Rituals

July 26, 2019

Pattern, repetition, and cyclical phenomena. The world and its events are inherently cyclical, each day passes just as the last, the seasons cycle through each year with the tilt of the Earth's axis, we even have an expression about human events, history repeats itself. And while history does not repeat itself directly, there are certainly similar mistakes, events, and situations which are revisited like a long-swinging pendulum. Each cycle of the pattern, slightly different or with different resulting outcomes, but the underlying cycle still exists. Rituals are cycles, repetitions, and patterns.

Each of us have our own rituals and cycles. Whether they are engrained into our body like the constant death and rebirth of the cells which make up our being, or the cycle of hunger, and of sleep. But more important are the cycles we create, that we willingly or subconciously take part of: drinking coffee, watching TV, taking showers, heading to work each day. These rituals we create can become just as much part of our life, just as unquestionable or important to us as hunger or sleep. And each of these rituals no matter how small, have the power to shape who we are.

There is an importance in acknowledging our own rituals. Negative rituals and habits are often formed in the absence of recognizing positive rituals. And likewise, recognizing your own negative rituals and fears is the first step to replacing them with their positive counterparts. Both effects draw from the the act of noticing the underlying stucture or cycle holding up rituals in your own life.