A Tradition or Ritual That Means a Lot to Me

When we talk about traditions and rituals, it all boils down to our personal belief, the way we were brought up, our culture and how we view things, which has made the traditions and rituals of all of us to be very different from one another though it might look a bit similar.  Where I come from, that is Nigeria, whether it is on a large scale or very small, there is a tradition and rituals that we carry out every every day which has now become part of our daily life. And for me, one tradition that I have come to cherish so much is the simple act when we gather together as a family. This might not look so strong like a concentrated ritual, but it has affected me positively in the way I view life and my perspective about relationships. However, when I was still growing up, when we all wake up early in the morning, we gather together as one family to prayer and motivate ourselves and when it is evening after we might have had our dinner, my mum usually gather us together to share some lovely stories with us and my dad will crown it up with top wisdom while we ask questions, laugh at the stories or we just listen attentively. Sometimes when there is no light and there is heat, we gather outside the compound under the moonlight. This simple act of ritual as simple as it might look have taught me great values that I have not come across in textbooks, the act of listening attentively before responding, patience and standing together in unity as one. But when I look around today, things have really changed in a lot of homes because those bonding times have been lost to TV watching, scrolling through phone all day and schedules from here and there. But anytime I have a flashback to this moment, it goes beyond just evening gatherings and story telling, it was a ritual on connecting with eachother. And over time, I have come to know that no matter how bad things might look in life, my family always get my back and they are my first place of peace and comfort.  Now that I am matured, I always keep that in tab from time to time by calling my siblings to remind them of those memories while we laugh together, this always gives me an inner peace. And to end this week prompt, I will like to add that those little little things matters a lot and we should not wait until those masquerade starts pursuing us or when they start the annual traditional festivals because from my point of view, the deepest meanings are gotten from those small time and rituals of staying together. Here's the [link]( https://hive.blog/hive-197685/@indiaunited/indiaunited-new-contest-and-last-f0117e317ce7e) to participate in this week prompt. --- Thank you for reading. > _{Images created by MetaAi}