Ritual

April 2nd, 2022

All of life’s actions are a ritual. Each action has extreme significance. Each action communicates what is important to us, what we value. Action is ritual. Ritual embeds meaning. Ritual shapes connection. The way in which we perform our rituals shapes what is meaningful in our life and strengthens our connection to those things we find meaningful.

Our rituals define us and they should be done with care. Our rituals bring us back to what we want to remember. Life is grounded by ritual. Without ritual each action wanders without being able to realize it’s full potential. Without ritual we are lost.

Ritual brings familiarity and it sets a course. Ritual gives rhythm to life. With ritual there is security and comfort. Ritual keeps us present and allows us to be aware even in the most chaotic of times. Ritual preserves all things and allows life to carry on. Ritual can always change, yet only to preserve the meaning it is trying to convey. Ritual guides. Ritual prepares us for what is to come. Ritual fuels the cycle of life as we maintain it. Ritual deepens understanding.

Ritual allows us to face many things in life, to interact with it fully, and to come away from it with closure and understanding. Ritual allows us to appreciate the moments we are experiencing and to bring realization of how precious and magnificent these moments are. Ritual recognizes even the most tragic and painful of moments and allows us to navigate them fully. Ritual is a process of love. Ritually fully gives space to the range of life’s experiences, feelings, and moments. Ritual fosters healing. Ritual carries on.

Ritual is customs and culture, and yet it is more than this too. The seasons have their rituals, our bodies have their rituals, and we further create and discern rituals as we live and interact. Ritual is what makes us human and what makes us alive.

© 2022 Austin Lochan Dodd