Special treats

I wonder if we all don't have that special private treat that just makes us feel good about ourselves.  I have a full cupboard devoted to tea, and not all of it is Twinings. 

You think I'm kidding?  The brown box on the top shelf is a new tea infuser.

 Stash makes great peppermint tea, and the Earl Grey is not bad at all.  But for the next week I'm not drinking anything with caffeine, and the only de-caf Earl grey I can find comes in a very expensive yellow box.  I'm not drinking the green tea that was required by Dr. Phil,(Ka-c-h-ing!), but my breakfast tea is very important to me--two cups and then face the day.  Drinking those two cups is my own private ritual, and I also allow myself computer time while drinking the tea.  Tea gone? Close the computer and get on with the day.

Another special ritual is taking off my shoes, and socks, at the end of the work day.  In winter I have to sometimes wrap my feet in a quilt, but the freedom from those shoes is a physical pleasure that I enjoy almost every evening.  With my arthritis I'm not foolish enough to try working in bare feet or slippers, so the ritual is symbolic as well.

There is also a special ritual associated completing a project in the studio.  Everything in the studio is tidied up, ready for the next project, and I mean everything.  Fabric and tools all put in their places.  

This sort of private pleasure is important for our mental health, imho.  Getting back to the original comment;  is the expense part of the ritual?  Or would the pleasure we experience be just as great if there was little or no expense involved?  A very personal decision. I do pay a little more for most of my teas, but the other two rituals cost me nothing.