Celebrate The Connection

With all three Abrahamic religions experiencing Holy Days right now, I thought I would come in and give a different take for anyone who may be at a family celebration thinking why am I here.

I have spoken many times about growing up in a Christian household and losing my falling out with the faith. It has made it difficult for me at times to juxtapose my beliefs with the holidays that my family was celebrating.

This year, as I was traveling the US, I missed birthdays, holidays, and family dinners. Some I celebrated alone or with friends and some, I let fall by the wayside almost forgetting that they existed. Nothing like a family dinner which even in my immediate family turns into over thirty people and extended family dinners for major holidays can go up to seventy-five.

It took me a while to understand why I was feeling so forlorn. I mean, for many of these events I don’t believe in the underlying celebration. Today I realized it. It is the connection.

At the heart of every holy day, there is a celebration of connection. Connection to the event, connection to your country, connection to your faith, connection to your family. It is a time to renew bonds, to bid one another acknowledgment that today you are seen, today we are one, today we can celebrate that we made it along this shared path to this light post moment.

It is a reminder to open your heart. To be grateful for all you have been given, all that you have worked for, and all that are beside you that we so often don’t see in our daily lives.

In this moment you are the unique sum of all that is now, all that has come before, and all the possibilities yet to come. That includes your beliefs which are often shaped by those around you, your genes, your experiences, and your environment both on the micro and macrocosms.

So no matter what the day, the excuse that you can make up, or the belief that you have, take a moment to celebrate it all.

Happy National Kickball Day from an award-winning, championship kickball player and sometimes Easter Bunny!

You are loved!

Thank you for that It's a good reminder. I've found that I often care less about the holiday than I do about getting together with family. I mean, yeah, not all families are exactly friendly with each other (there's a few I like to avoid), but the day does offer an excuse to set aside your differences and just be in the same room with them.

My family is primarily Christian, and while I believe in Jesus, I dislike the systematic behavior of the religion. So I feel your pain to some extent with how hard it is to be a Jedi in a family of Christians, though I honestly don't bring it up anymore and try to side with them even if deep down I don't agree.

I digress. Thank you for posting this. It's important to understand what really matters when it comes to holidays.