Choosing our lifestyle is the greatest luxury of our society!
Our parents, grandparents, and likely a generation or two before fought for us to have this privilege. It is a miracle being offered through the generations. How can we wake up enough to realize our great fortune to ask:
What do we believe in “religiously” that is powerfully shaping our actions?
Getting above the clouds of daily living to see the view will transform our homes.
by Joshua Earle
Over the last two weeks, I wrote about “What is Our Truth?” and “What is Our Dream?” The four questions in this series form the backbone of the Nest-Building Retreat for parents who want to consciously design a home life where connections thrive. Today is question #3, “What is Our Ritual?”
The Dictionary definition of “ritual” that works best for this context is:
a system or collection of religious or other rites.
First of all, while this may be about religion for some, that’s not what we’re talking about entirely. For the purpose of this discussion, the inquiry focuses on the “system” of beliefs powerfully shaping our actions?
by Jeff Sheldon
If we consciously examine the arches of rituals and practices in our home, we can create the shape we want. It only takes the quiet and sacred soul work of raising our eyes.
I’ll share a few of our rituals that are powerfully shaping our home. In the sharing I hope you will find freedom rather than prescription, inspiration rather than comparison.
We believe in:
1. Work Hard; Play Hard.
We are a “work hard, play hard” crew. It is in our genes. The Builder and I both lean towards the “work hard” side and we are conscious to create “play hard.” While there are distinct downsides to this belief that I’ll save for another coffee, we do this ritual. We invest and create both of these realities in our home.
We work with fervour, tenacity, and ardour. We are responsible. We are dedicated. We don’t quit. The expectation of “word hard” shapes our approaches to school, work, and service. It shapes our expectations of the children and ourselves. It is not a discussion; it is a ritual.
We play with intentionality, connection, and devotion. We create spaces and choices that support our re-creation. It is the memory-making stuff. We aren’t afraid to invest resources in this ritual. It is part of our DNA. It feeds the insatiable “work hard” monster.
2. The Extraordinary Potential in Every Child.
Every child, in our home, school, neighbourhood, church, and global village has extraordinary potential. We believe it!
My three-year-old knows it. She knows she has brothers and sisters across the globe in Africa that are our friends. We share together.
My 18-year-old son knows it as he declares “I am a university level student” and daily musters the courage to overcome a major physical disability.
My 17-year-old daughter knows it as she plays with glee on the floor of a Haitian orphanage, giving up a good chunk of her summer for the second year in a row.
In our home we believe it and are shaped by this belief as we put our shoulders to the plough of life! We are working it out in our own hearts and minds for our sake and the sake of the children. BTW, it is extraordinary…nothing less!
3. Everything is Grace.
We can’t do it alone. We aren’t alone. There is a grace greater than all our failures, mess-ups, head-spinning falls. We believe in the Grace of death to life, transformation, forgiveness, and goodness. We hold our belief despite the tragic gap between the beauty and the misery of life. We hold it.
We call it faith. It is in the roots of Learn Forward.
And when we’re tired, which is normal for this life, we climb above those clouds and ask again, “What is Our Ritual?”
If you raise your eyes, even just in a few moments today over coffee, what is a belief powerfully shaping your home?
What is the “ritual” you’d like to light a candle for today? I invite you to write it down or actually light a candle.
For us, we are adopting a more simplified life currently, valuing minimalism. It is spring cleaning in our home! Something I’m holding in my heart and hopefully will be blogging about by this time next year is how laughter, song and dance are shaping the soul of our home.
Our rituals can evolve…
For the sake of the children,
Karine