the christmas story is about nomads.
according to mac's dashboard dictionary, the word 'nomad' is from the french in the late 16th c. (that'd be the late 1500s). in french it's 'nomade,' but originally it's 'via latin from greek' - 'nomas'.
its definition: 'roaming in search of pasture' and pasture, it says, is derived from the word 'nemein,' though it doesn't indicate where 'nemein' is from.
nomads believe they have a right to roam. most modern day nomads don't bother with the search for pasture specifically, though some of them appreciate a place their dogs can poo. they just seem to love to wander. or, at least, exist somewhere outside the dominant culture.
people who hold property privately often hate nomads. whether they realize it or not, the very act of attempting to a claim ownership over the god/goddess/creation given earth, air, and water (and everything else that moves) requires a hatred of the nomadic philosophy. and, i suspect, it always has.
and yet there they are, the nomads - front and centre, in the christmas story.
people who believe more fundamentally in the right to ownership of land than the right to wander will cite the fact that gypsies are thieves. i believe this has been overly generalized and, though true of some gypsies, is also true of some landowners. those who believe you can't own the earth would consider those who buy and sell it as thieves.
now don't get me wrong .... i like privacy. i like it a lot. i like knowing that i can live in a space, all by myself, with my own toothbrush and my own computer and my own underwear, and i'm not required to share any of it. i like to believe that i'm not being spied on.
i also like to wander.
somewhere in my heart is a soft spot for those who are able to live without possessions, without fear, having faith only in the moment and believing that whatever they need will somehow be provided or found or prepared or offered up in one form or another.
i don't know what it is about nomads .... maybe they're aliens who've landed on a foreign planet and, instead of searching for its leader in order to either push or beg their way in, have simply taken up residence in whatever available space can be found. or maybe they've evolved from a bazillion years of life on this planet, that has expressed itself in various forms. or maybe it's a bit of both. maybe somewhere in their imaginative psyches, or as a result of their current life experiences and beliefs, or a bit of both, they continue to believe they have a right to occupy land alongside their sisters and brothers. maybe they actually know how to share. maybe they don't feel the need to clutch onto something, with life and limb, from fear it won't be there tomorrow.
i understand both philosophies of being. i respect the need for privacy and stability. i also respect the desire to travel and live free from the trappings.
i thank you for my privacy, but i also appreciate that i can go to the park. i love the beach, and climbing mountains, and hiking in the woods, and sitting on public benches watching nomad ducks in a shared pond. i sometimes enjoy sharing those sorts of experiences with others - except when they try to take it all for themselves. they come along and they stick a sign in the ground and they claim it for their own. then they sell it to their 'friends' and the people at the bank and the lawyers make lots of money and there's an entire economy that grows up around sticking a sign in the ground. and suddenly it's necessary to destroy the nomads.
there are something like 6.5 billion humans on the planet at this very moment, and no doubt more on the way. when i really think about it, i can begin to comprehend how the earth must feel with the weight of it. at this time of year, particularly, and most especially in oak bay village. i swear there isn't an inch of light-free space available on the storefronts in that otherwise quaint little village! no wonder their taxes are so high.
travellers don't tend to accumulate much and, from the earth's perspective, that's a good thing. whereas, those of us who settle .... well it's like a magnet. before you know it you're piled under with stuff. i'm sure there's a good george carlin u-tube about it.
so .... what's the point of all this .... it's christmas. some people are preparing for a christmas mass that tells the story of a pregnant woman, some guy named joseph, and a donkey who travelled for a long time. our ancient friends struggled to find a space of their own when they finally needed to settle for a while. as i understand it, they had to beg some land/property owner for a place where mary could give birth. and then some big freakin' miracle happened. we'll never really know what all that was about. but it's worthing pondering. (we're allowed to do that now).
merry christmas eve.
