Traditions
Whether we’re aware of them or not, our lives are filled everyday with the practice of tradition. The marriage of a loved one, the 7th inning stretch during baseball games and gathering with the entire family to look at lighted houses on Christmas Eve are all important traditions that celebrate an important time in history. Holding strong to these traditions, both personally and professionally, creates a powerful link to the past and an excellent foundation for the future.
Recently, a WardCC client celebrated their centennial anniversary and decided to bring back the long-lost tradition of placing cornerstones and time capsules within their building projects. Shortly thereafter, they discovered the founder of the company, a Mason, had participated in this tradition and helped to place a time capsule within the cornerstone of an old downtown building, some 83 years earlier. Friends and family of the company and the Masons gathered to open the time capsule, discovering documentation inside that gave them additional insight to their pasts. This event only reaffirmed the steps the company planned on taking – they too wanted their building clients and partners to experience the excitement and sense of purpose they shared during the placement of the cornerstone and the opening of the time capsule.
Beginning this tradition anew gives reason for friends and family to gather to witness the cornerstone inception and to celebrate its ending. We create tradition in our everyday lives – such as having Thursday night game night with the family, or Hawaiian shirt day in the office every Friday – to remind ourselves that the reason we come together is to build camaraderie, honor personal or professional values and to commemorate an occasion.
This past weekend, children of all ages took to the streets wearing masks and costumes as we celebrated the tradition of Halloween in our country, an event which millions of people look forward to every year. In a society dominated by multiple viewpoints and the effectiveness of communications, a tradition such as this is a common denominator and has the capability to be shared by everyone.
Consider how important your traditions and rituals are to you and to the others that may participate in them. Often, our traditions are the anchors of our day, week, month or year, lending regularity to an otherwise unpredictable time period. Perhaps you can establish new meaning and build better relationships by creating a tradition of your own, or better honoring those that already exist.
