What do a mean when I talk of Life Affirming Celebrations?
I believe that all the chapter beginnings and ends in the novel of our lives are worth taking a moment to reflect on, learn from, put behind us or worth taking a deep breath before stepping into.
Much of what happens in our lives doesn’t happen in isolation. There are people without whom the journey would have been much harder; people without whom the chapter wouldn’t have been written at all.There are also people who’s lives have had to adapt so they could remain part of your novel. They have had to learn, and travel on your journey with you. They have remained on your path because they love you and they accept you in all your truth, love ,pain and authenticity…
…But that does not mean that they have not had to make choices, sacrifices or suffered losses themselves whilst supporting your journey. It is possible to be BOTH. Both frightened and supportive, Both grieving and welcoming. Both sad and happy.
It is too easy for us to overcome a complex part of our life or finish one amazing adventure and start facing another, or begin another great chapter without pausing, taking stock of or just wallowing in how far we have come and who we are grateful to have in our corner.
I’ve separated some idea under three categories,
💖Gratitude Celebrations: Survival, Friendship, Longevity, Acceptance, Forgiveness
Twenty-seven and a bit years onto my relationship with John we decided to take time out of our usual quick acknowledgements of our relationship. You know, a bunch of flowers, a meal out, maybe a mini break and book ourselves a celebrant led Starlit Gratitude Ceremony. We had already taken a moment at 25 yrs together to have a big party we called “25 Years of Happily Unmarried Bliss” (which was awesome) but we felt our journey to date deserved some special recognition.
We wanted to REFLECT on the challenges we had overcome, the chapters we had written, the growth we had shared; and we wanted to to share our GRATITUDE, ACKNOWLEDGE what we were looking forward to in the future and MAKE PROMISES to each other to guide us into our next chapter. So we created, in partnership with our celebrant, a totally bespoke and symbolic , intimate ceremony which us allowed us that punctuation mark!
If you’ve survived a trauma, like a recovery from a major accident or illness, it might make sense to do the same. REFLECT on the journey, and GIVE THANKS to those who helped you through.
Maybe its time for a CLEAN SLATE : perhaps your relationship has gone through a tough patch and you’ve forgiven and want to move on. How about symbolically WIPING THE SLATE CLEAN so that its not brought up every time you reach a sticky patch in the future.
Rituals matter, they help us define significant moments and solidify them in our heart and minds.
💖Becoming your True Authentic Self: Coming Out, Burying a Dead Name, Rebirth
We all deserve to live our truth. Sometimes the path to getting there is a long and rocky one. And whilst you have had to make that journey, there is a whole community of people, maybe birth family, maybe found family, who will have taken that journey with you. Its time to celebrate feeling comfortable in your own skin. It’s also worth recognising the journey travelled by those you love.
Those who love you will be happy with all the choices you have made and the transformation that has enabled you to spread your wings and fly; yet at the same time they may be grieving the loss of person you they thought you were. It really is possibly to be happy AND sad, excited AND scared.
There are lots of reasons to celebrate coming out or transitioning, including the enormous fact that you are becoming more your beautiful true and authentic self. and there’s lots of rituals and symbolic things we can do to represent that transition.
💖Other Chapter Ends and New Beginnings: Divorce, Adoption, Naming, Emigration, Retirement –life affirming celebrations
There are lots of good reasons to call on a celebrant and create a significant celebration to commemorate ends and beginnings of chapters.
Our lives are full of experiences and adventure, happiness and heartache. But as one chapter ends, another begins. We deserve to take stock each time we overcome and achieve, and celebrate, not just our journey but those who were there for us along the way.
It’s not up to me to tell you how we should do that. Its up to me to LISTEN to your story and suggest ways that we can create a fitting ceremony around it. All my ceremonies are bespoke, Every one of you is unique, and what you want will be totally tailored to your story.
Feel free to book a no obligation video chat with me about it?
Whatever chapter you are finishing or beginning, why not celebrate it in style?
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