Katrina Thralls-Rituals

Mol, Hans. Meaning and Place: an Introduction to the Social Scientific Study of Religion. New York: Pilgrim, 1983. Print.

“Yet ‘ritual’ is not confined just to the transcendent. Down-to-earth habits can have a similar effect on personal well-being or sense of integrity. If ritual deals with the reenactment of sameness and wholeness, one can find it in such worldly acts as having a cup of tea every afternoon at three o’clock, getting up every morning at seven, the Sunday afternoon ride in the car with an ice cream cone at the end, or the wifely kiss on return from work” (54-55).

Normally we tend to think of rituals as far away ceremonies that primitive people do for gods we don’t understand, but this puts ritual much closer to home. Thinking of it this way, many things in our daily lives are rituals. My nightly cup of hot cider is not just a way for me to fall asleep; it is a ritual that gives me peace.

Not only that, but my daily procrastinations are a ritual, in a way. Doing other things instead of my work makes me happier for the time being, and it gives me a routine. I always end up doing certain work at certain times on certain days because it is the point at which I can no longer procrastinate. It is almost as if the whole process is a ritual, a repeated dance—first I procrastinate, then I do the work, then I feel relieved because it’s done, then I receive another assignment, and I begin the motions again.