'Tis the season to...
... well, I'm not sure anymore. I do know that being brought up in a nominally Christian school, and in a country that once paused at the end of the year to assess itself, that it used to be the Season of Peace and Goodwill To All Men (which we should now read as 'to all people' as gender equality legislation should suggest that women too are permitted peace and goodwill, except not on the big day itself when they have to come up with an enormous and perfect family meal).
Then it seemed to become the Season To Be Jolly. It's not quite on a par with achieving global peace, and pushing ourselves to be better people, but in a society of high levels of stress, trauma and depression it was not wholly inappropriate.
But lately, lately, it's now the Season to be Gorgeous. According to Boots in their new advertising campaign (and yes, I get that their strapline is about selling cosmetics etc), Christmas is now all about hair, make-up and spangly lycra. Because of course, that is what all we women aspire to (and according to gender equality legislation, probably men too), and what brings (short-term) meaning to our lives. Do I sound cynical? I don't mean to. Because I really do think that we are indulging in parties and creating delicious good looks for a sense of instant fulfilment and momentary happiness, that masks the fact that we no longer, as a collective, seem to aspire if even for a day or month for the lofty goals of peace and goodwill.
We dream these days to be good looking and sexy. There's nothing wrong with that, but it's pretty low on the scale of the totality of what human beings can aspire to and achieve. I think we should advocate a return to the Season of Peace and Goodwill as a marker of our aspirations. As they sang in Happy Talk "You've got to have a dream, if you don't have a dream, how you gonna have a dream come true?"
Then it seemed to become the Season To Be Jolly. It's not quite on a par with achieving global peace, and pushing ourselves to be better people, but in a society of high levels of stress, trauma and depression it was not wholly inappropriate.
But lately, lately, it's now the Season to be Gorgeous. According to Boots in their new advertising campaign (and yes, I get that their strapline is about selling cosmetics etc), Christmas is now all about hair, make-up and spangly lycra. Because of course, that is what all we women aspire to (and according to gender equality legislation, probably men too), and what brings (short-term) meaning to our lives. Do I sound cynical? I don't mean to. Because I really do think that we are indulging in parties and creating delicious good looks for a sense of instant fulfilment and momentary happiness, that masks the fact that we no longer, as a collective, seem to aspire if even for a day or month for the lofty goals of peace and goodwill. We dream these days to be good looking and sexy. There's nothing wrong with that, but it's pretty low on the scale of the totality of what human beings can aspire to and achieve. I think we should advocate a return to the Season of Peace and Goodwill as a marker of our aspirations. As they sang in Happy Talk "You've got to have a dream, if you don't have a dream, how you gonna have a dream come true?"
Labels: Christmas
posted by Shelina Zahra Janmohamed at 09:39
3 Comments:
Nothing wrong in saying what you believe in, whether it is about your Maker, your family or that which happens around you. Thanks for showing us that there are still possibilities for anything good, and there are those brave enough to write/talk about it still.
Blessings to you my sister and friend!
great blog. I've linked yours to mine.
http://13martyrs.blogspot.com
I did get your reply, but have been busy to give a response the attention it deserved until now...
With regards to having stopped asking about who, where and how about our identities - I don't think we have stopped asking. A lot of the better ideas just aren't accessible though, its taken me half a decade of education and peeling through books that I'd never heard of before to see what philosophical level the human race is at. I'd say it was more a question of perception than knowledge - "Genius around the world stands hand in hand, one shock of recognition sends the whole circle round" (Art Linkletter) - the answers are always there, but having the confidence to recognise such things is something we often lack. It is always hard to admit our faults as well as congratulating ourselves for our successes.
I DID try to slip that past you, it is true that a conflict between religion and social environment is not "given" although I think it is one of many that people experience. We live in modern times, and our trust is often put into the hands of people who claim to use scientific method to come up with their beliefs. I think a lot of religious people expect conflict with their environment, and deal with it in different ways - including myself.
A social environment is about living together - is that a compromise? To weigh individual desire against the desires of those around you? Feel free to answer that or treat it rhetorically.
If it is a questioning of balancing personal gain versus communal gain (as evolutionary psychologists would have us believe) then that reltionship will be defined by the value that the individual places upon themselves - if I consider myself to be of high value compared to my social environment then I am likely to believe that people would be happy to contribute to my personal goals.
Faith is a sticker idea. To put your faith in an idea is trust that something will happen without tangible guarantee or evidence that it will. Which is why it is often used to convey religion.
I think that individuality and religion are not incompatible - but there is a question around the idea of a religious community. I don't believe that a religious community is necessary but they are very popular.
It seems that much of the ideas we are discussing are about how an individual fits into society, and the role of religion and faith in that.
Religion in todays society tends to strip a person of their individuality, given the rules and regulations, expectations and observances that the individual must surrender to those around themselves.
From what I have seen amongst religious devotees is that this is a double edged sword. They no longer feel the need to be humble to anything in mainstream society, so gain a freedom that many lack - yet at the same time they seek an approval from their religious community that in turn humbles them.
I think Carl Jung's ideas on religion have great merit in this respect - that a person should observe their religion without hte help of others. That way they will never be socially controlled - they will be forced to interpret everything on their own and think for themselves. To question authority.
This still leaves the question of how that person fits into society, but at least they would never feel the need to be obedient to anyone else. They would be free to choose their own understanding of charity without any pressure to accept the ideas of others.
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