Everything is created from moment to moment, always new. Like fireworks, this universe is a celebration and you are the spectator contemplating the eternal Fourth of July of your absolute splendor.—Francis Lucille
When you think of celebrations and rituals, what comes to mind? Religious services, birthdays, anniversaries? We celebrate and have rituals around the obvious, yet there are so many events, passages, and experiences that stand out as significant in our lives. Recognize significant moments by taking time, through ritual or celebration, and you will deepen your experience, create powerful memories, and reap profound rewards. You will transform moments and experiences that might have been missed, in the quick passage of time, into sacred milestones.
Some Ordinary and Extraordinary Opportunities for Celebration
A move to a new city or new land, the birth of a baby, saying goodbye to a loved one, a winter solstice, the first bloom of spring, a great new success in your professional life, an interesting new friend arriving at your door, the words I forgive you, the words I forgive me, a girls’ night out, a fabulous blunder that leads to a fabulous insight, completing a big project, running your first mile, or running your first marathon.
Though I am not a person who gets into an “another day older” kind of panic when my birthday rolls around, the year my fortieth approached, I felt it was time to shake things up a bit. I booked a flight to Riverton, Wyoming, and headed off with a new backpack and a bold heart on a solo adventure into the Wind River Range. I was following a call to celebrate a passage in my life in a way that set the stage and extended an invitation for what was to come.
In another vein, my friend Helen came up with a creative way of celebrating a personal victory. One day she noticed that she had begun saying YES, when her old way may have been to let fear lead with the words NO. Conversely, she had begun saying NO when her former accommodating self would have pushed past her boundaries and said YES. Wow! She noticed she was showing up for herself in a gutsy new ways. She didn’t just stop with the noticing, though. Helen wanted to share her success and her news. How might she celebrate? Gathering together a few dear friends, she threw a YES/NO party.
With her creative spirit charged up, she set the stage for play by crafting a simple game that led to lots of laughter and rich conversation. The game included a handful of cards with thought-provoking questions, a tasty treat for each answer given, and a prize for everyone as the party wrapped up. Her friends had a blast. They could relate to the theme, and were inspired by her enthusiastic celebration to look at how YES/NO show up in their own lives. For Helen, this playful celebration reinforced an exciting moment of growth in her life and gave her a powerful touchstone to refer back to.
Look around you. Look at your life. How much time do you spend focused on the next challenge or problem? When you fail to take time for reflection and celebration, you end up with a “what’s next” mentality and the real gems slip past unnoticed. Ah, that is the real value of ritual and celebration. You intentionally take time to savor, to make sacred, and to relish. It can support closure or pop the lid on something new. Further, it can create a rich, powerful memory to cherish for a lifetime.
Translate celebration into valuable new life skills that might include:
- A greater ability to savor special moments in your life
- Experiencing times of change and passages in a more thoughtful way
- Becoming more resourceful in releasing and moving on
