Saguaro Wanderings: Seeing 2011 (#182)

Sunday, December 18, 2011

Seeing 2011 (#182)

For your consideration . . .

'Tis the Season, eh?

Ah, the sweetness of plastic Santas, elves, reindeer and snowmen aglow in front yards, on roof tops and in mall windows; homes and retail edifices resplendent in multicolored lights; freeways and shopping center car lots similarly infused with (mostly red) , in the form of brake (but few signal) indicators and hot tempers . . . the annual ritualistic quest for parking spaces and harvesting of those requisite perfect gifts (especially on sale!) . . . and let's not forget the ubiquitous caroling, descending from speakers in elevators, display rooms and food courts . . . electronic voices well-honed and practicing since, oh, at least Halloween, no?

Yes, the hastened rush, as another calendar's close swiftly approaches, to check off all the names on the lists and fill the economy's coffers with hard earned coin and associated spreadsheets with positive numbers.

That time of year again.

So here I propose a pause, no matter momentary, to reflect upon the superficiality of so much of the trappings (increasingly elaborate on the whole), and to genuinely consider a matter far more crucial to glad tidings and cheer — the fabric of life, the most precious, sustaining (and often elusive) gift of all . . . the window into the soul's true yearnings.