Traditionally, rites of passage took place at any major transition in life. Rites of passage involved a period of time spent learning,
cultivating skills, awareness, and capacities that prepared people to have more refined roles in society. They involve learning from mentors who readily deepen natural openings in those going through the transitions. Skillfully attending to natural openings or creating openings at appropriate developmental times frees, deepens, awakens, and strengthens latent capacities. And, on the other side of these periods of expanding identity, there is ceremonial acknowledgement of the expanded identity and the new roles. In essence, rites of passage was marked by ritual, introduction to previously unknown knowledge, and the presence of community. The most important rite of passage was from adolescents to adulthood, or in our case, childhood to adolescents.
In the absence of such initiations youth are left to find out for themselves their greater questions of a meaningful and focused life. The desire for relationship with the world and others can, if not held in directed and ceremonial fashion, lead to searching in unhealthy places. The pull towards answering questions of their true purpose is often not met, as the societal conditions placed onto youth to be a certain way do not carry the knowledge of belonging, nature-connection, or as the myths often tell us, a meeting with the genius inside.
Rites of passage is the time when the clearest opportunity exists to meet our genius and recognize the genius in others.
To initiate the younger generations into their own sense of self in relationship with the greater world is the responsibility of the
community to ensure the youth are wrapped in a stitched cloak of remembrance that blesses them beyond any doubt that they’re here for a worthy and noble life.