In the 1960's, a meteorologist wrote a paper to explain why computer models routinely failed at predicting weather. He theorized that nature was not linear in its cause and effect. Instead, patterns seem to ripple and become intensified. He wrote, "One flap of a seagull's wings would be enough to alter the course of the weather forever." His ideas became known more poetically as the "butterfly effect."
When a child comes into our lives, there is a similar sense that the event is simple yet profound, in the moment yet eternal. The rippling effect of a child in your life moves from your heart to the family, to the community and beyond in ways incomprehensible. You look around you, you look in the mirror, things seem the same, yet you are changed.
Celebrating the birth or adoption of a child with ceremony brings these feelings into focus. We celebrate that the child has arrived and is held close in the arms of the family. A woman has become a mother; a man a father. So too, a father is now a grandfather and a mother a grandmother. We ask special people to act as godparents, or soul guardians for the child. We may ask all who are present to take a vow to be loving and watchful eyes, witnessing the child's emergence into selfhood.
A Birth Celebration or Adoption Ceremony can be held in your home, in a restaurant, or a chapel. I can help you to choose symbols and words that will become a lasting keepsake for you, your child and your family. You may want to honor your heritage in a special way. Or, in the case of an adopted child, you may want to honor his/her birth heritage. Each family is unique, and I want to help you celebrate that. We can examine traditions and also look at creative alternatives. I welcome your ideas and offer you my resources and experience. This ceremony marks a miraculous beginning--the springtime of the heart.
Being a teenager puts you at a crossroads in your life. The challenge is to cross from innocence to self-knowledge, from dependence to independence and ultimately, understand your importance to the future of the community. It is a journey of archetypal proportion with many twists and turns along the way.
In order to make sense of this time in family life, every society has developed adolescent rites of passage. Unfortunately, in contemporary American culture, many of those rituals have lost their power to confirm youthful responsibility and many believe this loss has dire consequences. Studies have shown that without meaningful ritual, youths will create their own rites of passage that often include dangerous behavior.
It is possible for families to reclaim this period of child development for mitzvah, community service and constructive activity. It is a time to acknowledge your teenager's growing sense of their inner life and spiritual sensibility. This process moves each family member toward declaring their distinct and separate identity; and at the same time, taking comfort in their profound connection.
I can help you gather resources and create a meaningful rite of discovery for you, your adolescent and your family. It will be important to identify a mentor for your teen. Listening carefully in order to define common goals is essential. And finally, I can help you create a ceremony to mark the transformation of your teenager and your family.
