Why are rituals so important?
The word ‘ritual’ can conjure varying different visions. Some people think instantly of witches dancing around a tall fire, of bubbling cauldrons or new age ceremonies. Others may relate ritual to some convoluted and very complicated fifteen step night routine that you’ve seen for skincare on social media. And the truth is ritual can be both, and also something else entirely.
Ritual is deeply personal, but it is also just a repeated set of actions that are performed in a specific manner. There is undeniably a sense of ceremony, religion and tradition that is steeped deeply within the word ‘ritual’, but at its base it is far more simple. It is an intentional pattern of behaviour, which means something to you, that you uphold. The choice aspect within a ritual is important too. It denotes that whatever you dictate as ritual is something that you actively choose. It allows you to step into a position of agency - one that promotes empowerment through consistency, presence, and compassion.
If you condense and squeeze down this intention, choice and consistency into everyday life, daily rituals are a way to cultivate mindfulness and wellness across mental, physical and spiritual planes. It can look like something as simple as five minutes of just focussing on your breathing in the morning, or packing your next day’s lunch the night before so that you have one thing less to be rushed the next morning. It can be a tea ceremony in the morning, going to the gym after work, or even reading a few pages of a book every night before bed. These small yet intentional shifts create a marked move towards something that many of us actively work towards: a slower, more present pace of life.
Stress is considered a silent killer. The stress response, on a physiological level, involves both the release of adrenaline as well as the activation of the - rather complicatedly named but very important - hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis (which is responsible for the release of cortisol, otherwise known as the stress hormone, in humans). Current demands of modern society, however, have altered this response, allowing for a constant low-level activation. In consequence, this adaptation coupled with the constant chronic exposure to stressors, leaves us vulnerable over time to cardiovascular disfunction and allows our central mood and motivation systems to suffer.
Therefore a conscious, slower and more intentional life where possible, is a win for our nervous systems. This is why these small ripples of choice and consistency build and build to create waves over time. Of course, it is not always easy to show up day after day, week after week, month after month, but it is important to meet yourself with kindness with how you feel (which is a ritual within itself, really). This is why starting with smaller, more simple and achievable things can create the foundations to which you can continue to flourish from. Mighty oaks from little acorns grow, after all.
And this is where wearing jewellery links with it all. Jewellery has been used and chosen as a way to express ourselves, with carefully adorned gemstone jewellery being present for millennia. Even today with far more ways to sport expression, we choose what jewellery we wear based off of how we feel that day, what we feel drawn to, or what has meaning to us. So what better way to help instil intention than by wearing it?
What I wish to create are pieces of jewellery that not only look beautiful, but also have meaning. Pieces of jewellery that match with what you are hoping to manifest and channel in your life, or that you feel connect with the stage of life you are experiencing. Gemstones such as black tourmaline are known to be protecting and grounding as well as the inky black providing a solid and eye catching base to a necklace. The clarity of clear quartz is as mesmerising as it is powerful. Each piece is meant to be one that you re-visit and wear often, that brings you a sense of confidence, peace, or content . Something that you can connect with, a tangible reminder of you choice towards an intentional life.
So, whilst it all might feel unrelated - stress and ritual and necklaces - the truth is that these things are often more interconnected than we all think. And if there is one thing to take from reading this blog (besides having a look at my awesome jewellery, of course) let it be this.
Create little rituals that aid your day, even if it takes a little while to show. They can be as simple or as complicated as you wish them to be - and either is right, because ritual is entirely personal. Take a moment to slow down and appreciate the world around you, or even just to pause to have a moment for yourself, because even if you can’t feel it, your body will thank you. Romance your everyday life!