 Easter Sunday was a lovely day for a number of reasons (great food, company, laughs, egg hunts, Lucy cuddles) but I have to say I think my favorite moment came just as we were all sitting down to eat a delicious brunch feast at B&D's family style dinner table. As the platters of food were being passed around, a light religious conversation was struck, mostly about the differences in the cultures, traditions, and histories within each believed path to God (we had both a Buddhist and Jew in our company, which is just so San Francisco Easter of us). Eventually the religion talk led to current events revolving around the Supreme Court's involvement in marriage laws and it was concluded we were all strongly on the same page regarding how we hoped their decisions played out (no surprise there). I took the opportunity in that moment to share a piece of writing on the subject that really resonated with me just that morning. Kinda random, I know, but it was on the actor Dax Shepard's blog. I'd stumbled upon his new site earlier that day via another blog I frequent, and I immediately loved his message: "I suppose it’s because some people, out of a sense of loyalty, will always chose respect over truth. They will defend a lie if it somehow honors this bigger thing they are committed to, or to perpetuate some hero-worship. That would be great if there really were infallible people or concepts. But there aren’t. People are messy, and the world is messy. We have to constantly reevaluate. We have to think and discuss and try to make the best decision based on whatever new information comes to light. Sure we would have sent our kids over to Mike Jackson’s house for a sleepover between “Off The Wall” and “Thriller,” but not between “HiStory” and “Invincible.” No way. Things change and we can’t be blindly committed to earlier decisions.
Lastly, our “Founding Fathers” are not mythical creatures. They’re not deities. They were just men, and the collective intelligence has not plummeted since 1775. In fact, by most indicators: infant mortality, life expectancy, literacy rates, education level, human rights, we are quite a few steps ahead of them. So we shouldn’t fear making our own decisions. We shouldn’t strive to honor historic decisions in the face of obvious contradictions and concrete data for the sake of piety. We should believe in ourselves and our ability to be compassionate and judicious. I don’t want to live in a world where we think all of our best thinking is behind us. I want to live in a world where the future holds dazzling and mind-boggling solutions to yet-unseen challenges. I want us to be open to that." -Dax Shepard All parties nodded, mmhmm'd and collectively Amen-ed! around our communal table; it was our version of church that rainy Sunday--just a couple of friends cherishing our time and freedom to be together, giving thanks for the bounties life has provided us so far. And as I finished reading aloud this short sentiment from an unexpected source, Kim raised her glass to say "I will toast to that!"...and we each smiled, cheers'ed, clinked our cups and (probably, because I know at least I did) sent out mental good vibes for the possibilities within a dazzling future, if we are open to it. love and light for all, Trish
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