10 INTERNAL VALIDATION
Opening to the Sacredness of the Everyday
Rituals can be formal, and they can be subtle. A handshake is a ritual, as much of one as preparing and visiting altars dedicated to one’s ancestors. A ritual is simply a sequence of words, actions, gestures, objects, or thoughts. I used to think that rituals were contained in religion, and one had to practice that religion to access the ritual, as a way to feel closer to the holy, the divine. Yet there are so many times I feel close to the divine outside of a church when I’m experiencing a heart-swelling feeling of love or the awe of tapping into something greater than myself. A child holding my face in their hands for a brief moment, then running away to play. Taking off my shoes to put my feet in the cold water at the beach. What makes something a ritual is awareness and intention. Just going through life is the mother ritual of all: a sequence of words, actions, gestures, objects, and thoughts as we move through it, and do so with intention.
