On page 125:
"...the ground moved forward under my feet in that garden where for so long my actions had ceased to require any control, or even attention, from my will. Habit had come to take me in her arms and carry me all the way up to my bed like a little child."
This little passage is, like so much of Proust, a little detour from the main story. It could easily have been cut by a judicious editor as adding little value.
And yet, this stuck with me for a few days after reading it. I knew it had to be the passage I wrote about this week.
When we're young, we often have all sorts of randomness in our lives. Each day is a new adventure.
As we age, we tend to slide into fixed patterns. Each day is exactly the same.
I wake up, do my morning routine, progress through the day exactly as before, find myself eating the same things for dinner, finish the day the same routine of TV/reading. Walk the dog at the same times.
And on and on.
As Proust so perfectly states it "habit comes and takes us." Instead of being something we are choosing each day, it is forcing itself upon us.
Habit can be good. It allows us to be safe and comfortable so that our animal instincts aren't constantly putting us in a state of fight-or-flight. It can be healthy to have habits, especially exercise or diet.
But when habit comes and takes us in a way that isn't our choosing or is even unhealthy, we must find a way to take our lives back from this strong and mysterious force.
Our lives are too short to let habit overtake. If we choose habit, then that's great! But make sure it's a choice. Many times we will realize that habit is the default and there are many important other ways we'd like to be spending our precious time.
This coming week, and I'm going to try to change things up, see if new, better habits can form, and even to focus on ways I'd like to spend my time