A slice of pie

This morning I started pondering my morning rituals. The alarm goes off. And since I know I'll hit the snooze button, it's set a half hour early. Flip the covers off, and morning rituals begin. into the bathroom, then shower (where I'm sure if you clocked me, I'd spend exactly the same amount of time each day soaping the same areas.) Which while vaguely interesting (riiight), isn't what I want to talk about.

I then carried the idea further and began thinking about rituals in society. We have this little verbal dance we do when we see people. How are you doing? Now, you ask this and don't really expect and answer. It's just a greeting after all. Well, perhaps Monday mornings you are a little more interested. Did the person do anything of interest over the weekend? (btw - next time you see someone in a splint, crutches, etc. pay attention to whether you are really interested in the answer when you ask how it happened. See, it's expected that you must ask, but do you really care?) But I digress yet again.

To hurry things up, I came around to body modification as a ritual. Tattooing, scarification, mutilation as a marking system for people has been around for thousands of years. I recall as a child reading about the tribes of the amazon. Fierce warriors with lip disks come to mind. imagine putting ever increasing disks of wood into your lip to make it bigger and bigger. Part of it was a rite to manhood (among others). Tattoos in some cultures tell stories of a lifetime, they were also used to designate status. Some african tribes use ornate facial scars similarly. When you encounter these things, you find it hard not to stare. It's unique. It's beyond the scope of your imagination to sit still while someone deliberately scars your skin. But how many of us will sit still while someone scars your mind?

In today's world there is a resurgence of Modern Primitive. Tribal tattoos, body piercing (in an ever widening scope of body location and jewelry type) is becoming more and more commonplace. There are two TV shows dedicated to tattooing alone this season. But I don't want to talk about tattooing and piercing as a ritual. Other than as an interesting side note for my point. Many people would never willingly sit through the pain of the process when they don't have to. Nor will they take on the (still) social stigma of being modified. As I rambled through these topics in my mind I touched on Cutting a little bit. Now, I'm no expert, but cutting is about control and not about the result. Cutters don't proudly display the results of their actions. Actually, they are ashamed of them. Hiding underneath long sleeves and pants. I've noticed this topic has become more commonplace in our society. We hear about cutting more and more. It was even cast as a character trait in the movie Secretary. Even though I'm sure cutters have a ritual, I cannot include them in my thoughts on rituals. Cutting is the result of illness which can be treated.

Moving on. I also touched on weddings and wondered why the ritual we use today is still commonly accepted. It's history is fairly short. Going back to England and royalty doing the suit and white dress thing. Hosting a huge dinner for friends. (Can't they feed themselves?) Is it really required to put on a monkey suit that you don't own and have the bride pay an atrocious sum for a wedding dress that will only see the light of day once? Come on people. It's just not common sense. And as far as a ritual goes, it's not a very fun one. Well, the after party is, but the ceremony itself (the reason for the gathering after all) is usually boring and trite. (I have seen exceptions.)

This is a much shortened version of what went through my head in about 5 minutes in the shower this morning. Sorry. Come back tomorrow for a another slice of pie. I'm not sure what we'll be serving, but that's part of the fun isn't it?