WEBVTT
Kind: captions
Language: en

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So for humanists, a new life is, of course,

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a wonderful thing to celebrate.

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Again going back to the sense that

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we really believe that 
this is the one life we have

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that it's an extraordinary set of 
circumstances that bring us here

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and it's really our responsibility
to make the very very best of it.

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And the sense of wonder,
the sense of curiosity,

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the sense of enjoyment, 
the sense of investigation and inquiry.

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All those things are
such key qualities for a humanist.

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And so a naming ceremony is
almost like charging that up and

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valuing and appreciating that
this child is just at the beginning of that

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journey of understanding and
experiencing what it is to be human.

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I think that is actually very much a humanist idea.

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We say that humanists feel that
this is the one life we each have

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and it's about each of us trying to
find a way of living that that's fulfilling

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and hopefully leave something, something
good behind for the generations to come.

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And I think that sentiment is very much
recognised in every naming ceremony,

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if not directly that's the, you know, very
much the theme that it's all built upon.

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To celebrate a new life is, it's the
essential part of being human,

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because without that life we 
very obviously do not persist

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So every life is one which is filled with opportunity,
which is filled with potential

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and filled with so many possibilities.

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It's very important within that ceremony  
to acknowledge that we're not

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labeling the child in any way.

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So we make it very clear that it's for the child
 to choose their path

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guided by those who are important to them.

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But we don't label them as with any -ist or -ism.

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And the tenants of free choice, responsibility,

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understanding consequences
of your actions as you grow

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are all underscored, I think,

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within the ritual
that creates a naming ceremony.

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Most people I've worked with to put together
naming ceremonies

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have chosen that way to welcome their child

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because they want their child to be free

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to decide for themselves when they're old enough
for what they do or don't believe.

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A lot of couples will choose to
appoint guide parents

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or they might use different word for it

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but significant adults for that child
to develop a relationship with.

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And often those guideparents
would have been chosen

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because they've got particular
characteristics, temperaments, skills,

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something about those people that they feel
their child will benefit from experiencing.

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Now that's not saying that they want their child to
grow up to be just like Uncle Jonah.

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But it's saying that they want their child to
be exposed to different people's skills,

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different, different people's temperaments.

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They want their child
 to be influenced by all sorts of people,

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so they can sort of work out who they are.

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And I think that's something rather wonderful.

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With the naming ceremony, in particular,
it really strikes me that the, that

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there is no sense of the child being
brought into a community of humanists,

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that they have now to become
part of one belief system

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or to be able to follow one
particular life path from that.

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Everything within the ceremony is about
recognising the child

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with their individual identity,
 the importance of their name,

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the importance of their family 
and their community,

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and the importance of choice.

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The child will be brought up supported by others

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to find their path, to find their life,
to find their ideas

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and to make choices.