Rituals: How the Maverick Bluestocking Starts her Day

Up to now, I have been an ‘off topic blogger’ in the Spiritual Badass blogging challenge. We get suggested topics each day but we can pick our own subject if we want and all week I have been drafting my posts the night before so I’ve been too early for the topic. Also there was stuff I needed to say. But today, one of the suggested topics got me thinking.

Tell us about any rituals or special events that you use to add meaning to your life.

The very first thing I do when I wake up, as soon as I remember, is smile as broadly as I can and say, silently, ‘thank you, thank you, thank you.’ That starts me off in a good mood, usually. Next, I need to go downstairs to see my gorgeous dog, Alfie.

Now, we may have preconceived ideas as to what a ritual should or could be, but I looked at a few definitions and liked this one:

‘…done as part of a ceremony or ritual. : always done in a particular situation and in the same way each time.’

And every morning, at roughly the same time and always the same place, Alfie and I greet each other with love, acceptance, joy and gratitude. He is delighted to see me and I am always lifted by his happy mood. I let him out in the garden, and as soon as he comes back in, he sits beautifully to have his tablet put down his throat and then his ‘reward’ (a tasty vitamin tablet) for taking his pill like a good boy. Then, of course, he is ready for breakfast.

Millions of people in this country and all over the world start their day the same way. They are greeted by an enthusiastic waggy tail and happy face and they experience a moment of unconditional love before getting on with their day. So what’s so special about this, and why call it a ritual?

My answer is that it is special, and being an everyday thing does not make it less so. How absolutely wonderful that we can feel love for a creature so different from ourselves, that we care for them and are cared for in return. My approach to spirituality has long been a determination to keep my feet on the ground, to celebrate the ordinary and everyday, and to see the beauty in creation around us. My special time with Alfie every morning illustrates all of these values and ensures that I feel loved and loving from the beginning of the day. And having the sense of ritual, the same movements, the same words even, every morning gives us both a sense of security and structure. I have known for four and a half years that I love this part of my day but I only realised today that it is a ritual that is central to my spiritual life.

Because Alfie teaches me so much. He has had a hard time, with two major operations on his leg last year and an uncertain future. He has his own physiotherapist and we have to do exercises and stretches. And there are the daily pills that he takes so willingly. But he never complains and is always enthusiastic, even if his leg feels stiff. He doesn’t mind going for a walk with a long stretchy piece of elastic attached to his collar and hind leg to make the leg work harder. He is just happy to be walking! He rests when there is nothing to do, plays whenever he has the opportunity, greets every visitor and passer by like a long lost friend and adores his humans. Of course, he would be boring if he was perfect, so I have to mention that he doesn’t yet know how to eat mindfully and he gets very cross when anyone posts anything through the letterbox in the front door!

If you’d like to borrow a little of Alfie’s positive attitude to life you can visit his Facebook page. He has lots of fans and loves to share his wisdom and love for life.

And let me ask you a question: do you have rituals in your life that you haven’t recognised yet? Is there a part of your day or week that is important to you, that has evolved into a healing or inspiring ritual? I’d love you to share if you wish.