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In a world that’s fast-paced and feels fragmented and harsh, it’s easy to feel untethered, like we’re drifting through moments without noticing. It’s easy for us to say things like “How can it be Tuesday again so fast?” or “Where did July go?”. Rituals can help us to bring meaning to our days because they help us to slow down, notice, bring intentional thought and heart to our everyday experience so that every day that happens has a little more meaning and purpose.
Rituals don’t need to be “legacy rituals” as Michael Norton references in his book “The Ritual Effect”. They don’t need to be long-held family, religious or cultural traditions. These can be important, but so too can small, intentional acts that bring something special to what we do every day: a birthday toast, an evening bath, a morning walk, the way we drink our afternoon tea or tie our running shoes. Even fleeting moments can have recognition, rhythm, and mindfulness.
The invitation on this first week of our series is to consider a little bit of RITUAL DIY in your life.
What is something you care about, that is important to you, that you’d like to emphasize with a little ritual?
What activity, transition, ordinary moment, deserves to be marked, remembered or enhanced with recognition and meaning?
As you consider these questions, choose one daily or weekly activity that deserves a little time and attention so that it doesn’t “float on by”.
- Focus on the how and why, not just the what.
- Consider what emotions your activity calls upon.
- Make your DIY ritual as spontaneous or structured as you want: a small flourish, a mantra moment, a symbolic gesture?
- Let whatever you do reflect who you really are, what works for you, and how you can naturally enhance that activity.
- Don’t aim for perfection, aim for presence!
Hello –
Three things that anchor me on a dialy basis & are part of my rituals are –
* A cup of tea ☕ in the morning in total silence & it calms me !
* Listening to ullra slow 17.5 minute music from Braveheart that reminds me of Scotland & takes me mentally away !
* A 35 minute daily walk where I get to walk ♂️♀️♂️…with my wife again who has passed……& enjoy nature & music & ALL the sights & sounds nature gives me!
With these RITUALS it BOTH calms me & I’m a better person.
Jack
I have had various rituals over the years. To wake up early, get coffee and read for two hours brought me peace in the quiet of the early morning,before the bustle of the day began to happen.
To go to a park in the winter ( in my vehicle) or int the better weather, sit out in stillness looking at nature and finding peace to have my emotions, read and think about life and God.
I am now 70 years of age, and my days have passed, but my need for private reflection and peace have remained. My sitting in stillness is more structured, this week 15 minutes of meditation a day, and learning more about God, if God exsists the wonder and awe looking at the evening sky, and knowing my journey has now begun. As TS Elliot said ” to know that place ( the beginning) forth first time.” The evening sky is the same, the park is still there, and now, the good folks of SSUC, but I have changed, and the journey both begins and ends where it started. Right here, right Now -seeking sSience and Stillness in every moment or every day that I live. Every breath and every smile of a child on the Sharing Carpet. ” The world is charged with the glory of God” as Hopkins wrote.
By Don Fry
This year I have started to mark the turning of the year on the solstices, equinoxes, and the minor sabbats in between. It helps me to be more grounded to the earth and to time – I slow down, and set aside time to reflect and appreciate the magic of nature and our connection to it.
Some mornings I struggle up, not feeling well because of poor sleep or some other factor. There is noise all around me, and it seems, throughout the day, I am surrounded by noise.
Noise cannot exist without silence. Without silence,how can we define something as noise?
It is possible to attend to the silence,while simply accepting the noise. Silence is the canvas upon which noise exists, as color is splashed upon an painters canvas of white. If I attend to the silence, I sense great peace and stillness Takes practice, but this works for me in a sometimes noisy and busy world.. Something to think about with that first coffee!