Rites of passage and meaningful work

• • Briony Greenhill 
    

    p.s am reading the most inspiring book, a 1996 anthology called Crossroads - the quest for contemporary rites of passage. Am thinking of trying to find a way to become a rites of passage guide. Not sure. Playing with the idea. Bill Plotkin thinks it's all about adolescence. I've never worked with adolescents. But set them up with two healthy rites of passage - one into adolescence, and one out of it, people are saying - then they're pretty set for a healthy life, and a healthy relationship with change, challenge and transition. With themselves, with their feelings, and with their needs. I'm pretty excited about it. x

    
    Matt Smaus 
    

    I think rites of passage are important, but I sometimes think what's really missing is meaningful work for adults -- rites of passage may grow up naturally around good work, and communities built around meaningful work. So many youth go through amazing rites of passage and then find adult life considerably less interesting than they'd hoped.

    
    

    13 minutes ago · 
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    Matt Smaus Just to be contrary. ;-)
    

    12 minutes ago · 
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    Briony Greenhill 
    

    not many youth in the UK go through amazing rites of passage. Also I think that the interesting work has to be created by passion, purpose and empowerment. Eg, when I graduated there were no careers in behaviour change and sustainable consumption, so i dug on through and created one. So did other people; now there is an industry in it. Now I want to do something similar with contemporary social ritual. Where else would the meaningful work come from but social innovation and entrepreneurism?

    
    

    10 minutes ago · 
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    Matt Smaus 
    

    That is where meaningful work comes from, I totally agree. Too many rites of passage don't touch that, so if your notion does, that is excellent. 

    
    

    3 minutes ago ·