The power of ritual

In recent weeks, my brother and I have been leaving bits of our dad all over Auckland!

By that I mean, we’ve been scattering his ashes – at places that were meaningful to the dear old fellow who died eight months ago at the ripe old age of 96.

Some of the ashes went into Lucas Creek near Albany where he used to go fishing, a little more I left at the letterbox of our humble family home in Glenfield.

Most of his remains were interred next to mum in the Schnapper Rock Rd cemetery.

We’re about to distribute the very last of the ashes – behind the wall in a cinema where he worked his magic as a movie projectionist for more than 30 years.

There’ll be quite a sense of finality I am picking – kind of honouring Pop’s special places and memories.

The power of little rituals I reckon is not to be under-rated.

A man called John O’Donohue says this:

“With the demise of religion, many people are left stranded in a chasm of emptiness and doubt; without rituals to recognize, celebrate, or negotiate the vital thresholds of people’s lives, the key crossings pass by, undistinguished from the mundane, everyday rituals of life. If we approach our decisive thresholds with reverence and attention, the crossing will bring us more than we could have ever hoped for.”

I think I would say Amen to that, as we wish our beloved father a last final goodbye.