Behind The Fawm Series #5 - "Ritual"

I wrote this during this past FAWM (February 2011) which happened to also be the beginning of Lent.

At first, I was worried it might seem blasphemous to put a romantic relationship in religious terms, but the more I wrote this more it made sense and personally, these two aspects of life hold a lot of parallels.

During the past year, our family sought a new church home and found one, in a traditional Anglican church.

I had always imagined that a church such as this would be dead and disconnected spiritually.

In fact, the opposite was true, and the ancient practices and the liturgy of the service brought peace and calm like honey to my soul.

The season of Lent made me particularly spiritually aware, and as it was Lent when I first read the word "Ritual," it brought to mind images of spiritual practice and liturgy.

Years ago, the word would have had a negative connotation.
Instead, the ritual of our Sundays, the order of our church worship service, the sacraments, the ancient practices, ALL of these things leave me joyous and refreshed in a way I never would have imagined.

Enter, the romantic relationship.
Our love is not grown by a new emotional experience, or maintained through grand adventures.
Our love is grown by our history, and is maintained by the choice we make every year, every week, every morning and every hour to stand by each other.

Sure, we like to have grand adventures, but the places we find the most joy, have been in the Ritual.

Waking up beside each other, drinking our coffee, holding hands...

And just like our Sundays, these moments together (while from the outside might seem rote and monotonous) are the moments we are filled with peace and calm and inexplicable joy, and this is the perspective from which I chose to write this song.

What do you think of "Ritual?"
(Either the song, it's presence in your life?)




Ritual
Title suggested by Gary Luparello

I could drink you wine
Every time
You look at me
I could wake up each morning
And feel the glory
Of your breath on me

You, you are my ritual
Your love, your love is a liturgy

I would turn all your pages
Read you for ages
That’s what I’d do
I want all of the seconds
Of all of minutes
Of every hour with you

You, you are my ritual
Your love, your love is a mystery

Take me into your arms
Over and over
Over and over

You, you are my ritual
Your love, your love is a liturgy
You, you are my ritual
Your love, your love is a mystery