Traditions are sacred. They reminds us of our roots. By keeping them, they also provide a point of reference for the ways in which things change. We come back to something regular and stable as a way to notice what has shifted. But what happens when we get so focused on tradition that we fail to acknowledge any fluctuation around it?
As we age, this becomes more and more apparent. After a certain point, sticking to what we know is easy and comfortable. There’s nothing wrong with this. The trouble comes when we believe that that accumulated knowledge equals wisdom and we refuse to move from it.
The ways in which many of us have grown up and continue to learn encourage us to find answers to questions. Personally, I spent my teen years in a learning environment where standardized testing was the norm. Judgements about my potential and aptitude were calculated based on the percentage of questions I answered correctly on a few sheets of paper. Most of those judgements can be pretty life-altering to a teenager. In fact, most of those judgements continue to be life-altering well into adult life.
In effect, what this does is condition us to believe that we are no more than the sum of the answers we can find. And so we seek.
We seek the best portfolio, to get the best job, to attract the best partner(s), to make a picture perfect life, to live the dream. So often we accumulate all these things only to find ourselves still seeking. Not necessarily because what we have is not good enough, but because we have made a habit out of it. It has become our way of life.
And sometimes this habit turns to spirituality. We immerse ourselves in sacred text, rituals, retreats, detoxes, practices… anything that might have the answer we are looking for.
I am often confronted with this question by myself and others: What tradition is best for me? Which method is the most efficient way to…. *drumroll*… enlightenment?
This very question poses a problem in that we are seeking an answer to something that does not exist in words. Regardless of the context- professional, familial, intimate, spiritual… by seeking answers in another place, time, or company we not only remove ourselves from the moment that unfolds around us, we also create expectations and stories of what “enlightenment” may be like. More seeking.
So consider your traditions: your rituals, practices, retreats, holidays, carpool schedules, morning routines, eating habits. Whether they are daily, weekly, monthly, annually… ask yourself for a moment: in what ways do these create expectations? In what ways do they shape ideas and thoughts and “shoulds”?
And then ask yourself: what might it be like if the purpose of these traditions were not to seek answers somewhere else, but to open to questions about what is unfolding right here and now? How can we feel the difference between seeking elsewhere and being curiously present?
What would it be like to use the routine of tradition to cultivate flexibility and openness in this moment?
Maybe enlightenment is found there. Maybe it’s not.
But I’ll ask that question. That’s my tradition in this moment.