Deep Revelry
I think a lot about revelry.
I was reflecting as I took a walk the other day about what we really celebrate in our culture. As I walked, I thought about what it really means to celebrate. We have holidays that we do not really celebrate. We take time away from work, we spend extra money, we even eat special food. Those experiences can often ring false to me.
When was the last time you experienced true revelry? When was the last time you really celebrated?
I realized that, for me, celebrating and revelry are about remembering. Holidays can be reminders, but it is the people and experiences I remember everyday that touch the revelry deep inside me.
I celebrate the people who have poured themselves into me, who have helped me discover who I am, each time I share my true self with the people around me. Teachers, mentors, role models, friends, neighbors, family.
I celebrate the experiences, public and private, that have helped me see and appreciate myself and who I can be. Struggles, lessons, challenges, achievements, mistakes. Amazing meals, visits to incredible places, fascinating books, excellent craft brews.
It is not only people I have met or places I have been that deserve revelry. My life has been shaped by a network of sacrifice and support from people I have never met since before I was born.
The world is filled with life-giving, inspiring, moving moments. Each person, each experience, each place, each taste can ignite the revelry within us. Each day, we choose to remember or forget, to revel in the life in us or get frustrated.
Today, I am working hard to celebrate. I hope your day is filled with revelry.
What do you truly celebrate?
Whose life brings out the revelry in you?
[Image by aussiegall]
2 Comments
John Shenk
September 20, 2012I cannot agree more. We can revel in every moment, no matter how mundane. For me, changing my situation helps me do that. I just moved to Sao Paulo, Brazil, from Los Angeles. Everything is new and different to me here. Every little task, every little interaction, requires a new way of thinking, whether it’s talking to the taxi driver who only speaks in slang or trying to find what you used to think were ordinary things at the supermarket. I revel in these little challenges because it is so new and different to me. When I return to LA, I know I will see those ordinary things in a new light, as if I had never seen them before. To me, this is a form of revelry, seeing for the first time what was always there.
Strategic Monk
September 20, 2012Thank you, John.
I agree. For me, the elements of leadership, pilgrimage, and revelry combine and interact to help us recognize and appreciate who we are more deeply. Each aspect feeds the others and encourages us to celebrate each day more deeply.