When we hear the term ‘ritual’, our mind often goes to religious rituals, or spiriticual practices, or even the spa. The type of ritual that I want to talk about here is of a slightly different nature: simply the conscious marking of a passage, an event, a happiness, a transition.
In the clutter of our lives, we are often on a treadmill, rushing from one thing to the next, always looking ahead and rarely taking the time to dwell on the past, to reflect on the purpose of what we are doing, how and who we are. We sprint along as we try to kep up with everyday demands.
Step 4 in my de-cluttering method is ‘Celebrate’. This is also a ritual of a kind, as it stops our busy doing for a moment to mark something that we have achieved. This achievement doesn’t have to be very big at all, it can be a tiny step that is significant to you. Picking a celebration that will mark that achievement in the form of a ritual, big or small, will acknowledge what you have done and celebrate this progress.
A ritual is also a great way to mark a transformation, celebrating the end of one state and the beginning of a new one. It allows for an acknowledgement of everything that has been and a readiness for the next thing.
We tend to celebrate milestones and life events like births, weddings, retirements, etc… Perhaps we could introduce celebrations for intermediary, smaller events too, like reaching a fitness target, shifting to a reduced digital consumption lifestyle for a while, becoming a student again to learn something new.
If we can attach the changes to small shifts in identity, a ritual can help make this new identity more tangible, more real, more possible. Now how exciting is that?!