Hey Alma: How to Hora Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger
At its best, the hora dissolves boundaries between guests. Everyone becomes a blur of interrelation, joined together in the singular shared task of raucous celebration. You find yourself grabbing shoulders and holding on for dear life to someone who was a total stranger moments before, now transformed into your ally in the uninhibited expression of happiness.
Read more at Hey Alma.
Why We Should Still Do Moments of Silence After Tragedies (And 7 Ways to Design Them Better)
“A key characteristic of rituals is that they are symbolic, or in the words of behavioral scientist and ritual expert Nick Hobson, ‘partially lacking direct instrumental purpose.’ A ritual is a ritual not in spite of the fact it’s functionally opaque, but because of it. I believe Rep. Himes, Rep. Crow and others are calling on us not to abolish our national rituals of mourning, but to reclaim them. It’s not that they believe symbols are useless, only that the meaning of these symbols have been transformed through decades of misuse.
Silence has shifted from a symbol of inexpressible grief to a symbol of negligence and inaction. Lowering the flag has been distorted from a symbol of national mourning to a symbol of lowering our expectations for change.”
Read the full article on Medium.
In The News: Mid-Flight Mask Mandate Ritual Missteps
Flight attendants created rituals on the fly in the sky...and everyone’s mad.
The end of travel mask mandates is, without a doubt, a significant change that carries deep symbolic resonance. C*vid shrunk our worlds, and travel is a symbol of freedom and reconnection. For some, masks on planes gave them the freedom to travel with less fear. For others, masks on planes gave them the fear of traveling with less freedom.
On the one hand, I appreciate that people chose to creatively mark the moment. On the other hand, I’m struck by the glaring dissonance in images of passengers swinging their masks above their heads in celebration while sitting next to passengers with masks still on their face and fear in their eyes.
A good ritual works by making space for the full spectrum of emotions present— both the cheers and the fears, the light and the shadow.
These spontaneous rituals of pure celebration excluded anyone whose feelings were more complex than “ding dong C*vid’s dead, we won!” Exclusion only heightened their feelings of discomfort and fear, which intensified the backlash, which predictably intensified the backlash to the backlash. And so on.
“Ritualization is a strategic play of power, of domination and resistance, within the arena of the social body.”
- Catherine Bell, “Ritual Theory, Ritual Practice”
So what could have been done instead? Honestly, I’m not sure. Nuance is difficult for an issue that feels so polarized and binary. After all, your mask is either on or off.
But imagine if the flight attendants had announced the change and then asked passengers to keep wearing their masks for another 6.2 minutes to first honor the 6.2 million people who have died around the world. Or imagine if the flight attendant who beautifully sang an impromptu “throw away your mask” song added lyrics validating the choice not to, or some mournful lyrics referencing those who lost loved ones — some of whom were surely on the plane.
Imagine that.
Image Journal Issue 112
An interview with Ritualist Founder Ezra Bookman in Issue 112 of Image Journal.
“I believe there is no such thing as a healthy individual without community or culture, and no such thing as a healthy community or culture without ritual.”
What makes a ritual work? How do you foster experiences that don’t just become shortcuts for boosting productivity or job satisfaction? Does he have a favorite ritual? Read more here.
For 33 years, Image Journal has fostered contemporary art and writing that grapple with the mystery of being human by curating, cultivating, convening, and celebrating work that explores religious faith and faces spiritual questions.
7 Better Questions to ask at Your Thanksgiving Table Instead of "What are you Grateful for?"
A good reflection question can help elevate your "dinner party with turkey and stuffing" to a meaningful Thanksgiving ritual.
But most years I watch people fall back on the same old "What's one thing you're grateful for from this past year?" It's good for kids and as a warm up for people who don't know each other well, but it doesn't always lead to deep reflection and conversation. (Quick tip: Even just tweaking the phrasing to "What's a moment from this past year that you felt awe or a deep sense of gratitude?" can bring out richer sharing.)
So here are some of my favorite questions that dig a little deeper, encourage storytelling, and make space for shadow. Be a brave host and try something new this year, I dare you. You might just learn something new about the people around you who you know so well, and yourself.