Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving about what and to whom?

Traditional societal holidays are clung to by those who benefit from a traditional, conservative society. They are ceremonies of validation. They are fortifications of conformity. Since these holidays have a core value of generosity and fraternity, they are far from offensive, even to social outsiders. However, the degree to which these holidays excite and amuse is proportional to the socioeconomic status of the celebrants.

Could we have an annual holiday of self-evaluation, honesty or meditation? Would those in power support a measure to give everyone the day off for these activities, which do not entail buying food or consumer goods?

Thanksgiving is like the celebration of a successful dice game. If the genetic and socioeconomic variables of your birth and subsequent life are lucky, you might be more prone to be thankful. However, if your variables have been most unlucky, Thanksgiving may well seem a hollow gesture. Many rush to religion in the latter situation. Imaginary friends, judgmental deities, these support a delusion that life has some humanly rational underpinnings. This is simply balm or opiate.

If society were truly human, in the fullest and finest sense, every member of it would indeed have great reason to be thankful every day of the year.

Accidents

We live our lives thinking permanence exists. Permanence does not exist. The Universe itself is temporary and imperfect.

Recently, my friend, Peter, was sitting in his ninth floor apartment on a Thursday afternoon. It was a sunny late Fall day. Suddenly, water was pouring through his ceiling onto his bed and all over his apartment. A pipe on the tenth floor had broken in a wall. Peter's whole life was changed. He was suddenly homeless. His routines were shattered. His belongings were destroyed or damaged. All this happened in minutes. The rest of the large metropolis around him was indifferently unaffected by the disruption of his whole world.

Exercising the mind and spirit to accommodate to change in daily practice is essential to develop the skills to deal with crisis. Crisis is inevitable, no matter how prepared we are. Life itself is change.

Proposition 8

The narrow success of Proposition 8 in California must be a great blow to those LGBT people who look to the heterosexual culture for approval. It is also a blow to those LGBT people who expect normal civil rights. It is a hostile denial of those human rights by heterosexuals who still need to think they are superior to someone....anyone. The large support for Proposition 8 in the African-American and Latino-American communities of Southern California has been seen by some analysts as the tipping point for the success of the proposition. The timing is so unfortunate, when many LGBT people enthusiastically helped elect Barack Obama president.

While individuals cannot change the disappointing outcome of such a test of humanity in the polls, individual LGBT people and those who support them can adopt a practice of unwavering out-ness and unwavering vocal support for LGBT civil rights. This is the best way to educate those insecure people who are ignorant of the common humanity they share with LGBT people. They may eventually be taught that denying the humanity of any human being lessens their own humanity.

Meanwhile, I encourage my LGBT brothers and sisters to live in strengthened solidarity and community. We need to stop allowing this wedge issue of heterosexual approval to wedge us apart. We need to be aware of each other in the public space. We need to acknowledge each other and be open to each other in the public space. By showing those frightened by us that we are among them and are social human beings, we can also educate. Wear a gay button on your jacket. Wear a rainbow. Put your arm on your friend's or partner's or spouse's shoulder. Smile at other LGBT people when you see them. Just smile. Let us make the world as friendly as we can for each other. It's the least we can do while we wait for the world to join us in our happiness with who we are.

Obama

This is a wonderful day in America. Those who stand for equality, social justice and economic justice have defeated those who stand for aristocracy, selfishness, and greed by a narrow margin. However, that narrow margin can make the difference between a descent into feudalism and a progression to a new enlightenment.

President-Elect Obama is perhaps the finest public example of practice I have seen in my lifetime. His moderation, deliberation and obviously sincere commitment to right action for the people are signs of a personal practice which must go deep.

I take his example to heart. I incorporate that inspiration into my own practice.

This is how we, as human beings, can evolve together. By sharing the strengths of our individual practices, we can do great things. But, we must support those in our lives who are committed to practice. And, we must educate those around us who have yet not committed to an evolutionary practice of their own by our example and sharing.