So Estragon poses to Vladmir in the iconic play, “Waiting for Godot.” This question really struck me when listening to excerpts in a recent NPR interview with the actors who are currently performing it on Broadway.
In our nation of conspicuous consumption, we seem to answer the question by striving for more and more STUFF to keep us happy. While showing property recently, I heard my client’s mother, who hails from an affluent Boston suburb, describe this striving as “a race without a finish line.”
Oh, how true.
The race is never more evident than in the strange ritual of “Black Friday” – ironically following a day of thanksgiving and now, insidiously creeping into the actual holiday itself – a tidbit I only discovered this morning, much to my dismay. (Yes, Toys R Us opens at 5:00 PM on Thursday).
A friend shared the term she coined for this curiosity: “unnecessary retail.” She actually goes forth in the wee hours of Black Friday morning and offers a simple smile to shoppers – without buying anything at all – unless it falls in the category of a “need.” I told her that she has nothing short of a “retail ministry.”
Once when confronted with a woman dissolved into tears over the fact that a toy her son so desperately wanted was sold out, my friend suggested to the woman that perhaps time with her son was a more precious gift.
Therein lies the beauty of my favorite holiday, which Abraham Lincoln proclaimed as a “day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens.” That beauty is time. Time to pause, time to reflect, time to enjoy each other, time to get to know each other, time to feast, time to rest, time to play, time to celebrate.
I learned in a business class I just completed that celebration is apparently a necessary component of creating neural pathways for future success – as well as happiness, I would add. If success is truly measured in relationships, then I encourage you to celebrate those with an unspeakably grateful heart this Thanksgiving.
And at all costs…refrain from unnecessary retail.
– Caroline Watkins
