The Power of Ritual
I’ve been thinking about rituals a lot lately.
A ritual – a set of actions done with clear intention to mark an occasion – can be a powerful tool for transformation.
One of the most powerful rituals I’ve created is the one I needed when I left the job I’d been at for almost eight years. I loved so much about that work – and I’d picked up a lot of toxic work habits I wanted to release.
On one of my first days after leaving that job, I took my journal to the local public garden and did a free write to see what came up. I quickly listed habits I was ready to shed, gifts I wanted to savor, and ways of being I was called to cultivate.
With those in mind, I headed to the garden's labyrinth and collected leaves, each signifying one of the habits I’d identified. As I walked into the center of the labyrinth, I named each habit I was ready to release as I dropped a leaf. When I reached the center, I put my hands on my heart, took a few deep breaths, and offered gratitude for the gifts of the past eight years. And on my way out, I picked up new leaves, each representing something I wanted to cultivate moving forward.
That walk through the labyrinth marked a deep transition; I knew I couldn’t go back to my old ways of working, and this signified that commitment to myself. It worked.
I have a hunch you’ve engaged in more rituals than you may be aware.
Crossing the stage at graduation and moving the tassel from right to left
Taking a walk during the first snowfall
How you and your best friend celebrate each other’s birthdays
Planting narcissus in the spring
Offering blessings and wishes to a mama-to-be at a baby shower
Sharing stories after the death of a loved one
Rituals can look any number of ways, but they all mark a change, an arrival or departure or some combination of the two.
Join me this Tuesday, Dec. 20, to mark the turning of the season. In this Winter Solstice celebration and ritual, we’ll celebrate the gifts of winter and engage in simple but powerful ritual to mark the return of longer days.
If you’ve been spending your energy these last few weeks working hard to make the holidays special for everyone else, take this one hour for yourself and let me be in charge of creating the magic for you. All you need is a journal, a candle, and a favorite beverage. (Lifetime replay available if you can't join live.)
