Why Rituals Matter (and where to begin)
Life is not a thing to be managed, it is a mystery to be lived.
Last weekend my only son graduated from college in Wisconsin. The night before he walked across the stage, my husband and I gathered in an Airbnb with my five siblings—who had flown in from around the US and Canada—for a ritual to honor him. We watched a beautiful video tribute of highlights from his 22 years created by my brother (my son is a jazz pianist/music producer and creative director). Afterward, we went around the circle and each shared a quality we admire in Jonah and a quality we’d like to “gift” him on his journey moving forward.
Photo: My son and I at Lawrence University Conservatory of Music surrounded by my five siblings. Our parents died in their 50’s; we are all very close.
Rituals and traditions give our busy lives meaning and connect us to humanity, nature’s cycles and ourselves. They are powerful and necessary anchors in this chaotic world (I’ll be hosting a special June 21 retreat on Friday to mark the Summer Solstice—the official first day of summer, the longest day of the year and the 2024 halfway point).
I regularly look for ways to weave ritual into my life. Yesterday, I took time out from a busy work day to join a friend for a labyrinth walk near my home.
Labyrinth walking—an ancient meditative practice used by countless spiritual traditions and faiths for contemplation and healing—quiets the mind and helps us connect to our own innate wisdom. This ritual always brings me new insights and gifts. (Search for labyrinths in your area.)
We all crave sacredness and ritual in our everyday lives—and not just around birthdays, Bar Mitzvahs, and weddings. Rituals can be both carefully planned events—like my son’s graduation celebration—and casual but regular remembrances.
These pauses might be as simple as voicing gratitude before a meal, creating regular space each morning for contemplation or prayer, setting an intention before a yoga class or taking turns sharing a high and low from the day over dinner.
When we mark important transitions or milestones in our lives—whether it’s your last day at a job, your niece getting her driver’s license or your son starting kindergarten—we connect to the sacredness of life in the everyday. We remember that life is mysterious and unknown—and way more than a to-do list. More than anything, rituals help remind us that we’re all swimming in the same big, vast, miraculous and awe-inspiring ocean … and we’re all in this together.
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Warmly,
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Subscribe here to Live Inside Out, a weekly blog written by life balance coach/author/speaker and catalyst Renée Peterson Trudeau. Passionate about helping men and women find balance through the art/science of self-care, Renee has been facilitating high-impact, interactive workshops and women’s retreats for Fortune 500 companies, national nonprofits/conferences and organizations/teams worldwide for 25 years. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, Fast Company, Good Housekeeping, Yoga Journal, AARP Magazine, Spirituality & Health and more. She and her team have certified more than 450 facilitators in 10 countries around the globe to lead self-renewal groups/retreats based on her pioneering self-care curriculum. She’s the author of two books on life balance including the award-winning The Mother’s Guide to Self-Renewal: How to Reclaim, Rejuvenate and Re-Balance Your Life. She and her husband live in Western North Carolina and their son lives in New York City; her latest venture is Wild Souls Nature Adventures. More on Renee here.
