Hi there, you're listening to the Lazy Genius Podcast. I'm Kendra Adachi and I'm here to help you be a genius about the things that matter and lazy about the things that don't.

Today's episode 272, the complete guide to seasonal ceremonies.

I haven't talked about opening and closing ceremonies or what I now have shortened and broadened to seasonal ceremonies in a while.

And even though a lot of you are familiar with them, we haven't done a full-on episode about them before. If you can believe it, plus I love this idea of a new name that will broaden our definition a little.

So let's jump into the complete guide to seasonal ceremonies. We're going to talk about what they are while we love them, when to use them, and how to come up with what you'll do.

Now let's start with what they are. A seasonal ceremony is something that marks a significant moment of transition, likely a beginning or an end.

Think about the Olympics. There is an opening ceremony to mark the beginning of the games, right? It's on purpose, it's meaningful, and it's something we all look forward to.

The closing ceremony for the Olympics, it looks back, it marks the end, and it gives us a sense of joy in this thing that we have spent time loving.

You can do the same thing in your own life. So a seasonal ceremony is simply an intentional marker at the start or end of a season.

And chances are it's something you'll want to repeat. That is a significant difference in seasonal ceremonies versus celebrations.

You can mark the moment of getting that job or making it through that season of a hard medical diagnosis or of selling your house, but those things aren't likely to be repeated anytime soon.

You mark them, but you mark them a little differently.

Seasonal ceremonies are likely to be repeated. It's something you do again and again each year that kind of tells you we are at the beginning or we have come to the end. So that's what they are. Now here's why we love them.

Gustav Moller, a 19th century composer, he said, tradition is not the worship of ashes, but the preservation of fire.

Seasonal ceremonies could easily become a tradition for you and traditions are beautiful things. We want to remember and preserve moments and seasons year after year.

It's preserving something that matters. It's why we watch movies like Dan in real life, which is such a great movie. That family, it gets together in the same house.

They do that crossword puzzle race. They make certain foods. They have a family talent show. We are drawn to that kind of thing.

When we see other people experiencing a tradition, something cracks open in us. We are so hungry for that feeling, for those grooves that grow deeper and deeper in our lives that are repeated that we can go back to.

Seasonal ceremonies can be a potential groove. They can be a tradition for you and your people. So that is for sure a reason to love them.

And not only that, aside from that bigger picture, seasonal ceremonies are where we pay attention to exactly where we are.

When we sit in that groove and look around, we're able to be present and grateful and connected.

We usher in the holiday season. We say goodbye to another summer. We mark the start of a new sports season.

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