Celebrating Moments and Creating Rituals

Introduction to Celebrant Work

• Life consists of moments.
• Importance of appreciating and celebrating these moments.
• Speaker identifies as a celebrant, not to be confused with celibacy.
• Involvement in various ceremonies: marriages, funerals, naming, and custom celebrations.

Unique Ceremony Example

• Neil and Dahlia's wedding: Adapted Sikh Milni ritual.
  • Family members made commitments of love.
  • Ribbons exchanged and tied to a tree.

Creating Experiences

• Connecting people to creativity, each other, and wonder.
• Experiences crafted for various age groups and purposes.

Influence of Speaker’s Mother

• Mother's impact on speaker's understanding of rituals and celebrations.
• Mother's background as a refugee and her ability to celebrate life.
• Personal anecdote of mother's death and its impact on the speaker.
  • Experience of numbness and recovery through embracing moments.

Concept of Ritual

• Ritual as a container around a moment.
• Creating rituals as artworks of moments filled with sensory elements.

Learning from Other Cultures

• Example of Sabon Fusome from Dagara tribe and their view on rituals for the soul.
• Dagara funerals are reenactments of the deceased's life.

Creating New Rituals

• Example of a ceremony for a little boy with seven godfathers.
• Creating a baby shower alternative focused on transition and role models.

Honoring Life and Legacy

• Ritual to honor organ donation.
• Moorfields Eye Hospital ceremony connecting families of donors and recipients.

Personal Rituals

• Celebrating mother's birthday with a symbolic gesture.

Conclusion

• Encouragement to appreciate and celebrate the moments of life.
• The speaker's wish to share the transformative power of rituals with others.