I’ve not been so good about two parts of my practice recently – both blogging and my meditation time have suffered as my commitments in life have ramped up. Those two things are related, since they both represent time I spend in thought and contemplation about my path (or just about my breath), and I’ve not been doing a lot of that recently. Quite frankly, I think it’s time to swing back that direction. My meditation practice is directly tied in with my daily offerings, so you can imagine that those have been less as well, and frequently have been getting skipped.
I’m not sure exactly where the balance is, but I know right now I’m not on it. I have some health issues going on that are taking up more time than usual, and that means rebalancing my time to make sure I’m making time to do the things I need to do. I’ve also had some personal issues getting in the way of my devotional practice. They’re intensely personal, so I’m not sure I will talk about them much here, but suffice to say it’s been very difficult to maintain a devotional practice with regards to Ingvi Frey lately. I am hoping to get some guidance on that front, but it’s been challenging. I’m hoping that with a bit of guidance I can find a way to do those devotions in a way that is also protective of and safe for me mentally.
My ancestor devotions are about where they were – I’m definitely going through a lot more candles in the kitchen on my hearth lately!
As well, the two books I ordered on Anglo-Saxon paganism have come in, so I am anxious to get started reading them. I think it’ll be good to read something more scholarly after having immersed myself in fiction with the Iron Druid Chronicles. Those were fun – and spiritually interesting – but as with all things, balance is good.
Little Druid on the Prairie 
Getting the right balance between contemplation and action has been something I’ve struggled with throughout my spiritual life, so I sympathise! I think I’m finally starting to get the hang of it, and the best approach I’ve found is to define a minimum practice that I can do each day no matter what, and an ideal that I aim for when I have more time. My minimum is the Two Powers meditation and reciting my First Oath. Usually I do more, but knowing that I can do just that and not feel I’ve “failed” has really helped, and has stopped me from skipping days altogether. I’d be interested to hear what ends up working for you, when you figure it out!
For me, a truly “daily” practice is hard, because it ends up getting lost on the weekends. I have my morning tea ritual that I do at work during the week, and though I sometimes get a little complacent about it, it’s something I do every weekday for sure. It’s more about finding a way to build devotions into my week in the evenings and weekends – the time I usually have to do meditations and light incense and the like. I want to have a stronger devotional practice, but it’s been weird lately, and I’m trying to figure out why.