dazzle

Before there was the worship of many gods. A god for the sun, a god for the sea, a god for the earth. The environment was respected. It was the giver of life. The elements were precious. Peoples were primitive and combative. Some sacrificed others, there was war, but they made some of the advances we take for granted today.

Then there was the All-Powerful being. The gods merged to One. He was vengeful and cruel. Those that believed in Him feared and respected Him. He created the sun, the sea, and the Earth. His people were chosen and entitled. They fought to protect their homeland and then prayed and prepared to regain it once it was lost.

The All-Powerful had a Son. He was born and lived, was persecuted, and was killed for our sins. He was a scapegoat for the sins of those before Him and those the followed Him. The All-Powerful became calm and generous. Those that followed the Son had a sense of entitlement. They spread their message and entire empires converted to their beliefs. There was manifest destiny; there was genocide; there was great power for the few and persecution for the rest.

The stories told of His life have been stretched, spliced, and manipulated into the most popular book ever written. The key points of his life, when they fell in the course of a year, were shifted to take the place of pagan celebrations that preceded Him. His words were misconstrued, His message lost. His followers celebrated the Son’s birth and His death. He was worshiped on par with the All-Powerful. He was respected and miraculous. He has been forgotten.

The holidays meant to celebrate His life are now filled with cards for those we barely speak to, obligatory presents for those we care for, and time spent, sometimes begrudgingly, with kin. We sing re-worked carols that fill us with the warmth and nostalgia of the days gone by, but don’t appreciate the happiness therein. We buy material goods to feel better.

The seasons change. Snow covers the litter, rain washes away grime, sunlight sustains life, and the decay of fall sparks the cycle anew. Fires wipe away entire swatches of forest and fertilize a new generation of woodland. The Earth remains, ever changing, erasing the scars of the past and cutting new pathways.

It has survived, grown, and rejuvenated hundreds of times and will continue doing so after we’ve destroyed ourselves. Mountain ranges erode, rise, and crumble, always in motion. Rivers speed up, slow down, meander, carve, and flow continuously from higher altitudes to lower ones. Hundreds of species fall into the dust of history and hundreds more are created as the changing earth requires adaptation to sustain.

The heavily-marketed holiday, filled with half-hearted words and empty gestures, meant to celebrate the birth of the Son of the All-Powerful who gave us everything we now take for granted, will disappear with us. Corporations stretch the holiday season beyond the point of meaning, striving for profits, exploiting goodwill, and catapult us closer to our demise. The gifts given to us by the All-Powerful, or the sequence of incredible events that led to our existence, depending on your beliefs, will remain.