My friend Josh Patterson sends out an e-mail once a week to a group of people who do a work-out together. He always adds some great life insight and this week’s bit about Memorial Day was too good to not pass on. We at Jedidiah strive to fit into this group of thinkers that Josh mentions…people who can be change and be the difference. Thanks Josh.
Do you find it interesting that we make most holidays about us? If we take the two incredibly significant holidays like Christmas and Easter on the calendar and, more often than not, make them about us, then you can be sure holidays like Martin Luther King, Jr. or Memorial Day will be little more than a long weekend.
Did you do anything to commemorate and remember the struggle for racial harmony that MLK lost his life for? As a as American, should we not echo that we too have a dream? Is this not a day that we have the opportunity to reflect and remember the plight of the oppressed and teach our children that all colors bleed into one? What about Memorial Day? Will we remember the countless number of men and women who gave up their lives to honor, protect and serve ours? Or, will today have been about boating, lounging by the pool and grilling out?
The calendar has built in days set aside to reflect and remember. They are placeholders designed as teaching opportunities for the next generation as we commemorate our rich heritage. This doesn’t mean that all holidays are created equal or that cookouts, extended weekends or gifts are bad. It does mean that we have a innate proclivity to make life about us. Holidays are opportunities to turn our focus toward something greater, something communal and something significant.
So don’t cheapen today by simply making it about barbecues and burgers. Dare to discuss the realities of sacrifice, self-denial and honor. Plant seeds in the hearts of your friends and family about what a true hero looks like. Help your family to dream a little bigger and expect a little more. Think about it. Craft the moment.
A holiday is not a day off; rather, it is a directed day of purposeful remembrance.
