Taking a tea light candle out, putting it in a holder, and lighting it on a daily basis may not seem like a big deal. However small rituals, no matter how insignificant they seem, play an important role in our daily life. For me, it's a way to start my day. I take a tea light and place it in the holder. I light it, taking a moment to think about those to whom I'd like to send some warm and healing thoughts, whether it's global conditions or people I know personally or just anyone who needs a bit of a boost. Then, I light a stick of incense. With my altar set, I then sit down to the computer to work on the daily chores. It's a small ritual. But to me, it's an important one.

We all have small rituals like these in our lives. It could be something like always putting our keys in a specific location, or more detailed as a prayer said before meals. Rituals help us get through our day. Though the ritual described above is spiritual, they don't have to be religious (or spiritual rituals). If they are, however, most people, myself included, find that they add a bit of calm to an otherwise hectic day.

It's hard to pin down exactly what these rituals do for our lives. Depending on the actual ritual it's purpose may be several-fold. For me, the lighting of a candle and burning of incense helps to focus me. I can choose incense for the qualities I want to nurture, such as "inspiration" or "creativity." This helps me to focus on these items, and perhaps, work just a bit harder at them.

I didn't know how important these rituals were to me until I stopped doing them. Things got crazy. Work. Life. Personal issues intruded. For whatever reasons, I stopped. My life got crazier, things more hectic. It wasn't until I consciously realized that I'd lost my daily rituals that I knew their power in my life. For a few moments every day, I'm calm and focused. It's a serenity I can carry with myself throughout the rest of the day. I only have to catch a wisp of fragrance from the incense, or see the flickering candle flame out of the corner of my eye to remember the calmness I felt and bring it back into my life once more.