So Serious Saturday #23

Fiction needs a basis in reality. Exercising non-fiction muscles once in a while benefits an active imagination, channeling creative energies as it focuses on a subject. So Serious Saturdays will be an active place for critical essays or writing about reality in the context of real events - even when it is not written on Saturdays.

Type: Philosophical

The Evergreen Season

      Two girls opened their Christmas presents at a KFC. I was watching their excitement as they discovered a "secret" electronic journal and a skipping toy to twirl around their ankles. The older girl kept staring at the stranger staring at her.

       I finally decided to explain myself. "That journal's really cool," I said. "I wanted one of those when I was younger. I'm a bit jealous." 

       I also looked at the younger girl, who held the skipping toy balanced between her arms and the table edge. "That's also a good thing. My brother and I wanted one so bad."  

       The girls, satisfied with my answer, returned to reading the packaging of their new toys; I was not satisfied. I felt a bit guilty.

        And I knew why. 

        I had just told two little girls that I was envious of their toys, as if my envy somehow increased the value of their possessions. I had enforced the idea, perhaps taught, that an item is made more desirable to possess depending on how many other people desire it.

       The same idea permeates all social and electronic media, advertising, even personal relationships: if someone wants something or finds it desirable, I must have it even if I do not have much use for it.

        As gifts are exchanged this holiday season, remember that the best gifts are from the heart, sometimes given out of sacrifice. Envy has no place in the joyous celebration of hope and peace.