95% of the population have no idea why they think the thoughts that go through their heads on a daily basis, or why they do the actions that they do. You never think or do anything "Just because." Never. There is always a reason.
Michael says: "This story really isn't about turkeys. It's about everything you do in your life. Do you do it, or more importantly, NOT do it, 'Just because somebody else before you did it, or didn't do it'? Since none of our families have lived in Morocco for many generations, for example, and our lives are a conglomerate of many customs and traditions, I hereby declare you free from doing mindless repetitions of things you don't even think about, and to use your brain cells to make an educated distinction between which behaviors that you do on a regular basis that are worth keeping, and those that need re-examined, altered, or altogether eliminated from your life. If you need the Wizard of Oz to give you a declaration, there! You have it! But much like Dorothy, you already have the power within you do make whatever changes you deem necessary to your lives. Just because your Mother, Father (insert relative!) 'always did it' doesn't mean you are obliged to do so! I shudder to imagine even for a second the dark, self-constricted world I would live in, and what a bitter, bored person I would be if I mindlessly copied and relived the behaviors, beliefs and thoughts that were handed down to ME! Good God! Those were the FIRST to go!
Please don't misunderstand the intend of this barrage.
I find nothing more respectful, more traditional and more beautiful than religious / ceremonial or arts and crafts traditions that have been handed down for THOUSANDS of years. (Buddhism, for example, is 600 years older than Christianity, and Hinduism is about the same age as Judaism, which is thousands of years older than Christianity.)
My personal belief system is composed of a motley of beliefs, ranging from Buddhism, Hinduism, Jewish, Christian, Native American and Wicca - just to name a few. I don't believe than any one of these groups has the ENTIRE answer to life. I do believe they ALL have a part of the answer, and some of these religions, traditions and beliefs have more of the "Answer to life" than the others. Don't be fooled. In my mind's eye, the ratio to which belief has more of the truth that I follow than the others is probably not in the same proportions as you would suspect. (Hint: Christianity, just as an example, is not at the top of the list!)
HOWEVER… it’s about more than religion. Much more. In fact, debating religious beliefs is not at all the intent of this entry. My purpose is much more simply stated than that. If I say “We need to reexamine the reason we do the activities (believe the beliefs and think the thoughts) that we do on a daily basis.”, it is all too easy for someone to think that I am talking about ANYONE but them. Oh, no. Let me rephrase that:
“YOU need to reexamine ALL the reasons that YOU do ALL the activities, believe the beliefs and think the thoughts that YOU do on a daily basis.”,
The moral(s) of this saga:
1) You are not bound by what any of your ancestors may or may not have done in the past - you are FREE to roam about the cabin!
2) Get a bigger pan for the turkey, and stop mindlessly cutting the poor thing's legs off! (Substitute "turkey" for any behavior, belief or thought that you knowingly - or unknowingly! - repeat without first examining it!
- Michael
