Holidays

Can you take a holiday from yourself? Are the behaviors which entail a holiday for you really bringing worth to your life? I hope the answer is "Yes". 

I am a human being who has been conditioned to conform to social landmarks, like Christmas. What makes the celebration of Christmas different from the celebration of mass murder, like Veteran's Day or Memorial Day? Are these holidays meant to free the human spirit or enslave it into a mass mentality, based in sentiment and manipulated by corporate marketers? 

I approach holidays cautiously. For the hard-working person with multiple jobs in an unfair economic landscape, a universally celebrated holiday, like Christmas, is a day of reprieve. It can be, for some, the one guaranteed day of personal leisure in the entire year. Think about it. How can a human being aspire to a personal practice for mental and physical health, peace and joy under such pressures? However, society, dominated by mass media, adds the pressure of conformist rituals to this one day for these overworked millions. 

The sentiments of Christmas trees and Hanukkah candles are a balm for those comfortable enough to indulge in them. To millions of others, they are an added burden, an added pressure. To the compassionate and mindful, I would say: "Look to those who are not at your table and do something about it."