Question the Routine of Your Rituals
Have you ever wondered why we do certain things a certain way? This time of year kicks off “Back to School” activities and is the portal to the season of many holidays; Labor Day, Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Ramadan, Los Dias de los Muertos, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Chanukah, Christmas, Kwanzaa, and New Years Eve just to name a few.
Have you ever wondered how it came to be that we have the rituals that we have? Where did they come from how did they evolve into what they are today?
One year when my children were elementary age we had a beautiful white, long-haired, loving cat, Larkin, who was hit by a car in the street. She walked back to our driveway and lay down and died. The children were devastated when they found out. I remember shock, wailing, anger, disbelief and then the ritual preparations began.
Now my children had never been to a funeral at their young age but throughout the course of the next 3 days the most beautiful, passionate and profound ritual was performed. And it was a ritual that has been performed by everyone all over the world since time began. It was a ritual born from deep love and passion. I watched as instinctively they created an altar of photos and memorabilia and lit candles. A discussion about where Larkin would be buried occurred and the adults began to dig. At the grave site without speaking to each other about what we would or should do I watched in awe as each child picked up a hand full of dirt and said words from their heart while placing the dirt in the grave. We held hands and cried and hugged.
Have your rituals become routines?
Take a moment and look at the rituals you have in your life and re-discover how they came to be. Is the passion they were born from still there for you? Do you truly embrace the impetus behind the chanting, praying, dancing, giving or grieving and the desire to express?
IF NOT
Reawaken in yourself the power of the passions you hold in your heart.
Revitalize your rituals and live full, meaningful, intentional lives.
