The Disappearance of Rituals: A Topology of the Present
This is why the mall’s liturgy is not just a practice of acquisition; it is a practice of consumption. Its quasi redemption lives off of two ephemeral elements: the thrill of the unsustainable experience or event and the sheen of the novel and new. Both of these are subject to a law of diminishing returns, and neither can last.
James K. A. Smith • You Are What You Love: The Spiritual Power of Habit
We spend most of our lives as individuals pursuing our own interests. He called this the realm of the “profane,” which means the ordinary day-to-day world where we are very concerned about our own wealth, health, and reputation. But Durkheim showed that nearly all societies have created rituals and communal practices for pulling people “up,” tempor
... See moreJonathan Haidt • The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness
One person’s ritual is all but useless to another, especially a really good ritual. This is because the good ones are repeatedly adapted and elaborated in the direction of providing better fit for the particular person – structure-preserving transformations, where the only test of whether the transformation is structure-preserving is subjective fee... See more
Ribbon Farm • Deep Laziness
Meditations for Mortals: Four Weeks to Embrace Your Limitations and Make Time for What Counts
Oliver Burkeman • 2 highlights
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