sandy MacDonald for letting me share his childhood ‘donut thawing on the warm television’ ritual in the opening of the podcast. Jess’s recipe can be found here.