Im Ritual halte ich inne und bin ganz bei mir. Rituale sind einfach und sprechen alle Sinne an: Ich nehme etwas in die Hand, ich mache eine Gebärde oder ich schweige einige Augenblicke. Mit einem Ritual nehme ich mir bewusst Zeit, dem Tag ein eigenes Gesicht zu geben. Denn nicht die Zeit bestimmt mich, sondern ich präge sie. Vom Aufstehen bis zum Beginn der Nacht, vom Beginn eines Jahres bis zu seinem Ende oder in schwierigen Situationen des Alltags: Anselm Grün hat hier die schönsten und bewährtesten Rituale beschrieben, die zur inneren Ruhe und so zum tieferen Sinn des Lebens führen.
Anselm Grün terminated his school years in 1964 with the A-level equivalent Abitur at the grammar school in Würzburg, Germany. In the same year he began as a novice at the nearby Benedictine Münsterschwarzach Abbey. From 1965 to 1971 he studied philosophy and theology at St. Ottilien Archabbey and in Rome. In 1974 he completed his PhD in theology on Karl Rahner. From 1974 to 1976 Anselm Grün studied Business in Nuremberg. Then he became the Cellerar of Münsterschwarzach Abbey and is thus responsible for the economic administration of the abbey with its over 280 employees and 20 businesses.
Hoera het boekje is uit en mag terug naar de bieb. Ik was op zoek naar iets van zingeving en iets met rituelen, maar ik ben niet gelovig opgevoed en kan me niet vinden in het christelijke godsbeeld. De monnik heeft een punt dat rituelen een hulpbron kunnen zijn. Ik blijf nog zoekende en neem zijn uitnodiging om je eigen rituelen te ontwerpen mee.
Had een paar mooie gedachten, maar net iets te christelijk voor mijn doen. Het uitgangspunt spreekt me wel erg aan: rituelen kunnen betekenis geven aan momenten, en je kunt (terugkerende) momenten betekenis geven door er een ritueel van te maken.
The book shows how rituals can influence our life but the reader must work out his or her own rituals using imagination. The author outlines in what situations we can use rituals, suggests what and shows their sense, but the book is not a recipe for happiness, it`s only a link in the chain composed of many elements. Grün points out that rituals have a strictly spiritual aspect and he outlines the ways in which we can develop this spirituality. It`s not easy, especially for shy, introverted people, and also for those, who are skeptical about new things and afraid to break through the barriers without realizing that after opening the closed door, a breath of freshness will come to their lives and new perspectives will appear before them. Not all the rituals described in the book seem effective for me, some of them are even trivial and less revealing, for example: saying "It`s me" in a situation when we have a difficult conversation with our boss, but certainly, a strong belief in their force gives 50% of success and even in the case of defeat it will be easier for us to bear the failure. I like an idea of writing letters to a friend, and preferably when a friend also writes to us. We can summarize a year by describing what happened, what went wrong and what we would like to accomplish the next year. Rituals are practiced by each of us, sometimes unconsciously, we just have to appreciate them and develop to such an extent to brighten our reality, accept ourselves and merge human relationships.