LITTLE EASTERS

Happy Easter, the ‘Super Bowl of Christianity’!

The day Christians celebrate the Resurrection, and the promise of eternal life.

But a day for all of us – Christian or non – to ask ourselves: Why am I still here?

A very appropriate moment of Easter reflection, as we contemplate the ultimate sacrifice, and our paths forward.

As an aside, how irritated is God that we commemorate the ultimate sacrifice with a new bonnet? Or a Cadbury cream egg? Though, I keep telling myself that brunch Bloody Marys are praiseworthy.

Even if you’re a non-believer, Easter signals rebirth:

Your body may decay, but you have the opportunity to renew yourself mentally and spiritually.

Our inner lives can be refreshed each day.

Those were the two most profound things written in my high school yearbook. Most of the other entries concerned “wild times” and will likely submarine my chance of becoming a Supreme Court justice.

Speaking of rebirth and personal renewal, how’d your New Year Resolutions work out? Lenten sacrifices?

Mine too. But I’m still on my weight loss track; all I have left are the 25 pounds in June.

Easter is a perfect time for taking a moment to reflect, but isn’t every Holiday?

Arbor Day, when we pause to appreciate nature and the trees Johnny Appleseed planted, and renew our love of sod. Unfortunately, this will be Johnny’s last year as part of Arbor Day, as historians have learned that he ‘tree hugged’ in an inappropriate and/or threatening manner.  

Presidents Day, which no longer honors any particular President, as historians have learned that each of them ‘Executive Ordered’ something or someone in an inappropriate and/or threatening manner. But upon reflection, we can still use a day off.

Labor Day, which originally honored those who give birth, but since that is apparently no longer limited to women, was repurposed to honor the American worker. However, since virtually every American worker has resigned, the Holiday is now a celebration of Lamazing someone in an inappropriate and/or threatening manner.

But reflection is due on the central question of the day: “Why am I still here?”

Part of life is death; death being the reason we don’t take all this for granted. Part of God’s brilliant design.

Our reaction to death evolves over time:

When we are young, we are invincible, death a rarity, and the reaction shock and surprise.

As we age it occurs more frequently, with daily updates in the Obituaries, aka “The Irish Sports pages’, on which of our friends and/or family have departed.      

Followed by sadness and that “Why them and not me?” moment.

The younger me might have attempted to answer that question, but that’s up to each of us.

But in return for more time, it is our obligation as humans to use it wisely, keep growing, continue being reborn. Every day is a gift from God, and we honor Him, and ourselves, by making the most of it.

The opportunity for rebirth is not confined to Easter Sunday – – life should be a series of Little Easters, as we challenge ourselves to continue growing each day.

The younger me might have tried to answer how to approach the challenge of rebirth, but that’s up to each of us.
All I can leave you with is a thought from ‘The Shawshank Redemption’:

 Andy Dufresne: “Remember Red, hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies”

Red: “Get busy living, or get busy dying”

Happy Easter!

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Jesus Christ was an only child   Modest Mouse

Well Jesus Christ was an only child
He went down to the river, And he drank and smiled

And his dad was oh-so-mad
Should have insured that planet
Before it crashed

Working real hard to make internet cash
Work your fingers to the bone sitting on your ass

I know now what I knew then
But I didn’t know then what I know now

Penny found out as her hair was styled
Well you should hide you kids, While the dogs run wild

Jesus Christ was an only child
He went down to the river, And he drank and smiled
And his dad was oh-so-mad
Should have killed that little guy
Before he even had

Well Jesus Christ was an only child
He went down to the river, And he drank and smiled

And his dad was oh-so-mad
Should have insured that planet
Before it crashed

Well I know now what I knew then, yeah
I know now what I knew then, yeah

A Man/Me/Then Jim  Rilo Kiley

I had one friend in high school,
Recently he hung himself with string., His note said, ‘If living is the problem,
Well, that’s just baffling.’
And at the wake I waited around
To see my ex first love,
And I barely recognized her,
But I knew exactly what she was thinking of.

We sat quietly in the corner,, Whispering close about loss.
And I remembered why I loved her,
And I asked her why I drove her off.

She said, “The slow fade of love,, Its soft edge might cut you
And our poor friend Jim, well, he just lived within
The slow fade of love.”

A woman calls my house once a week,
She’s always selling things.
Some charity, a phone plan,, Or subscription to a magazine.
And as I turned her down (I always do),
There was something trembling in her voice.
I said, ‘Hey, what troubles you?’

She said, “I’m surprised you noticed., Well, my husband, he’s leaving,
And I can’t convince him to stay., And he’ll take our daughter with him,
She wants to go with him anyway., I’m sorry I’m hard to live with,
Living is the problem for me.
I’m selling people things they don’t want,
When I don’t know what she needs.
He said, ‘The slow fade of love,
And its mist might choke you.
It’s my gradual descent into a life I never meant.
It’s the slow fade of love.”

I was driving south from Melrose.
I happened upon my old lover’s old house.
I found myself staring at the closed up door
Like the day she threw me out.
“Diana, Diana. Diana, I would die for you.
I’m in love with you completely,
I’m afraid that’s all I can do.”

She said, “You can sleep upon my doorstep,
You can promise me indifference, Jim.
But my mind is made up, And I’ll never let you in again.
For the slow fade of love.
It might hit you from below.
It’s your gradual descent into a life you never meant.
It’s the slow fade of love.”
Baby, It’s the slow fade of love.

Scarlet Begonias  Grateful Dead

As I was walkin’ ’round Grosvenor Square
Not a chill to the Winter but a nip to the air
From the other direction, she was calling my eye
It could be an illusion, but I might as well try, might as well try

She had rings on her fingers and bells on her shoes
And I knew, without askin’, she was into the blues
She wore scarlet begonias tucked into her curls
I knew right away she was not like other girls, other girls

In the thick of the evening, when the dealing got rough
She was too pat to open and too cool to bluff
As I picked up my matches and was closing the door
I had one of those flashes I’d been there before, been there before

Well, I ain’t always right, but I’ve never been wrong
Seldom turns out the way it does in a song
Once in a while, you get shown the light
In the strangest of places if you look at it right

Well, there ain’t nothing wrong with the way she moves
Scarlet begonias or a touch of the blues
And there’s nothing wrong with the look that’s in her eyes
Had to learn the hard way to let her pass by, let her pass by

Wind in the willow’s playin’ “Tea For Two”
The sky was yellow, and the sun was blue
Strangers stoppin’ strangers just to shake their hand
Everybody’s playing in the heart of gold band, heart of gold band

If I should fall from grace with God  The Pogues

If I should fall from grace with God
Where no doctor can relieve me
If I’m buried ‘neath the sod
But the angels won’t receive me
Let me go, boys
Let me go, boys
Let me go down in the mud
Where the rivers all run dry

This land was always ours
Was the proud land of our fathers
It belongs to us and them
Not to any of the others
Let them go, boys, Let them go, boys
Let them go down in the mud
Where the rivers all run dry

Bury me at sea
Where no murdered ghost can haunt me
If I rock upon the waves
No corpse shall lie upon me
Coming up threes, boys
Coming up threes, boys
Let them go down in the mud
Where the rivers all run dry

If I should fall from grace with God
Where no doctor can relieve me
If I’m buried ‘neath the sod
So the angels won’t receive me
Let me go, boys, Let me go, boys
Let me go down in the mud
Where the rivers all run dry

Gotta Serve Somebody  Bob Dylan  Check out the cover by Etta James!

You may be an ambassador to England or France
You may like to gamble, you might like to dance
You may be the heavyweight champion of the world
You may be a socialite with a long string of pearls

But you’re gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeed
You’re gonna have to serve somebody
Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you’re gonna have to serve somebody

You might be a rock ‘n’ roll addict prancing on the stage
You might have drugs at your command, women in a cage
You may be a business man or some high-degree thief
They may call you doctor or they may call you chief

But you’re gonna have to serve somebody, yes you are
You’re gonna have to serve somebody (serve somebody)
Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you’re gonna have to serve somebody

You may be a state trooper, you might be a young Turk
You may be the head of some big TV network
You may be rich or poor, you may be blind or lame
You may be living in another country under another name

But you’re gonna have to serve somebody, yes you are
You’re gonna have to serve somebody (serve somebody)
Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you’re gonna have to serve somebody (serve somebody)

You may be a construction worker working on a home
You may be living in a mansion or you might live in a dome
You might own guns and you might even own tanks
You might be somebody’s landlord, you might even own banks

But you’re gonna have to serve somebody (serve somebody)
Yes, you’re gonna have to serve somebody (serve somebody)
Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you’re gonna have to serve somebody (serve somebody)

You may be a preacher with your spiritual pride
You may be a city councilman taking bribes on the side
You may be workin’ in a barbershop, you may know how to cut hair
You may be somebody’s mistress, may be somebody’s heir

But you’re gonna have to serve somebody
Yes, you’re gonna have to serve somebody (serve somebody)
Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you’re gonna have to serve somebody (serve somebody)

Might like to wear cotton, might like to wear silk
Might like to drink whiskey, might like to drink milk
You might like to eat caviar, you might like to eat bread
You may be sleeping on the floor, sleeping in a king sized bed

But you’re gonna have to serve somebody (serve somebody) yes indeed
You’re gonna have to serve somebody (serve somebody)
Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you’re gonna have to serve somebody

You may call me Terry, you may call me Timmy
You may call me Bobby, you may call me Zimmy
You may call me R.J., you may call me Ray
You may call me anything but no matter what you say

Still, you’re gonna have to serve somebody (serve somebody)
Yes, you’re gonna have to serve somebody (serve somebody)
Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you’re gonna have to serve somebody
Ah, yeah
(Serve somebody)