Photo by Amy Grubb, The Guardian
by Luke Cunard
The Guardian, October 3, 2014
The
above-linked article about a young Englishwoman marrying herself grabbed my attention in an unusual way. The
subject of the article, Grace Gelder, regards the novel notion of self-marrying, which she undertook in March 2014, as a pact with herself. That is, a
promise to herself to strengthen her commitment to personal self-awareness and development,
including improving her relations with others, then "somehow enacting that
in how you live your life from that day on."
Such
a crucial rite of passage for acknowledging personal growth and strengthening social well-being, though
universal in ancient and likely prehistoric societies, is now not only
sorely and almost totally lacking in the secular West, it is also gradually
being given up elsewhere in the world. The current high level of personal
discontent and social un- or dis-ease, in the West and increasingly elsewhere,
warrant the reinvention and reintroduction of such a rite.
Such
a renewed rite of passage with its attendant ceremonies and rituals would need to be voluntary. How else could it be palatable to and binding upon the modern, Enlightened individual? Successfully completing the rite would be contingent
upon the initiand having undergone self- or institutional-instruction in such subjects as critical thinking and applied personal and moral philosophy, especially that found in Stoicism and Epicureanism. It would also entail at least a minimal exposure to a significant portion of the world's other
moral philosophies, including the moral teachings of the world’s religions. A tall order, you say? Yes, but something this good could not and should not come easy. Some would fail, others would succeed partially, and still others would succeed fully. Still, this would be a great improvement over the current lack of such a rite and its attendant personal and societal discontent palpable in the ever-growing secular population of the world.
A
public ceremony would give the rite social affirmation and validation. During this ceremony vows would be made based on a credo of humane personal virtues and moral
principles the initiand would choose, write down, and commit to, and thereby be
something to return to for guidance throughout his/her life.
