The Power of Rituals
What rituals do you draw energy and motivation from?
A ritual is something that is done regularly for meaning and purpose. It doesn’t have to be religious.
For example, a yearly family vacation to the same cottage can be a ritual you look forward to.
Rituals are important because they give us something to look forward to, ground us, and remind us about what is most important to us.
This weekend, I will be spending time with good friends (and meeting a new one) whom I haven’t seen in over two years! We are meeting up at a Comic Convention, of all places. But what makes this a ritual is that before I moved to Ontario, the same group of us went to two different conventions each year, for many years in a row.
These times together were generative, and they helped us in their own ways.
Rituals are important. It’s important to cultivate them in our lives.
Rituals give us something to look forward to.
When life feels like a slog and we’re desperate to forget the difficult times we’re in, an upcoming ritual is like a breath of fresh air. Whether it’s a yearly gathering, a semi-regular get-together, or a monthly routine, rituals help us shake off the frustration of the moment and inspire us toward a better future.
Rituals ground us.
Because we observe and practice rituals regularly, they serve to ground us. We can feel tossed around by circumstances or overloaded with obligations, but a ritual allows us to remove ourselves from those moments and focus on something meaningful and important.
Rituals remind us about what is most important to us.
When my friends and I gather together at the Comic Con this weekend, it isn’t about pop culture. Pop culture is a shared interest, but the ritual is about the time that we spend together. It reminds us of the connection we share and the friendship we have, even if we don’t see each other as often as we once used to. This, in turn, shapes us as better people.
These are 3 reasons why rituals are important to create and participate in.
What rituals do you practice? What rituals would you like to begin?
Nine of my suite mates from David Lipscomb have spend a long weekend together in September, unil Covid. We pray that we can return to the Smokey Mountains this fall. Thankfully we have been able to Zoom during the last two years.