Isn’t it an interesting thing that our “economy” is holding its breath hoping that we will all go out on the day after Thanksgiving and spend lots of money on things we don’t need. I’m feeling bashed by the ads encouraging me to spend, spend, spend. I keep thinking about the words I wrote in Re-Visioning Adolescence (which I recently uploaded here chapter by chapter)–about how we are teaching our children to become consumers instead of contributors. Children need so much more than stuff, and I really think they need to find their own value as human beings participating in this thing we call life.
Today, at the college center, there was a memorial luncheon going on when I got there. The memorial was for an amazing young man who taught classes for us and whose wife was formerly a student of mine. Dacotah was 29 and working hard to maintain a traditional Lakota life in this fast-paced, modern world. He died suddenly from a seizure. I was supposed to be doing final testing for students but suddenly it felt like were were all in a sacred chapel and testing was the last thing on my mind. I listened as Dacotah’s mother talked about how when her son was 10, he decided he needed to Sundance. His elders tried to tell him that he was too young, but he insisted he needed to do this. During the Sundance, when Dacotah was struggling to go on, two of his relatives (both ten years old) made flesh offerings to help Dacotah sustain his strength for the duration. This was an amazing young man willling to sacrifice much.
I guess, on this Thanksgiving Eve, my thoughts are with this powerful young man and the family he left behind. We all need to make more sacrifices and be willing to do the difficult instead of just what is easy and pain-free. There is so much that needs to be done to make our culture strong and healthy again. Keep your wallets in your pockets and let your children (or yourself) discover who you are without all the stuff. I think we pack it in because we are afraid to look at who we are on the inside.
Do something for someone else tomorrow. And the next day, and the next day, and the next.
Good night and many blessings for all.
Jamie