Awesome Mystery or Toxic Wonder
And so begins the season of wonder. The time of year when we slow down, give thanks, give presents, and relish in the bliss of the season.
Oh, what, what? Black Friday started a week early, this year?
Oh right, Halloween began in August, so that made September insignificant, and Thanksgiving? Oh yeah, that holiday.
I don’t know about you, but I’m too focused on the Christmas decorations literally EVERYWHERE, and the sales. The sales!
How could I possibly give thanks right now, let alone take part in this food festival that conveniently minimizes this nation’s most egregious offense: the systematic erasure of Native Americans?
But I digress.
I’m trying to reconnect with the wonder of the season.
Remember that? Wonder.
Wonder is synonymous with awesome mystery, amazed admiration, and rapt attention. Seems the only thing enrapturing our attention these days is our need to pacify ourselves with things. Stuff. Purchases.
It does feel good to get that thing you’ve had your eye on, but that excitement is going to fade. The dopamine for that new sweater will eventually be replaced by that of a new pair of shoes.
And on and on.
What also has our attention right now is the demise of the institutions and the puppets that create them. Show of hands for those who check into Twitter now to see if it’s been shut off?
Anyone else feel like the race for the control of the U.S. House of Representatives was just that? A race. How did a standard political contest get reduced to a blood sport; a street fight for the soul of the nation?
It’s not really, but our media would have us believe that. The same way the advertisers that pay for that media want us to believe that we have to buy it all RIGHT NOW lest we fail our loved ones.
Neither of these things—the commercialization of would be religious and civic holidays, plus the erosion of things like social media platforms and governmental systems long overdue for reform—are in need of such deep attention.
What we ought to be focused on are the people and communities right in front of us. What’s more important? The fate of Elon Musk and the social media platform that’s more toxic than it is inspirational, or the health and well-being of your loved ones?
What really matters? Whether the Republican Party decides to lick Trump’s boots again—well, actually yeah, that matters—but do we need to base everything, all the time, on these things that only give us a false, albeit toxic sense of wonder?
This season, I’m looking for wonder—the kind you get from watching birds, stargazing, or seeing a baby smile and coo. My plan is not to seek wonder in the places the media and advertisers say it is.
Will you join me? And can we try this all year ‘round, not just this moment, this hectic, rushed, overdone time of the year?
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This Post is republished on Medium.
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Photo credit: Unsplash
