Seeking the Solace of Routine

The German concept of Feierabend (whether in its earlier incantation celebrating the end of the agricultural workday and a turn to religious devotion, or as a wider concept of 'free time' in response to growing industrialisation and capitalism and the attendant strains of the same) reflects an appreciation of the importance of rest and regeneration. 

Ironically, a rigid application of the idea, perhaps striving for absolute compartmentalisation of the professional and other aspects of our lives (against a background of continuing unpredictability in the current choppy waters of Covid-19, Brexit and other unsettling circumstances) may actually induce further distress. Taken more generally, however, it may afford an opportunity for deliberate actions allowing us to (at certain times) disassociate ourselves from the burdens of obligation and emerge more refreshed to tackle these more productively.

At a time when the rule book for every sphere of human comportment appears to be in a constant state of rewrite, the solace of routine (even ever-changing routines that we consciously adapt and develop) offers a beacon of familiarity to light the dark path of uncertainty. 

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