Ritual
A ritual is something special worth repeating, worth feeling, worth remembering. It may be an annual event, daily activity, or special practice every now and then tied to the season, action, or an event. In the words of American author Starhawk “Ritual affirms the common patterns, the values, the shared joys, risks, sorrows and changes that bind a community together. Ritual links together our ancestors and descendants, those who went before with those who will come after us.”
At Acton we have many rituals and yesterday was a seasonal ritual of this session’s Quest Exhibition of Indigenous People. The ritual of attending an Exhibition is similar yet different each time and it always holds great meaning and specialness. The Exhibition represents a ceremony of sharing knowledge. This particular Exhibition was abundantly special because ritual and community was a core part of the Quest experience. The Oneida tribe in Wisconsin shared dance, respect, talking stick, ceremony, and magic on our field trip and this connection inspired learners to create the special dance and greetings they performed last night. Ritual can be created and continued and ritual can inspire.
At Acton we have small ritual moments each day. Every morning begins with learners and guests being greeted with a handshake, high-five, or hug and every day ends with a closing ritual of namaste, Acton-style. You may notice morning greetings as your child runs into school but our closing daily ritual is truly special and binding for the learners. Our namaste ritual was developed toward the end of our first year. We noticed that learners needed to understand the meaning of namaste; at Acton words matter. Learners put their own spin and here is our official closing ritual. One honored Acton Owl calls “Owls hands together!” The circle places our hands in namaste prayer pose and point and gesture as we say “I am awesome, you are awesome, we are awesome because we are on this journey together. Namaste, hoot, hoot, hoot.” Of course the hoots are accompanied by a gesture of owl hands flying. The ritual ends by looking each person in the eye around the circle. Regardless of the days triumphs and falls this ritual honors and reminds each learner that they are part of a special group that sees them for who they are, awesome!
Character Callouts is another ritual that bursts with meaning at Acton. This weekly Friday closing Launch ritual beautifully invites learners to call out growing character in their fellow travelers. Ask your learner to walk you through this process. You might even consider starting this ritual at home as it is truly beautiful, educational, and a great gift.
Today, learners shared in their session ritual of reflection. They honored their Quest journey, they honored the hard, the easy, and they acknowledged the completion of the Quest process. Rituals aren’t always happy but they are important. There are ups and downs and twists and turns in life and rituals are the bookends that contain and landmark our memories.
This Friday, I invite you to think about the rituals that are important to you and to your family. What are the values that came from your ancestors and what are the values you want to pass on? Whether it is a ritual of a ceremony of birth, death, marriage, new home, birthday, badge celebration, seasonal purge, bedtime song, or sunrise coffee, rituals are moments that matter to honor.
As we move into a week off from school and as the lilacs begin to perfume and our Wisconsin season begins to change consider how you and your family include ritual in your lives. I will be planning my gardening ritual with my children, a moment that dirties our hands and fills our hearts.