Daily Rituals

Elizabeth and Kevin commented on the previous post and shared stories of their personal rituals. Elizabeth described her coffee-and-New-York-Times ritual. She writes, “I love taking time to wake up in the morning, checking out what is going on in the world, and just having down time each day before things get going.”

Kevin also wrote about a daily ritual: his writing. He explains, “One of my rituals is to make sure that I write on a daily basis. It’s a cathartic exercise for one, and for another, it allows me to put my thoughts down on paper.” A ritual has a set pattern, is done intentionally, and is deeply meaningful. It does not have to involve explicitly religious symbols, or be done in a house of worship, in order to be spiritually nourishing.

As I was researching for this week, I read the article “New Family Traditions,” by Meg Cox. She appreciates the value of daily rituals. Cox writes, “Ritual is not just for special occasions but also for every day, every meal, every bath, and every bedtime story.” Cox also includes suggestions for how families can intentionally develop rituals that are meaningful and useful. Her article is so wonderful that I am hoping to revisit it again this week; she also addresses why we need rituals and the unique challenges and joys of dealing with ritual as Unitarian Universalists.