Impotence

What happens to a person or society when an expected ceremony or ritual does NOT take place?
There is an emptiness, a sense of anger, and uselessness that infuses the individual psyche, with existentialism and apathy. A change is needed, sensed, anticipated, even prepared for, and then the ceremony or ritual does not take place, and nothing happens. The status quo is maintained, (for good or ill), or even reverts to a previous stage of influence on behavior, desire and motivation. A sense of depression and futility ensues. And the actions one takes around that can very from homicide and suicide on one end of the spectrum to false euphoria, intense grief or denial on the other. Yet it often seems to be this very state of mind, this depression that requires us to reach outside of ourselves or search deeper within and appeal to a higher power, source or deity.
Rituals help us to recognize and honor the gods and spirits we revere, and to face the helplessness we humans face in our everyday lives and routines, especially when we realize there really is very little about our lives and worlds in our direct control. Unrequited or unconsummated love, loss of work and personal/community identity, traumatic events, violence, or a death in the family are problems many of us face everyday. How do we cope and heal and get back to meaningful productive lives?
Letting go and living in the NOW generally requires trust in something outside ones self and sphere of direct and personal influence. Religious or spiritual beliefs help us to attribute meaning or a sense of acceptance to those things beyond our control. Accepting things as they are with no hope of change or improvement isn't an easy part of human nature. We are wired to seek more, to push the envelope of our experience to new limits, crescendos, and moments of renewal. We have seen across cultures, tragedy and holocaust, that it is often the very idea and power of faith itself that allows the avenue of improvement to proceed or manifest through the most difficult of circumstances, the attitude of carrying on, persevering, and riding out the storm, the drought, or the imprisonment. Faith is a powerful tool opening the door to many experiences of increased good. But where does this faith come from? What challenges it? What forms and shapes it and grooms it? And what happens to a society or people without it?