Saturday, April 15, 2006

Easter Greetings

My dear friend Irene makes these beautiful Ukranian eggs. She conducts seminars in this skill, and her Easter Eggs are works of art. She made one for me almost thirty years ago, and it's still one of my treasures. She and her husband John live in Connecticut now, and I still miss her terribly every day. However, if you live in Connecticut, you might watch your newspapers for information about John's political plans. And if you're smart, you'll vote for him. Seriously, he's awesome. I would trust him to be in charge of anything and everything I had.

I am daring to wish everyone a Happy Easter, even though I know some of you don't believe in it and certainly don't celebrate it. That's all right. It's important to me, but just because I believe in it, that doesn't necessarily mean that everyone else should automatically think like I do. There are many events considered to be holy and important, all over the planet, by some people. Some of those events and customs I believe in and some of them I do not. Whatever my own beliefs might be, I am always happy, and flattered, and, yes, grateful, to be wished an extra-happy day by someone. Just because I don't personally believe in something that someone else holds to be very important, doesn't mean I can't smile and thank that person for hoping I, too, am happy on his/her important day.

I know that the world is full of pushy belligerant fanatical people whose statement of "have a happy (insert holiday here)" is meant almost entirely as a prelude to a much-wanted argument about theology, but honestly, I really believe that most people who wish us a 'happy whatever' are just nice people who hope we, too, are having a good day on a day they deem extra-important.

To find offense in someone's sincere wish that we have a good day in the name of something that person believes in and holds in vast importance, is the height of boorishness, in my humble opinion. Yes, and worse than boorish. It's an assumption of ulterior motives. Sure, sometimes there are ulterior motives, but not usually. And I do not believe that most of us are that way.

I believe that most people are kind and honest and good. Yes, I've been proven wrong on many individual occasions, but that does not change my overall belief in the goodness of humanity.

To quote Anne Frank: "In spite of everything, I still believe that people are good at heart."

And so, to all of you who are good at heart, and to all of you who are not, I wish you a Happy Easter. If my good wishes offend you, so be it. I will continue to wish you all well in spite of yourselves. I won't argue, because that would negate all the good I am wishing, but I'll continue to wish it.

Therefore, Happy Easter to everyone. May all your chocolate-y dreams come true.

He is risen, indeed.