Why Rites of Passage Still Matter: (Your Thursday Three Things for September 18, 2025)
Jon Macaskill
Retired Navy SEAL Commander🔹Men Talking Mindfulness Podcast Cohost (number 3 mindfulness podcast in the world!) 🔹Keynote Speaker🔹Entrepreneur Through Acquisition 🔹 Striving to be a Better Dad and Husband!
We’ve lost something ancient: meaningful rites of passage.
For most of human history, communities created deliberate thresholds that marked a shift… boy to man, girl to woman, apprentice to elder. These weren’t just personal milestones. They were communal agreements: You belong, you have changed, and we recognize it.
Now, those rituals are mostly gone. Sure, we celebrate graduations, weddings, birthdays, bar mitzvahs, quinceañeras... but often without depth, gravity, or transformation. What’s missing is the container… a shared cultural space that acknowledges the shift and helps integrate it.
Here are three reasons we still need rites of passage:
1. Movement Requires Meaning
Passage implies movement. But not all movement is growth. Without intention, change can feel like chaos. A rite of passage provides meaning to the movement… turning wounds into wisdom, challenges into initiation.
2. Boundaries Build Strength
Many traditional rites of passage involved a sacred wounding… a scar, a trial, a moment of fear or pain. In modern terms, it’s less about blood and more about boundaries. Whether it’s finishing a Spartan Race, fasting in the wilderness, or completing a tough creative project, stepping beyond comfort and surviving it strengthens our edges.
3. Community Makes It Real
Perhaps the most overlooked element: being seen differently after the passage. Transformation only sticks when our community acknowledges it. That’s why indigenous cultures celebrated return, why service members are pinned with insignias, why even awkward graduation ceremonies matter. Being witnessed solidifies the shift from who you were into who you are.
Darren Silver has led modern rites of passage for people of all ages. If you’ve ever felt stuck, lost, or in transition, give our conversation with him a listen. 🎥 Watch the full episode on YouTube 🎧 Listen on the podcast
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Retired
1wFor me I didn’t have a positive time in the military and have had many difficulties in my life. So at the age of 52 despite physical and mental trauma I signed up to do a Krav Maga immersion course in Tel Aviv, Israel. I was scared. Scared I couldn’t do it. Scared to travel so far on my own. Scared of failures I’ve failed many times before but I had to try. The final test was to climb the sand dunes at Poleg Beach whilst defending yourself. I was so scared. I started and got about 1/3rd the up, I crawled and my instructor came and helped me. I still had to stand and try to fight but he held my hand as I moved up and I did it! I was the weakest, I had never trained for years like everyone else but I was determined to get up that hill even if I had to crawl. After everyone else did it multiple times a great guy who had been a marine sniper said come on Jo, you need to do it one more time! I felt I couldn’t do it but he said he’d do it with me. I tried again and then one of the other guys came down to help me and the team cheered me on. I’d never had that, ever! It’s called the Hill of Tears at Wingate for a reason. As I’m writing this tears are steaming down my face because those people didn’t give up on me like many have!
Works for Albuquerque Healthcare for the Homeless
1whttps://www.illuman.org/mrop
Coaching Corporate Leaders 35+ To Launch Successful Consulting & Coaching Businesses With Strategy & Authority | Ex-Accenture & PwC | Commercial + Consulting Leader | Former Lawyer
1wCreating moments of shared challenge and support restores belonging and growth. Truly valuable, Jon.
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1wThis is something ive thought about for a while. Great insights