FEBRUARY 28th TO OCTOBER 5th
Ritual exists in a form that is not visible to many. This is my opinion. Let me give an example. If I were to write a story about my first meeting with Rick it would be a musical with dance. Rick performed a most beautiful dance when he saw me. I performed as well. I stood very still and gave him my complete attention. I focused on him in such a way that he knew that I appreciated his performance. Not much was left to the imagination. Oddly, we were over a hundred feet away from each other but we recognized the moment.
That first meeting with Rick was filled with ritual. His part was to indicate that he was curious, self-conscious and to display that with unmistakable behavior. My part was to show interest in his state and to demonstrate comfort in his presentation. I stood very still, very little movement, and allowed Rick to perform without judgment. During that initial meeting we were only capable of an exhibition. No thinking, no agenda beyond our actions. That was it. Our ritual lasted perhaps four or five minutes. No more. We were the only two people on the subway platform in the middle of the day. The ritual ended when the train arrived and we each boarded far from each other and didn’t see each other again.
Until that evening, that is. Six hours later we ran into each other miles from our first encounter. We then finished the dance with finger pointing and grinning. Immediate friends. The ritual lay in the display of familiarity in the initial encounter cemented into our lives permanently by a great, “Ah ha!” in the second encounter.
I remember Joseph Campbell discussing with Bill Moyers in the series done for PBS, The Power of Myth. The two were examining spiritual thinking of ancient civilizations and what some present day men’s groups were trying replicate in ceremony or ‘ritual’ to enhance the experience; perhaps to intensify or deepen the meaning and effect. Joseph poohed poohed the effort of the men’s groups with, “Ritual? Just two men sitting and talking – that is ritual!” I agree wholeheartedly. Just watch two men meet each other and settle in to talk and watch all the ritual live.
That is my point exactly. The ritual exists in the moment and in the candid behavior. The ritual exists all ready and only needs to be given the opportunity to come forward. We cannot manufacture the ritual we can only replicate what we saw in the moment and celebrate that which we can observe. To look beyond the living ritual or to manufacture a ritual is to deny it. Let’s not. If we must, let’s reenact in song and dance and deep reverence that underlines the natural acts of the moment.
In the above example of Rick and I, I would have one character begin a slow dance to illustrate invitation mixed with indecision – a desire to be noticed and accepted. The second character would resist moving and represent silent approval – silent understanding and steady, fearless acceptance and encouragement of the dancer; patience and tolerance to assist the dancer to move more and more beautifully. That would be an accurate ritual. One that would remain private to the two. I think the music might be Pachelbel Kanon in D.
G. M. Goodwin 28 February 2017
Playing Fair and Being Kind 