I have promised myself for some time that I would explore my ambivalence to Christmas. 1. It started with some of my earliest memories. The first Christmas I remember was when Mom and Dad took !my sister and I to a local department store to look at what we wanted for Christmas. When we looked at toys, filled up our cart, Mom took us out to the car. "Where's Dad?" I asked. "He took them to show Santa,, so he can bring them." That didn't compute. Even to a four year--old. 2. Santa had a half-hour show after school, during the Christmas season. He'd read letters and take calls from children. All of them from children in the Sioux City area. Doesn't Santa, hear from children all around the world, but he only reads those from Sioux City. Another thing didn't compute. 3. It may have been later that year, or the next, my sister and I were at my grandparents house. We were staying there because Mom was in the hospital. We didn't know s
How to Think, When You Don’t Know What to Think: A Meditation We live in turbulent times. A life-threatening virus, a contentious election, and civil tension, in general, have made 2020 a challenging year and 2021 may be as challenging. We have so many thoughts to think and opinions to make. It is increasingly difficult to make decisions and opinions without dividing from family and friends. How do we think when we don’t know what to think? Imagine you are watching a game where the Red Socks are playing the Blue Birds. You are not a big fan of either team, but when watching a game, it’s fun to choose a favorite. You are not from the home town of either team. Your mom was a fan of the Midways, a rival of the Red Socks. The Red Socks win all the time, so you root for the Blue Birds. You are joined in watching the game by another person. She’s a big fan of the Red Socks. She is saying bad things about the Blue Birds. You are dumb to root for the Blue Birds