Tradition
I've been thinking. Ask anyone who knows me, and they will tell you that it's a dangerous thing for me to be thinking.
I have always bridled when people who I work with use the excuse that something "has always been done that way" to justify their actions. I see that as a dare... someone drawing a line and teasing me to cross it and find a different way to do things better, simpler, more efficiently. Sometimes it works, sometimes I'm just pounding my head against a wall. Lately I have been feeling that same challenge in my personal life. This year, with a whole lot of help from people around me, I've been challenged with changing the status quo in every aspect of my life.
With the holiday season approaching, I realize that a lot of the traditions that I've clung to with regard to celebrating are just echoes of a life that's passed into the history books. I do some things to honor people who I loved who are long gone, even if I'm the only one who gets it. The symbolism is lost on those around me, and frankly, I don't need the action to honor the loved one. There are people around me who I want to celebrate the present with rather than spending my time missing the past.
It occurred to me that a lot of traditions come with expectations and expectations often lead to disappointment. There is so much right here in the present, in my friends and my family and the world around me, to celebrate and enjoy, that it doesn't make sense to get lost in what we used to do or where we used to go last year, or five, ten or more years ago. Comparing the present to the past - not good. The present is full of possibilities for the future. The past is full of memories, lessons and laughter that we can't go back and relive. So why try to recreate them, let's move on and see what's next.
See - thinking... and sensing that line in the sand, drawn to challenge me to grow and be more than I am.
I have always bridled when people who I work with use the excuse that something "has always been done that way" to justify their actions. I see that as a dare... someone drawing a line and teasing me to cross it and find a different way to do things better, simpler, more efficiently. Sometimes it works, sometimes I'm just pounding my head against a wall. Lately I have been feeling that same challenge in my personal life. This year, with a whole lot of help from people around me, I've been challenged with changing the status quo in every aspect of my life.
With the holiday season approaching, I realize that a lot of the traditions that I've clung to with regard to celebrating are just echoes of a life that's passed into the history books. I do some things to honor people who I loved who are long gone, even if I'm the only one who gets it. The symbolism is lost on those around me, and frankly, I don't need the action to honor the loved one. There are people around me who I want to celebrate the present with rather than spending my time missing the past.
It occurred to me that a lot of traditions come with expectations and expectations often lead to disappointment. There is so much right here in the present, in my friends and my family and the world around me, to celebrate and enjoy, that it doesn't make sense to get lost in what we used to do or where we used to go last year, or five, ten or more years ago. Comparing the present to the past - not good. The present is full of possibilities for the future. The past is full of memories, lessons and laughter that we can't go back and relive. So why try to recreate them, let's move on and see what's next.
See - thinking... and sensing that line in the sand, drawn to challenge me to grow and be more than I am.