Greetings from Upstate NY,
where it is wet and wild
and not so warm right now....
When I was a youngster my father (who had been in the Army) taught me a word called ablutions- the act of washing ownself....and he taught me to perform daily ablutions. Brush my teeath, comb my hair, put on clean clothes, make my bed....yada yada, all day long washing, washing.
I took it to mean something much more, something deeper, for even as a kid I knew washing meant alot more then getting the dirt out from behind your ears, and the lint out of your belly button. As we have different bodies in this world and the others, we also have to have different sorts of washings.
I always thought of those things that I did, those washings, as some of MY rituals. I guess I can see it as, I have rituals in which I am washing away, cleansing myself,taking care of myself....and then I have rituals in which, well I guess I am getting down and dirty now arent I 😉.
As domestic primates (A term I just read about in R.A.W.'S Prometheus Rising and LOVED!) we have a physical need to cleanse ourself. We could get fleas or ticks, or worse if we neglect our hygiene. As with all creatures on this planet we also need to perform housecleaning, so to speak. We need to clear away our wastes, and keep up our tangible bodies. It is part of living.
I tell the little ones who worry that thier mommy will be mad they got dirty :
"But you live on Earth-you live on dirt, how can you not get dirty?"
My rituals of keeping clean have evolved as I have, and embraced more of my world then I ever could have imagined. Rituals, for me anyways, are an act of acting out owns mythology, in matter of speaking. But I have found that the mythology of my culture, this civilization I find myself in, is lacking, and lacking severly.
So I took the helm, and created my own mythos, I followed my own heart and let it help me create my own rituals, that I use in my daily life to help me remember, and stay on track.
I personally think that one of the main fuels behind the "environmental" movement is that modern Americans feel the weight of the dirt on them, and want to wash it away.
So when I think about what are my rituals,
I heart compells me to chime
that all acts of love are my rituals
and I do my best to make all action
from love.