Tradition

Friends,

Tradition! It is difficult for me to think of the word tradition without recalling Zero Mostel as Tevye belting out the song “Tradition” from Fiddler on the Roof.  In the spoken prologue to the song he says: 

"Here in Anatevka we have our traditions for everything, and because of our traditions, we've kept our balance for many years: how to eat, how to sleep, how to work, even how to wear clothes.
You may ask, how did these traditions get started?
I'll tell you...I don't know
But it's a tradition
Because of our traditions
Everyone knows who he is and what God expects him to do."

Each of us, of course, has their own traditions. Traditions, it is said, are our roots that allow our trees to grow.  We can assume very nation, every community, every family, every person has their own traditional rites and customs that, granted, may be both life-giving or self-defeating. In any case the variations of these traditions are the roots that stabilize and sustain us throughout our lives even as they must evolve to represent the changes all around us

I am writing this evening from the small family lakeside cabin in Maine that I have owned for 56 years. This little refuge, as you can imagine, now has traditions that have evolved over the years - repeated practices that define our various traditions such as: blueberry pancakes, being both delighted and haunted by the nighttime calls of the loons, daring dives off nearby Turtle Rock, quiet reading in the hammock, certain board games, conversations and s'mores around the fire - and perhaps most importantly, the grace of TV-less intimate time together in a very small space. You may want to add your version of the traditions from your own life and experience . 

In these past few days of solitude I have been gently immersed back into the memories of those traditions and the lives I have shared in this "Place Just Right,” its newly coined name.  And the best part for me now as I age is to see how the life here will continue to develop new traditions. Traditions provide the roots of our lives, but they also must accommodate change so that the trees of our lives can grow and bear and continue to bear fruit for the generations to come lest they become moribund or forgotten.

Now, of course, our society is being uprooted from many traditions and history that have often stabilized the democratic experiment that has been held together with a commons of  democratic governance and at least a modicum of support from those of us who observed the law, disagreed with one another without demonizing or rejecting “the other,” and who can be expected to change nonviolently. Sadly, the current state of governmental affairs has drastically abandoned that process as we strive to fend off an authoritarian regime.

I close this evening with wish for you to also have the time and place to reflect on the traditions in your lives and how they guided and impacted you on your life’s journey. May you realize how grateful you are for all of the traditions that have sustained and nurtured you over the years as a blessing and grace to your life.
Peace.
Tom

Click on the image below to listen to the song, "Tradition" in its entirety.
Tip: the YouTube page will open with an ad.  To skip the ad, just pause a moment and a [Skip] button will display in the lower right hand corner of the screen.  Click on this button and you will see the image below. Click inside the image and the song will play.