Tomorrow is Easter Sunday.
It's funny that, although I am not christian, I still feel an affinity for this holiday, like I do for Christmas, Thanksgiving. Our culture is so undeniably Christian based and yet many of us do not participate or rarely participate in the religion itself.
So this is what I propose: it's time for a new tradition. Like when the christians invaded "pagan" countries, and used their holidays to enunciate christian themes, it's time for us to use christian holidays to encorporate our own beliefs.
Originally, Easter was all about the rising of christ. A figure who sacrificed himself for the good of all people. A man or god or both who died and then rose again. Wikipedia defines easter sunday as:
"the Sunday of the Resurrection, Pascha, or Resurrection Day, is the most important religious feast of the Christian liturgical year, observed at some point between late March and late April each year (early April to early May in Eastern Christianity). It celebrates the resurrection of Jesus, which his followers believe occurred on the third day after his death by crucifixion some time in the period AD 27 to 33"
This is what I propose:
Instead of allowing Easter Sunday to sink into the new religion of the free market, a time of candy eggs and consumerism, let us make this holiday more meaningful.
Tomorrow, I will launch a boat on the North Saskatchewan River. It will be a new beginning. We are reborn every second anyways, it can't be that hard. I will use this time to think about ways in which I can devote myself to peace and love in the world. Small ways, for these are the most important. Reduce my opinionist, one-sided view of things. Forgive those that hurt me deeply or otherwise. Work towards cooperation between all people, listening between all people, even if I strongly disagree.
Peace, of course, begins with the individual. We cannot expect peace in the world if we cannot keep it within our community.