ritual is what?

I typed in ritual in my google search, and here's the first good thing I saw from wikipedia:

"A ritual is a set of actions, performed mainly for their symbolic value, which is prescribed by a religion or by the traditions of a community. The term usually excludes actions which are arbitrarily chosen by the performers, or dictated purely by logic, chance, necessity, etc.

A ritual may be performed on specific occasions, or at the discretion of individuals or communities. It may be performed by a single individual, by a group, or by the entire community; in arbitrary places, or in places especially reserved for it; either in public, in private, or before specific people. A ritual may be restricted to a certain subset of the community, and may enable or underscore the passage between religious or social states.

The purposes of rituals are varied; with religious obligations or ideals, satisfaction of spiritual or emotional needs of the practitioners, strengthening of social bonds, social and moral education, demonstration of respect or submission, stating one's affiliation, obtaining social acceptance or approval for some event — or, sometimes, just for the pleasure of the ritual itself."

I'd say that's a pretty well rounded definition of what a ritual can be, what it stands for, and what it can be. But what are my own thoughts about ritual?

I'd have to say that I'm still a little bit confused/ don't fully understand exactly what ritual means to me yet. I know what we do for each ceremony, I know the words that we say, I know what we teach our new members, but I don't think I have a strong personal meaning for myself. During class last week, I was talking to Rian about her chapter's rituals, and it was pretty amazing to me how strong their bonds and ritual were amongst the entire group of women. To her, having a Ritual Chair was unheard of and would never be the case in her chapter (or so that's what I believe from our conversation). This concept is huge to me...we have one "Ritual chair" who is supposed to "teach" us the meaning and lead the ceremonies. However, I'm not sure we can actually be taught the meaning of ritual...I think it's a concept that we gradually understand and through experiences, we develop our own meaning of what living the ritual is. And, it's not to say that I don't strive to serve others, to better myself, to get an education, or to work hard because I think that I do try my best in these areas. I think that much of these come from my own personal aspirations and being surrounded by women of the same determination. But, I do not think that my Ritual is the top reason for why I find these aspects of life important.

Even though I don't know exactly what I'm looking for or exactly what I should understand about Ritual, I think that I will come to find my own understanding in the next 52 weeks. And with that, I will do my best to pass on what I know to the new members and show my understanding through my actions.