Symbolic gestures
I have a confession to make.
I love celebrating holidays.
No matter how cynical and unhappy I seem, I find it absolutely delightful to arbitrarily choose a day and dedicate it to the acknowledgment of some sentiment or other. I hate the Hallmark version, as I think any sensible person would: commercialized holidays are all about guilt, and about spending money to try and relieve that guilt. Nothing about that is likely to bring any joy into the world.
But the genuine celebration of something, that, that I can get behind and push. Leave behind the sneering detachment, the post-modern self-awareness, the sense of I'm so over it, the patronizing superiority, and just be cheerfully aware that today is a festival. It doesn't have to be anything grandin fact it shouldn't, because that starts to build up all sorts of unreasonable expectations, which lead straight back to guilt. Instead, I can wear my costume, perform my own small personal rituals, and be glad that I have a few friends and allies here and there.
So, today, here are the things I did:
Really, I think it's the best Valentine's Day I've had in years.
I love celebrating holidays.
No matter how cynical and unhappy I seem, I find it absolutely delightful to arbitrarily choose a day and dedicate it to the acknowledgment of some sentiment or other. I hate the Hallmark version, as I think any sensible person would: commercialized holidays are all about guilt, and about spending money to try and relieve that guilt. Nothing about that is likely to bring any joy into the world.
But the genuine celebration of something, that, that I can get behind and push. Leave behind the sneering detachment, the post-modern self-awareness, the sense of I'm so over it, the patronizing superiority, and just be cheerfully aware that today is a festival. It doesn't have to be anything grandin fact it shouldn't, because that starts to build up all sorts of unreasonable expectations, which lead straight back to guilt. Instead, I can wear my costume, perform my own small personal rituals, and be glad that I have a few friends and allies here and there.
So, today, here are the things I did:
- Put on my many-buttoned velvet coat, my chain mail, and my barbed wire.
- Mailed valentine postcards to various people.
- Included a postcard addressed to the postal workers in my zip code.
- Handed out a few more cards to people at school, both students and teachers.
- Received in turn a shiny silver valentine with the Incredibles on it, and also some chocolate hearts with fortunes on the wrappers.
- Fried a sausage.
- Thought about chopping nuts, but decided I didn't have time to make cookies.
Really, I think it's the best Valentine's Day I've had in years.