{"id":13574,"date":"2024-01-11T17:14:12","date_gmt":"2024-01-11T17:14:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wordoftheprincess.dreamhosters.com\/?p=13574"},"modified":"2024-05-06T19:38:50","modified_gmt":"2024-05-06T19:38:50","slug":"the-beauty-of-traditions-how-they-enrich-our-lives-and-strengthen-our-bonds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wordoftheprincess.dreamhosters.com\/?p=13574","title":{"rendered":"The Beauty of Traditions: How They Enrich Our Lives and Strengthen Our Bonds"},"content":{"rendered":"

Traditions<\/span><\/i>. What does that mean to you? What thoughts do you start having after you read this? Did it trigger something in your memory?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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What Are Traditions?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

When I hear the word \u201c<\/span>traditions\u201d <\/span><\/i>it evokes so many feelings, memories, and thoughts. It touches me so deeply that sometimes I feel like I\u2019m on a different planet. Funnily enough, traditions for our society are on a different planet.<\/span><\/p>\n

But I\u2019d like to talk about it with you. When I was growing up – like some of you, I was rebellious and sometimes didn\u2019t want to follow traditions. I thought they were silly, stupid, or took too much time. For instance, every child had to go to summer camp, \u201cgrandma\u2019s house,\u201d or something of the like, for at least three weeks out of their whole summer vacation. Or girls would be sorting grain with older women who would be talking about life. While doing that, girls were learning about life and listening to the experiences of the elderly, and also in this process they were learning how to sort important things from the bad. When an older woman would be making dough for bread or pancakes, she\u2019d be doing it in her special way and a girl would be standing and watching what her grandma or mom was doing and that is called a family recipe today because it\u2019s only done one special way. A boy would go fishing with his dad and his dad would teach him how to dig up the right worm, what the difference is, and how can you tempt a fish into catching it etc\u2026that\u2019s how most kids learned.<\/span><\/p>\n

With Traditions and Without Traditions<\/strong><\/h2>\n

I remember feeling lonely after spending many years of my life without keeping my family traditions. At that time i didn\u2019t attribute it to traditions or the importance of human beings following something. I didn\u2019t think that our neurological system needed anchors, but by having those anchors we feel safe, and if we feel safe we can perform better in life.<\/span><\/p>\n

In my youth, I didn\u2019t consider all of that. I was young, beautiful, popular\u2026. And absolutely lonely with my phone and pager going nuts from calls\u2026.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I started questioning many things at that time but the understanding of how important traditions are came much much later.<\/span><\/p>\n

Keeping traditions, however, is not that easy. And just by doing something mechanically the spirit of traditions is not going to fulfill you at all. So it\u2019s not mechanics, it\u2019s the meaning behind them!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

For instance, did you know that tablecloths and napkins were a part of not only a specific event, family, but it also showed your position on the social ladder? By specific rings, people were making specific statements, and some of them were named based, and used only once a year or so\u2026. Look at us right now\u2026 how many of us are even using tablecloths?!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Oh, ok, ok\u2026 some but how many of you actually have a few that you change during the year for a specific events or celebrations? Let alone napkins- we get used paper towels because it\u2019s easier to throw them away than to wash them… right?! See, that\u2019s how some traditions got lost. When I first started doing napkins and tablecloths for my family it did feel weird but now it\u2019s the only way we eat. It brings you up a level. You feel differently and with everything around not helping you to raise your self-esteem but the opposite. If I were to change that for the better by only incorporating linen napkins and tablecloths I\u2019d do it all day long for my family and myself\u2026wouldn\u2019t you?<\/span><\/p>\n

Traditions are important! I started paying attention to every time when I was a part of somebody else\u2019s tradition and when I felt different. Define different you ask… I felt cozier in a way that makes sense. I automatically got sucked into whatever had to be done at that moment and I felt happier and grounded.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I Don’t Have Any Traditions, What Can I Do?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Then there came a moment in my life when I realized that I carry no traditions myself, and when I thought of family and kids and I got very concerned thinking about the future of my family. What made me think about their future was I was thinking what the basic foundation for kids would be. What would be their anchors during their life? How would they seal their life experiences? How would they find their footing in this world where many things are causing people to slip into disappointment or depression?<\/span><\/p>\n

I realized that the best way would be to create my own traditions in my family. So I did. For instance, one of our traditions is eating together daily. I understand that sometimes schedules are different but you need to try. It can be any one of the major meals or even a tea break later in the day. You need to find a time that works for everyone and just start doing it. At first, it may not be a huge success, but later, little by little, everyone will start feeling different and participate – you just need to be persistent that’s all. My kids are still at a pure age so I can see exactly what it gives to them. Trust me, it\u2019s worth it\u2026It makes a huge difference in their emotional security.<\/span><\/p>\n

I was also observant of people with robust family traditions. Not the people who follow them just because, but the people who follow them because, over everything, people indeed feel better. What do I mean when I say, \u201cfeel better\u201d you may ask\u2026 I mean, people have less anxiety on every level. They\u2019re calmer, they\u2019re more efficient with everything they do, and they are more kind. No matter how long one can sit in meditation, meditation doesn\u2019t bring kindness and love into one’s heart. You can calm your mind while doing it, but kindness in the heart brings actual doings and one of those doings is having safety nets in one’s life. Keeping family tradition is one of those nets.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I have daily, seasonal, and yearly traditions and my kids anticipate them. It brings them a feeling of safety. They know what\u2019s coming, they know what they will be doing and they get excited and proud. They don\u2019t look at it as routine\u2026it\u2019s quite the opposite- It brings them comfort. Also, I explain thousands of things to them during our traditions and they are learning a lot of life skills and lessons just by participating. They learn life lessons through actual doing and I personally think that our society needs more doing. We are so good at talking, even better at texting, and propelled into social posting but not enough actual doing.<\/span><\/p>\n

Do You Want to Learn More?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

So I would encourage you to remember if you grew up with any traditions and whether are you still keeping them or not. Have you created your own and are you continuing it? How does that make you feel? Stop for a second and think about it. It is very important to stop and think in silence\u2026without extra noise from the outside. Would you like traditions in your family?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

If this topic is something that you\u2019d like to learn more about let me know. If enough people are interested I may do a webinar to help you understand, choose, and incorporate traditions in your life\u2026 Something that you\u2019ll carry for yourself, your family, your grandchildren, and for generations to come.<\/span><\/p>\n

Traditions are important! Don\u2019t disregard them even though they may seem obsolete to you.<\/span><\/p>\n

Traditions are and instruments by which we pass along respect, love, appreciation and a sense of belonging.<\/span><\/p>\n

Traditions are fundamental and if we don\u2019t have our foundations- How can our \u201clife building blocks\u201d stand?<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>