A Better Decade
Is it counterintuitive after all my ravings to think I might not be in high spirits for the holiday season? Dunno. The question – to myself, let’s note – reminds me of a bumpersticker I saw many years ago that stuck. It read, "Roses are red. Violets are Blue. I’m schizophrenic. So am I."
I don’t think being of two minds is a problem. Indeed, increased awareness on the way to enlightenment requires that we be able to hold paradox. The key is holding our emotions in check and making our decisions based on intellect and soul. Such broad-mindedness allows me to send a Christmas card to my Congressman while wishing everyone inside the Beltway would be incarcerated in a Buddhist monastery in Myanmar.
One of the reasons for hope this time of year is the original reason why people celebrated in late December, even before there was such a name. Saturnalia, invented by the Romans more than 200 years before the birth of Christ, was a week-long celebration designed to get the people’s minds off a recent military defeat. It started on the 17th and featured considerable partying.
But the end of the year was a popular time probably before there were calendars for the simple reason that life was agrarian and the days had started getting longer. Sunlight was a big deal for flora, and for those who tilled the soil, and for the rest of the fauna. In our day, it means lights not being turned on until later and in a few months, lower electric bills.
In truth, this is a time for all of us to look back with appreciation for the good we enjoyed and the bad behind us. And to look ahead at the unknown joys to come our way, and the challenges that will provide us with the opportunity to grow our hearts and minds towards a more peaceful world.
Let us resolve to make the next a better decade.
©2010 SetonnoteS
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