This is an interesting story I read once and I think it bears some relevance to this topic. Enjoy:
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"Around 300 years back, there used to live a pious Brahmin with his family in a small village in India. He used to religiously wake up every morning, pick the choicest of fruits from the trees surrounding his house, perform his pooja, offer them as prasad to the Lord...and then begin his daily duties. Every single day.
One day, he noticed the pet goat of the house eating berries from the same sacred tree. Sacrilege! Of course, it was only a goat and no amount of scolding would make her understand why she shouldn't do it. So the Brahmin decided to tie the goat up before his pooja and offer her some home made delicacies so that the goat loses the taste for the berries. The house dog saw the delicacies and followed the Brahmin to his pooja room hoping for some tit-bits. Annoyed, the Brahmin shoved him off with his foot.
This started happening on a daily basis. The Brahmin used to wake up, tie his goat, offer it home-cooked delicacies, pick the fruits, make his way to the pooja room, show his foot to the dog as a warning before entering the room, and then perform his rituals. As time passed, the Brahmin died and as was the tradition at the time, he son took over the same responsibilities. And then his son and his son and so on and so forth.

Now there is a tiny village in Madhya Pradesh, near the city of Indore...and over there...a group of Brahmin families still perform this daily ritual. The men of the house wake up early morning...they wash and worship the house deity (a stone idol in the shape of a goat) in the verandah with flowers and home cooked delicacies. They then enter their pooja shrine. But before that they wash their feet and lift the right foot up away from the door...murmur a prayer and then enter the room to perform the rituals.

And this is how tradition begins.
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*Don't expect me to be perfect all the time, but please recognize it when I am. -Ashley Brilliant (#4114, c1987)

xyza... that s a hilarious one. thanks for sharing.