Tradition. Without our traditions, our lives would be as shaky as… as a fiddler on the roof!

Fiddler on the Roof

My relationship with tradition can be summed up in two words: it’s complicated. On the one hand, I am an incredibly nostalgic person, I yearn for the stability of childhood, the solid ground that traditions give us. On the other, I am a naturally curious person who keeps an open and flexible mind. For me, it’s all about finding a balance point between stability and flexibility.

Traditions can make things clear. The ancestors have essentially told us exactly what to do and how to live. Stay in alignment with that and you can feel safe and taken care of.

In today’s world, where traditions aren’t as ironclad and authoritative as they once were, many people get lost. In the not so distant past, we had traditions for so many things… when to eat, what to eat, when you became a man or a woman, what to say and what not to say. Now, it becomes difficult to navigate the process of “growing up.” You need to own your journey and oftentimes that means keeping your own practices and traditions.

I’ve built my own set of practices that allow me to feel grounded in the lessons of the ancestors while also finding my own way. I walk in a balance of honoring the old but embracing the new.

Today is a day of tradition for me. I will bake cookies for Santa tonight with my kids, like my mom did with me for so many years, and we’ll set them out with a glass of milk before the kids head to bed. I will read “The Night Before Christmas” as a bedtime story just like my dad did for me every Christmas Eve growing up. And tomorrow, I promise you… I will watch A Christmas Story at least a few times.