Reflections on simple rituals and family rhythms:
As parents and caregivers, we often wonder if the fruits of our personal practices ripple out into the lives of our children. We have devoted ourselves to diving deep within ourselves on a daily basis, finding more sustainable self care rhythms and making an honest effort to live in the present moment. We question if we are doing enough, teaching enough, sparking enough joy and curiosity. Does she see me? Can she feel the importance in this? Am I truly present?
One autumn day, my daughter and I plucked the season’s last bloom of marigold flowers, harvesting seeds to share with our friends and in preparation of a vibrant garden come next spring. Together, one by one, we honored the beauty and purpose of decay, talking through our hopes of the seasons to come and reflecting on the bounty sitting right before us. Wrapped in this moment was an unseen magic, a subtle mystery that presents itself when personal practice morphs into second nature. The two of us, fully devoted to the task at hand, enraptured with the present moment, and witnessing the sacredness of nature’s cyclical rhythms.
A new family ritual was born. Hands in the dirt and seeds in our pockets, we marked the changing seasons, practiced deep listening, and built a connection to the subtlety that easily could have been missed if we were in a rush. Her and I, fully present and full of reverence towards Mother Nature and her big magic. Pausing, I quietly sang to myself, “Om, Shanti Om” in an effort to pin the memory down in the mental archives. She whispered back, “Shanti Om”. At that moment, I stopped all the questioning.
MY personal practice had turned into OUR personal practice; without effort or agenda. At two years old, she was already cultivating an appreciation and presence that has taken me 35 years to rediscover.
Traditionally, rituals were prescribed for a reason, to remind the questioning minds of seekers that devotional attention leads you to your truest nature. Rituals take us to new paradigms, where the sacred seeps into the mundane and where a childlike curiosity lives. For modern mothers, rituals can root us more soundly on our path and guide our children towards their own. They give us a place to practice, act as our family’s grounding pulse, and help us redesign the daily trudge into something more.
This is an invitation to use rituals to spark wonder and curiosity, where magic lives amongst simplest endeavors. Whether it’s pausing over a meal, harvesting goodies from your garden, hiking to the fairies in the forest, or reading the bedtime books on repeat (again), allow your personal practice to transform you. Allow it to birth gratitude and awe in unexpected places. Allow it to map you right towards the good stuff and don’t forget to invite your children to come along.
With Love & Gratitude,
Cassie
This week’s journal prompt: Where have you witnessed a bit of magic lately? How could creating a simple ritual to transform the mundane into magic?
Resources for your practice: The Simple Folk’s guide to Anchoring Down Into Daily Rhythms, the Whole Beings Curriculum, and Brooke French talks about full presence play on the Our Seva Blog.
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Each week, expect a bite-sized personal reflection with accompanying journal prompt. My hope is that by sharing these reflections and prompts, you’ll be inspired into purposeful action and we’ll both be reassured that we are not alone in this process of unraveling.
Once a month, expect a curation of resources intended to inspire a deeper personal practice. There will be Q&A interviews to showcase how other women in this community navigate transformation, articles and podcasts that have made a lasting impression and practical mindfulness exercises to bring about sustainable change. If you’re a fan of mantra…there will be some of that too.