By Sister Mary Scholastica, O.C.D.
For many of us, this day means a day of relaxation, enjoying family, hosting a BBQ, watching fireworks or setting off some yourself, enjoying company, eating good food, a day of rest. Yes, it can be and is all these things.
With the passage of time, whatever happens in any given moment continues to shift and changes meaning, it’s true impact becomes blurred with the passage of time. Who among us today, when enjoying the 4th of July, sit back and reflect upon the forefathers of this country who suffered through the American revolution and fought for freedom. Have you? I certainly haven’t. There is something quite sad about this.
It’s not to say that we can’t enjoy the moment and the blessings of what is before us today. But there is something fundamentally tragic when the connective tissue of what came to pass and the depth of what that moment stands for gets lost through the years. It happens all the time. Families with rich histories of grandparents or parents who suffered and overcame struggle and loss and grew in greatness of stature because of their life experience who are then followed generations who experience these blessings and only know it as a fact of life, solely from their perspective of the present day, taking these blessings for granted. All we need to do is reflect on something we labored over only to find someone else years later discard it because it was “meaningless”. It truly happens all the time.
How amazing this world would be if we were able to see the links that connect past to present and give the present a depth of beauty and meaning that the present in and of itself could not adequately capture or reflect. How truly amazing.
So, this Independence Day, look around you. Reflect on the greatness of this country, regardless of all that has taken place over the years and regardless of what is happening now, reflect on the ordinary people who make up this country and what this country stands for. Remember the sacrifice of so many that makes it possible for us to enjoy the liberties we do today. Look around you. The people with whom you are enjoying the day. Reflect upon their stories and how the richness of who they are as people is tied to their whole story, both past and present. Each story has some aspect of struggle, change and growth. Reflect upon the blessings of your family. Every family has their “stuff”. There is no perfect family today and there never will be in the future. But even all the “stuff” seen through the lens of the links from past to present, brings about space for healing, forgiveness, and gratitude because beyond the surface of what we know today…peeling back layer upon layer…there is richness to be found. We just can’t see it. We won’t fully know the whole of it on this side of heaven, but with this perspective, your Independence Day can be a richer one. Your life would be a richer one.
God bless you and all your loved ones today and every day, and God bless America
