Today I began putting the holiday ornaments away: the collection of santa clauses, the angels, and ceramic Christmas tree along with lights and wreaths. I've lived in this house, celebrating Christmas each year with family and friends for over forty years. I'm rewrapping the paraphernalia that I've collected, each a memory of past holidays, children growing up, grand children born, loved ones departed. Each year has been a treasure, different and still the same. I feel a renewing of faith around our world. We are learning to share, to forgive, to search for new and better ways to live.... Another holiday come and gone, and this one like no other. I'm ready to put 2020 away, box it up, and throw it into the wood burning stove. I want to hug my friends, go out to a restaurant, see a movie in a theater, and stop being afraid of breathing in public, or touching others.
And now this. The word RESPECT comes to mind, meaning to have some degree of reverence. How to respect others and how to respect ourselves needs to be taught. A lack of respect is a cry for help. We are not savages that storm the Capitol trying to dismantle our democracy. Thank heavens that we Americans are more than savages beating our chests, trying to destroy our political system . There are reasons to respect our history, our way of life, and our place in the world. We have been given abundance. And that abundance comes from the way we as a nation, live. Others have tried to establish their own rule of law, their own idea of what a government should look like, but history has shown that it doesn't work. Democracy is made by the people, for each generation, past, present and yet to be. Democracy means freedom, not insurrection. It means we value our history, our country, and our way of life. When we hold elections, we respect each other's integrity and trust in our country. Democracy is what makes America great. It is not one man, one political view, and not an angry mob. Democracy means we trust one another because there is respect.
When living organisms kill people, when angry mobs march the streets, when earthquakes and hurricanes savage the land, then fear rears its ugly head. This is where respect comes into play, we respect the organism that is killing people while we discover how to make it harmless. We respect hurricanes, and rebuild after earthquakes, making the world safer and more secure. And we respect others' views, opinions, and beliefs because we have learned to respect ourselves. I believe that we are one people. We have one world and one life, why can't we respect that? I believe we need to feel reverence for what we have and not curse what we don't have. Close your eyes and think of the mighty oceans, think of this magnificent planet, smell a flower, watch the children play, or sing a lullaby. Let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me.
Stay safe, warm and dry. Fair winds.
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