Making Altars Making Choices Column 26 June 1998
By Darlene Benton
When I was a child I learned to make May altars for the celebration of spring and for religious purposes. As a teenager, I arranged my jewelry, special photos, and my favorite movie or concert ticket stubs on my dresser like offerings to the gods. Everyone arranges their possessions at one point or another in their lives. Some of the reasons include an attempt to better organize ourselves or sometimes to recreate a special moment or memory.
Different cultures and religions also arrange certain objects, but for ceremonial purposes. Anyone who has attended a religious ceremony can easily see the arrangement of chalices, linens and other objects upon the altar as a major portion of the actual ceremony.
We model the ceremony of making altars with many different belongings. I know people whose closets are arranged with so much detail in the configuration of shoes, jewelry, clothes and other accessories they almost resemble the displays in retail stores, which resemble replicas of altar-like offerings from ancient ceremonies.
We arrange altars wherever we want to establish our presence. In our homes; our entertainment centers, kitchen counters and workbenches become revered spaces. Even on an overnight stay at a hotel we can sometimes find ourselves arranging our belongings in an almost systematic configuration to establish a level of comfort, or ownership, in our temporary abode. Our cars, yards and offices are also places where we attempt to personalize our space.
The original purpose of an altar was an elevated place for the offering of sacrifices and gratefulness. The ceremony attempted to pay homage to a designated deity, hopefully protecting those making the offering from evil or harm. Sometimes food, flowers or other types of gifts were left as symbols of the level of commitment to the belief in the power of the ceremony and its desired outcome.
Unfortunately, modern altars in our homes, bearing collections of knick knacks, multitudes of power tools and gadgets symbolize consuming instead of offerings. We display many of our possessions to demonstrate our status and interests instead of our humility and generosity to others.
Amassing possessions has not provided out society with a sense of security. The more we arrange our belongings, the more we fear losing them. We’ve become tangled in having instead of giving.
We might consider making our rendition of altars a way for us to give praise, to honor hour gifts and those of others. The flowers we grow, the tables we set and the item we fix for our neighbor all bear resemblance to an offering. No matter where we are in the realm of cherished items, let’s take time each day to be thankful, recognize others, nature and the spirit that lies within each of us. Our possessions only detract from the real meaning of life.
Copyright 1998, Darlene Benton
For comments write: Making Choices, PO Box 28, Albion, NY 14411 or e-mail www.darlenebenton.com
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