Honoring Pain through Rituals

Are you coming to the end of a cycle? Do you feel a new beginning awaiting?

At every end of a cycle, there is something to learn. There is a message waiting to be received.

Sometimes we miss out on these teachings when we don’t acknowledge our life cycles.

We skip over an important message.

Our whole lives are comprised of cycles that can be broken down into even smaller ones. Right now, many of us are excited to be on the cusp of a new cycle. The United States has just elected a new president into office and the first woman of color as vice president .

Over the weekend, we celebrated the news. We cheered and chanted in the streets. We honked our car horns. We flew our LGBTQ+ flags high and wore our Black Lives Matter shirts proudly. Our celebration is a ritual.

Rituals transform pain into sacredness.

Rituals allow for greater connection with ourselves and others.

We see rituals in our different cycles of life. We light a candle for a birthday, we dance at weddings, and we honor the death of our loved ones with flowers. These rituals honor parts of our growth and learning.

These cycles and rituals are not so clean cut. Just because we complete one cycle of life does not mean we progress to a bigger and better one. Sometimes we actually move backward. It can be messy, yet it’s important we let ourselves feel the teaching.

Obama was elected for his first term back in 2008. The first African American president. Trump followed after him and we watched as the world moved back in time. Racism, sexism, and nationalism flooded the president’s rhetoric. People feared for their lives. We saw the unnecessary death of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and so many more. We saw families separated from each other at the border.

So what needs to be honored this year? What needs to be acknowledged? What did we learn?

We are currently in a transitional phase. We are in between cycles. We are waiting for new beginnings. New seasons. A new year. Navigating the messy terrain of this cyclic life can be tough, especially this year. 2020 has given us quite the ride.

Today is a ritualistic energy day. It’s November 11th, it’s 11.11. 1111. This sequence of numbers holds power. It opens us to opportunities and deep reflection.

Join me for this ritual today to honor this cycle. Whatever the cycle is for you.

Pull out your journal and make space to ask yourself these questions:

• What is the learning here?

• Why did this cycle (e.g. these 4 years) need to happen?

• What became clear to me in this process?

Hug hug

Nora