Stuff and Stuffing

What really matters? If we judge by media coverage, I get discouraged that somehow our society loves news without depth and events without substance, writers without message and knowing who the next talk show host will be in a post Oprah world. But that’s not really what is going on, but rather what advertisers pay to entertain us. What really matters is defined by the choices we make and don’t make, the books we read and don’t read, the lives we change and don’t change, and what we give or keep for ourselves. Yes, the holidays are ahead and we’re focusing right now on ….? That’s the question for me. What does matter during the season ahead?

This week, there is lots of buzz about the upcoming Black Friday; the day people abandon civilized behavior for the sake of a deal. For many, it may be the only day that affordable gifts may be within reach, or shoving range. For merchants, the day that books move from red to black, maybe. It is the demarcation from the day of eating stuffing to the season for buying stuff.

Along the way, myths have become messages that have redefined values and priorities. Thanksgiving is an interesting holiday.  The story is told that European settlers in Plymouth were starving from collective incompetence in farming and survival skills and were rescued by Squanto, a native who taught them farming and shared bounty. As a result, a big meal between cultures shared the bounty and thereafter, the big meal became part of our culture.  The truth is closer to Squanto was a remnant of a large native society virtually eliminated by European borne diseases who remained near the area that once was his village. The real story is pretty sad, but today it represents an opportunity to gather and reflect on what is good about life and those we love. The myth redefined the message and that message is good.

There is another part of the message that did not make the Butterball on the table. There are a whole bunch of others where bounty does not exist and a growing number for whom the future looks dismal. Be it real hunger for food or emotional hunger for support, Thanksgiving may represent a day of emptiness rather than fulfillment. Black Friday may represent an opening to a holiday season fraught with memories of giving and pockets empty of opportunity.

Let’s remember friends, family, loved ones and the growing many for whom this season may be a dreaded darkness. Let’s find a way to reach out and define what and who we are. Happy Holidays.