RIGHT #11: the Right to CELEBRATE

“The year you were born marks only your entry into the world. The years thereafter are where you show your worth. They are the ones worth celebrating.” ~ inspired by Jarod Kintz

No question, times are hard and many are struggling to merely get by … No question, many of our freedoms are being either abused or curtailed … No question, many are unhappy with their lives — many feel hopeless to change the way the turbulent currents of economic unfairness & political corruption are twisting their everyday; the way the jagged rocks of bigotry & illness & violence are smashing their lives.

No question, life is a tough river to navigate.

AND YET, here too, there is Good News for us all: namely, that life is more than merely facing that river’s rapids & boulders and somehow keeping our head above water — riding out the hard times while waiting for the waters to calm, so we can then sit back, float easily downstream and finally smile.

No my Friends, even in the most violent of torrents, it is always possible to enjoy the ride. Even while being held down underwater and pummeled by forces too powerful to resist, we always have the right — and the ability — to Celebrate the Journey.

Of course, I’m not talking about the traditional ways that we adults distract ourselves with hollow revelry and vacuous entertainments. Our innate Right to Celebrate does not mean the freedom to ignore our problems by “partying hard”, or avoid our challenges by “being entertained”, or dull our pain by getting “high” or “wasted”.

No, true Celebration is remembering to pause often and be thankful to be alive at all; true Celebration means to regularly stop “doing” long enough to look around in awe at the Beauty that always surrounds us; true Celebration means to take time out from our “important” schedules every day at least once to reach out to others in Kindness.

This is The Way that we all once knew, but have somehow forgotten … This is The Way of the Child.

For if you watch toddlers on a playground (or in the woods, or in a classroom, or in the grocery store, or in a garden, or in their rooms) — if you really stop long enough to actually SEE them while they live their lives, you will notice that they just “get it”.

*They take the time to throw themselves completely into their Here&Now; fully amazed by the Beauty of Nature & fully enthralled by the task at hand …

*They are Kind to animals; exuding towards them a delicious mix of curiosity & respect & Love …

*They are Kind to each other; forgiving quickly and playing joyfully — and this regardless of any differences between them in gender, race, social status, religion or sexual orientation …

Simply stated, small children are simply brilliant at celebrating their lives, and they do so by celebrating their living.

How fortunate we are as adults to still be able to the same!
How blessed we are that, no matter what is happening in our lives, we are always allowed to Celebrate life by:

… reaching out to strangers as often as we party with friends & family,

… noticing & soaking up the Beauty of a sunrise (or the majesty of a tree swaying with the wind, or the gracefulness of a bird in flight, or the glory of an endless starry sky) whenever we feel “bored” or “overwhelmed”,

… being grateful simply for being alive (an astounding Gift!) even when having a “bad day”,

… forgiving our enemies even while being attacked or ridiculed,

… giving to others in need, even when our bank accounts are almost empty and are cupboards are almost bare,

… disobeying peacefully all unjust laws and protesting stoically all unjust policies,

… displaying openly our genuine True Self (with acts more than words), despite societal pressures to “be quiet”, “be normal” or “be good”,

… rebuilding our communities with humble acts of courageous Love & selfless Service.

Yes, regular-yet-fleeting moments of revelry & relaxation are fine in & of themselves. And I am certainly not advocating that we all stop “enjoying ourselves” on occasion.

What I AM advocating is that we wake up to the fact that our lives are just as fleeting as those relatively hollow moments of “fun”; that we all only have a few days left to do something Meaning-full with the time we have been given;

… that we all only have a few days left to ease off the vacant partying, and amp up the radical Celebrating.

Today, we have been given a gorgeous day to Celebrate.

Let’s go make the most of it … literally.

“There is neither happiness nor misery in the world; there is only the comparison of one state with another. He who has felt the deepest grief is best able to experience supreme Happiness. We must feel what it is to die, that we may appreciate the enjoyments of living … Live, then, and be happy, beloved children of my heart. And forever remember, that until the day God will deign to reveal the future to humankind, all wisdom is contained in these two words: See & Love.” ~ inspired by Alexandre Dumas