Dose of Optimism #14
What’s your ritual?
“We do spiritual ceremonies as human beings in order to create a safe resting place for our most complicated feelings of joy or trauma, so that we don't have to haul those feelings around with us forever, weighing us down. We all need such places of ritual safekeeping. – Elizabeth Gilbert
New times have challenged our routines. We might sleep in a bit later, skip the afternoon coffee-run to our local Starbucks, cook a bit more and have a lot of (mostly) calm nights at home.
But what about rituals? Are you keeping your old ones, and adopting new ones?
Rituals are more than routines, they are actions grounded in ceremony and tradition that connect us to the past and bring meaning into our present. They aren’t just habits. They are actions with intention that help us mark time in special ways, helping us separate the ordinary from the extraordinary.
When times change, sometimes it’s the rituals that we practice that give us comfort, allow us to find the through-lines of continuity amidst the chaos. Sometimes it’s not always so easy to keep them going (especially now when rituals that have historically been done with other people need to be done alone). But nevertheless, the steady rhythm of personal ritual can calm us and give a sense of normalcy, even in the most abnormal times.
As you spend these days facing new challenges, what traditions have you held fast to? Perhaps there are some new rituals you have embraced? And if you haven’t taken on any ritual practice, now might be the perfect time to do so.
It might be the small simple ritual that helps you navigate these complex times.
Interested in some more optimism? Check out our new project, Optimistic Encounters, where we speak with positive people creating optimistic solutions to complex challenges.
