October 16th - Custom & Ceremony

I love love love what Sarah has to say today. 

Start Quote

Ceremony and custom give birth to beauty,

restoring a sense of wonder to our daily round.

Most of us are far too jaded for our own good.

We've seen it all.

Nothing surprises us anymore.

Which is precisely our problem.

We only THINK we've seen it all.

What we haven't begun to see is 

the abundance that surrounds us,

the beauty that gift wraps the 

extravagance of each day.

The best way to renew our sense of the Sacred 

is through personal rituals...

Perception comes only when we pace ourselves.

Nothing is too insignificant in the eyes of the authentic self.

Nothing is beneath notice...

We actually do most of our living among the common days,

taking them for granted just the way we do the people we love.

Yet myriad occasions during the course of each day

cry out for consecration.

A liturgy of commonplace moments 

ripe for personal ritual might include

sipping the first cup of coffee;

putting on one's public face;

eating at one's desk;

window shopping;

making a long-desired purchase;

crossing the threshold at night;

changing into comfortable clothes;

hearing the sound of a loved one's homecoming footsteps;

sitting down to a simple meal;

being paid;

traveling on business;

sharing a laugh, or a confidence, or both;

indulging in rainy day reveries;

curling up to watch videos at home;

sleeping late and having breakfast in bed;

starting a good book;

losing five pounds;

having a good cry;

and so to bed.

There is no shortage of common day ceremonies 

waiting to be enjoyed,

only weary imaginations 

in need of inspirational transfusions...

"As I watch the stars of evening,

and in the morning open my window toward the east, 

I shall observe the ceremonial of quietness of heart,

of simplicity, and poise of spirit,

that I may keep my soul and the souls of others

free from entaglements in the machinery of a day."

- Abbie Graham 

End Quote

Sarah loved Ceremonials of Common Days. 

She found it for $1 at a second hand shop. 

It's going for around $300-500 online. 

I even saw one for $2,000.

So if you ever find one for a couple dollars at a thrift store, 

PICK IT UP!

Can I just say Amen?

As I've been applying this to my daily life,

my days, no matter how chaotic or busy,

have been truly blessed.

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Gratitude Journal

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1) Good friends to exercise with and talk to.

2) Hand me down bicycles. Chase is adorable riding it with his training wheels, he thinks he's all that and a bag of chips.

3) I feel so fat. Robbie wanted nachos when we went to the fair, and we didn't get any. So, I went to Costco today, and since I was there I figured I'd get nachos. Costco's nacho cheese is the best nacho cheese. And now that I've gorged myself, I feel very fat, like that too full feeling. Heavyweights anyone?

4) The kids completely destroyed my green onion garden. Turns out, when you grind green onion all over the backyard, the backyard stinks of green onion. I'm grateful that you learn something new every day. Also that it could have been worse, it could have been a skunk, or poop smeared everywhere. Green onion is not so bad when you put it like that.

5) Going grocery shopping with friends, it is so much fun! Also, churros. Yum.