Add a little ritual to life...

Liam,

In the world, there is a constant push toward speeding everything up.  Internet speed, cars, processors, checkout lines...  If you can name it, then people are focused on finding ways to make it happen faster and more efficiently.  I can only imagine that this trend is even more prevalent in the world you are growing up in.

I am writing this post to tell you to find some areas in your life to buck that trend.

For me, it's shaving ...

This wasn't always the case.  Until Father's Day of the year you became a reality, I had tried a number of ways to make shaving just another blip on the radar.  Before that day (and your mom), shaving was just an annoying thing that I did in the morning before starting my day.

The things you see above were a gift from your mother for that Father's Day.  She worried that I would find the new way of shaving more burdensome and that it would be more work.  In fact, she was right in those worries.

Previously, my shaving routine was:

1.  Wet face with hot water.

2.  Quickly shave with disposable razor.

3.  Take a shower.

Now, my shaving routine is:

1.  Take shower.

2.  Wet shaving brush with hot water.

3.  Create lather on brush in shaving soap.

4.  Apply lather to face.

5.  Shave in one direction.

6.  Repeat 4 & 5 two more times (sideways and then against grain)

7.  Rinse off face and brush with cold water.

8.  Apply aftershave.

So, what used to be a < 5 minute procedure is now an approximately 15 minute affair.

And you know what?  That's a great thing!

First of all (and this is important), the results are exceptionally better than the previous method.  As you probably will be cursed with, my facial hair is a wicked monster that tries to turn me into a wolf-man every day.  With the new shaving procedure, that were-creature is held at bay for a couple of extra hours.

But it's more than that!

The ritual of shaving itself is an incredibly relaxing and self-centering way to begin my day.  I enjoy the process of shaving actually more than I enjoy the results.  Instead of speeding through the act, the new method forces me to move slowly, relaxin as I just take in the whole process.

So, this whole post is designed to tell you to take the time to find the things in life that do not need to be sped up.  I don't know what it will be with you.  Really, it's hard to imagine what the world will be like for you.  But, regardless of how things change, I can guarantee that there will be things that are better when you take your time with them.  

In short, I'll just say...

There are things in the world that are better in their less efficient forms.

Find them.

Enjoy them.

Love,

Your Dad