Most days we’ve simply settled into the everyday grind of life. We work hard and look forward to a quick, though often still busy, break over the weekend before diving back into another week of work and demanding responsibilities. While much of this is just life as an adult, we still need regular times to break away from this everydayness and join in the celebration of life itself.
Every culture tends to have some type of regular rhythm of celebration. Perhaps these are religious festivals, such as with the children of Israel throughout the Old Testament. Or maybe these are just times to mark the changing of seasons, historical events and people, or significant milestones throughout a person’s life.
Whatever it looks like, it seems clear there is something in human nature that desires, and even needs, these regular times of celebration for our souls to thrive.
And whenever this is neglected or reduced simply to its shallow and commercialized expressions, we’re more prone to our weekend binges or overpacked vacations trying to scrape what life we can from these fleeting moments.
As such, celebrations are not just mere luxuries to put off until we have the time and convenience to observe them. We need to bring much anticipation and intentionality to these times.
And while certainly some celebrations are just for us individually, it’s through remembering and observing together within our communities that we derive much of the meaning of our celebrations. More often than not, these are shared moments of community life together – allowing for individual significance while also connecting us to a story larger than just ourselves.
In the end, to celebrate is to be human. Don’t let the burdens of everydayness or the cheap commercial versions rob you of the joyous celebrations your soul craves. Greatly anticipate and let celebrations in all its different forms bring more meaning into your days.
Photo by Vonecia Carswell on Unsplash
