Powerful Ways to Create Personal Traditions with Meaning

When I was a child, I wasn’t allowed to dye easter eggs. We weren’t a particularly religious family, and I was the only child/grandchild for a very long time so it wasn’t like we had big holiday get togethers. We used the plastic egg wraps that shrunk down in hot water over the egg and my aunt helped me.

When I became an adult, I took gleeful joy in dying my own “easter” eggs. Though I wasn’t religious, didn’t celebrate the holiday of easter, and in fact, leaned more toward a pagan theology, so they were Oestara eggs. Didn’t matter. I loved dying them and it was a way to allow my inner child to get to do an activity they really wanted to do, but never had a chance.

With my own flock of chickens, many “easter eggers” who lay blue and green eggs, plus my brown egg layers, I don’t have to dye my eggs pretty colors anymore. They come “pre dyed”, as I’m fond of saying. But I still usually buy a carton of eggs at the store (Really should add some white egg layers to the flock!) and spend some time dying eggs.

My spouse and I even made it a family tradition. With our five colors to choose from we’d use crayons to draw on them and make eggs that looked like a beloved (but very round) cat, the planets, or whatever design we chose. The cats would often “help” and some would end up with blue or yellow smudges on their noses.

Creating your own traditions, reclaiming traditions you weren’t allowed to pursue as a child, are great ways to help heal and soothe past hurts. When you create meaningful traditions, as I did with the easter eggs, you are telling your inner child that it’s all right, your needs are being met. You can pursue what you want and that it is safe to do so.

This is a good way to help cultivate creativity, connection, and safety–the three foundational principles of free range wellness. Connecting with yourself, and others if you choose to include them. Getting creative in recreating the tradition. And finding safety in doing so.

I encourage you to look for ways to cultivate traditions of your own and help find your own connection, creativity and safety.