Wonder Woman: Celebrating Life

From
weddings to funerals, from fasting to ecstatic dancing, throughout history
humankind has attempted to find ways to make sense of our lives through
symbolic gestures.

Recognising
that life’s little – and big – disappointments or sorrows have their place just
as much as the joyful, happy times we experience reminds us that we are
connected to something greater than ourselves. Acknowledging these important
times in some way can also help us to make peace with the inevitable changes
that life brings.

Rituals
acknowledge what we value in our lives. Little daily rituals that carry
significance are things like sending children off to bed with a kiss, clinking
glasses at a celebration or decorating a Christmas tree. We’ve all experienced
these and most of us have participated in greater rituals at some time: taking
communion is a ritual of blessing; and the daily practice of caring for an
altar is a ritual of appreciation for many practicing Hindus and Buddhists.

Letting
Go

A
familiar releasing ceremony is the funeral or memorial service; yet we may also
choose to ritually release a relationship, a particular time of our life in
order to move on, or even a behaviour pattern.

Michela
passed matric last year and invited her friends and family to a small party
where she handed out little gifts that she had made for each person who had
supported her in different ways as she completed her schooling. "This was much
more meaningful to me than going clubbing to celebrate," she says. "I was a
little afraid others would be uncomfortable, but I could see how touched they
all were. I would encourage everyone to think of ways to enrich the holidays
and traditions we already participate in."

Preparing
for Change

The
second kind of ritual is one of transition such as a Rite of Passage held to
celebrate the changes a woman experiences at puberty and menopause; or through
a Blessingway: a beautiful and evocative ceremony held for a pregnant woman in
preparation for the birth of her child.

Joy,
mother of a three-month old baby, chose to have a Blessingway, instead of a
baby shower "because it wasn’t about the presents for me – having a baby is a
major life adjustment, and I wanted something that would help me focus on that.
My Blessingway was held for me by a group of women friends, and it helped me
tremendously to prepare for my baby’s birth and for being a first-time Mom."

New
Beginnings

Celebratory
and new beginning ceremonies typically include Weddings, Baby Namings, and Home
Blessings; but there are so many new beginnings you could acknowledge and
celebrate.

A
mother whose little boy started school this year found a unique way to
acknowledge this new beginning in a way that made him feel really special: "We
spend a lot of time outdoors as a family, camping, hiking and fishing and one
of the "adult" chores is to prepare and light the evening fire. We explained to
Adam that going to big school means he’s old enough to be in charge of this now
– under Dad’s watchful eye! – and his delight and pride in himself in lighting
his first fire for the family was something we’ll remember forever."

All
things change and grow in the world around us, and as we celebrate these
changes, we celebrate life itself.