Look back in my 7th decades of my life, the meaning of holiday has swung like a pendulum depending on the geographical location or what developmental stage I was in.
When young and raising children, keeping up with the current socio-economics, political trend and family shaped the meaning of holidays. Now in the waning years of life, the family is reshaped in the form that I’m not familiar with. And so is the meaning of holidays.
The great energizer, the innate drive to hold and nourish my own creation hesitates at the threshold of the squeaky door and listens searching instead of rushing out. The energizer is shifting her gear.
And the meaning of holidays is shifting following the bio-physical changes. What I once found joyous activities is strenous now. But standing at the threshold of the door and hesitating to step out, the inner world hasn’t reduced its space. The gear shifts again…I hear that the second child at the southern border dies in U.S. custody during the holiday season of 2018.
How can that be? The people walked many many miles to find the comfort of life, comfortable life for their children. I know that. I’m the beneficiary of my grandma and mom who walked and carried me on their backs during the Korean War.
Glitzy neon holiday greetings flash on the sides of building, and the radio reports positive sales, especially on-line, while at the southern border, children die…these children don’t have toys or games. They are looking for basic survival essential food. The artificial border fortified with weaponized soldiers withhold the water and food. This political border is dehumanizing us, because we let the people die by holding them in prison devoid of human decency.
In this holiday and beyond, we need to extend our decency to share resources to be human and be compassionate.
yenna yi 