Joseph Campbell wrote that the function of ritual is to give form to the human life, not in a superficial way, but in depth. The Monday morning video is a ritual now, an expression of self, the sharing of a life experience, another kind of quilt or hanging piece.

Ritual is essential to human wisdom and connection, if you want to understand what it means to live in a society without ritual, just look at the news every morning, watch Fox News, CNN or read the New York Times.

A ritual, says Campbell, is the enactment of a myth, by participating in the ritual, you are participating in the myth, and by participating in a ritual, you are experiencing your wisdom, your consciousness is being reminded of the wisdom of your own life.

Maria is a visual artist, and while she writes easily and beautifully, she is most comfortable creating in the visual realm, she often uses ritual to connect to her subconscious, her work reveals her inner wisdom, the wisdom of the psyche. Maria thinks in images, not words, and the video has become a powerful ritual for her.

About six months ago, she began recording Monday morning videos, another way to express her creativity in the visual  realm and share it with her readers, with whom she is often close. On Mondays, she wakes up thinking about her video, and once she has filmed it, she sits on the porch considering it – she will often reject a Monday video and go out and shoot another one, but she never forgets to do one.

That, too, is the nature of ritual, the ancients understood the importance of ritual, the prophets said we would be barren and soulless without ritual, and I think their warnings have come to pass. Our lives here are full of ritual, from morning to dusk. Videos, photographs, art works, reading, walking in the woods.

Ritual matters, it is important. Without it, we are empty and we turn to hate and argument.

This photograph captured for me the feeling of ritual, and it’s depth, the Monday morning video.