Reclaiming Our Priorities…

It’s the beginning of the year, the wheels of commerce begin anew. It’ll be Valentines and St. Patrick’s, Easter and Mother’s day, and more all the way ‘til next Christmas. Thinking of it as a whole-yet-to-happen can make one dizzy. In between there’ll be disasters, accidents, unexpected deaths, new conflicts, old ones flaring up. It’s predictable and unpleasant to think about. Yet, whether or not we like it, they will all happen and dictate the use of the media and the flow of what is news. The unfolding of time is beyond anything anyone can control. That is not what disturbs me. What does is how the pattern of our lives is determined by commercial considerations, how the way we shall experience, celebrate or remember these events is influenced by profits, ratings, the priorities of corporate entities for whom our best interest is alien. Somewhere ought we not to reclaim our own priorities and experience, celebrate or remember these milestones according to our own values, not those of others?