Rituals

Rituals, from my point of view, are actions that people do with certain frequency and that actually mean something for them; and that is, I believe, the difference between a habit and a ritual. Habits are actions that people do and do not mean much for them (brushing your teeth, taking a shower,...), you pretty much do them without even thinking about them. Also I believe, some things can go back and forth between rituals and habits. For example, reading you Bible every day can be a ritual at the begining and then it becomes just a habit or viceversa.

A ritual that has had a positive influence in my life, is daily devotions. Every morning at 6:30am for the past year, me and some friends meet at the Student Center to share some thoughts, we sing and pray. At the begining it was a habit for me, I just went because they were going. But after some time it has become a ritual for me and it was influenced my life in a great way, it has helped me become a better person and a better Christian.

In conclusion, some rituals can have very positive effects on us (reading the Bible, singing, etc) others can be harmful (smoking, drinking...) and others can be just silly (avoiding crack in the sidewalk, which I think everybody did at some point in their lives), but whether they are good, bad or neither we all have some type of ritual that shapes our lives and influences who we are.