I Never Understood The Importance of Relationships in Life Rituals Until I Got Married

Ethan Lipsitz
4 min readDec 1, 2021

I experienced peak love a week ago and am still riding high. Michelle and I got married at a beautiful oasis in the desert outside Los Angeles. We dressed in our fanciest attire and glowed arm in arm all weekend as we celebrated our nuptials. The most memorable moments were when we felt held in the loving words and emotions of our friends and families. As the days pass and I consider what we experienced, I am realizing how vital it is to celebrate rituals in community, with the people we love.

It’s easy for us to show up for a holiday or family tradition and go through the motions. Sometimes our families or friend groups are intent on avoiding the emotional depth of simply being alive and we lose the magic of our collective human potential. I’ve experienced plenty of gatherings when the holiday or celebration is overshadowed by logistics, small talk, intellectual sparring or a blaring TV. Sometimes our lives can pass for years this way, unaware of the constant delicacy that comes with our mere existence.

As we wrapped up the planning and logistics side of our wedding, Michelle and I realized that we were designing a ritual focused on our love, perhaps the biggest one we could ever host, and we wanted to ensure it felt connected, creative, communal and special to us.

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Ethan Lipsitz

Ethan Lipsitz is an artist, host, brain cancer survivor and love extremist dedicated to elevating actionable love in every aspect of life.