Hubby and I just finishedwatching DANCES WITH WOLVES for probably the 20th timesince the movie was released 34 years ago. Has it really been thatlong? Even so, DANCES WITH WOLVES remains important to history and toNative American life of the past. Any young people who do not knowmuch about our Native Americans would do well to watch DANCES WITHWOLVES. 

 

        The reason I mention this isbecause something different from the magnificent scenery and historyin the movie struck me while viewing it this time. In one scene theSioux tribe involved decides to move camp, and in just minutes theytake down their tepees and load them onto horses and travois, gathertheir remuda of horses and leave. What impressed me is how fast ourNative Americans could pick up and move everything. And that isbecause they did not need anything more than their buffalo skinhouses and the poles they cut to raise them … nothing more than theclothes on their backs (and most of those were also made of animalskins) … nothing more than pemmican (smoked or dried and poundedmeat) … berries that grew wild … and their bedrolls, utensils andweapons … again, all of it made from animals, trees and plants.

 

      How simple was such a life.Everything they needed came from Mother Earth and Her gifts of plantsand animals … everything they wore, cleansed themselves with,heated and cooked with, ate, and used for weapons. Just think of thetremendous work it is for us today to pick up move to a new home. Ittakes days, sometimes weeks to go through all our materialbelongings, throw out useless junk, give some of it away, pack what’sleft, hire movers to help us haul it to a new home, unpack and putaway our possessions, then consider how much it all cost us. Once itis all in place, we sit down and wearily look at all our “things”and decide if a certain picture or a piece of furniture belongs in adifferent spot. We need to call the electric company, the heatingcompany, the phone company, change our address with the post office,call the credit card banks and take care of a hundred other thingsinvolved with letting these places know we have moved to a newaddress.

 

        Do we really need so much“stuff?” Why are we so obsessed with having lots of “things,”let alone thinking they must be the best brands or prettiest designsor the most expensive “whatevers?” Even the first settlers whoheaded west tried to bring all kinds of possessions along, like bigpieces of furniture that had to be dumped along the way because suchthings made the wagons too heavy to be pulled through the mountains. 

 

        Today Christmas comes withrushing and shopping and spending money, all to give gifts that oftenturn out to be of no real significance to those who receive them.Some of those gifts are returned, and what is kept becomes justanother “possession” for he or she who receives the gift. I donot mean to sound like the Grinch here at all. I just worry that allthe planning and spending at Christmas time has become such a bigbusiness and such a perceived necessity that we lose track of thetrue meaning of Christmas. 

 

        Yes, wise men visited the babyJesus and brought gifts, as the future Savior’s parents rightlydeserved to survive and take care of their child. These were preciousgifts that had meaning at that time. But somehow man interpreted thatgift-giving as meaning we had to do the same for others at Christmas.It is a beautiful idea, but that first gift-giving did not mean thatgenerations later people had to go into worrisome debt to give giftsto each other. And when we do give gifts, we should remember that wedo so as a way of honoring the birth of Jesus, not because littleJohnny wants a new toy, or teenage Cindy wants a pair of cool jeansjust to impress her friends.

 

        The purpose of this blog issimply to remind others that most people are already bogged down withso many possessions that sometimes we build a new storage closet, buya new chest of drawers, or install an outdoor shed to put it all in.And once we do that, how often do use that gift? How often do wesecretly return a gift for something we need more? How important isit to have a house full of “stuff?”

 

        I am just as guilty of havinga house full of “things” as my neighbors, but in watching thoseSioux in DANCES WITH WOLVES gather their necessities and ride off soquickly, thought how nice it would be if it were that easy today. Ihave not moved, and I don’t even plan on it, but at times whenhubby and I talked about getting a new house, the thought of what itwould take to move out of the house we already live in made me decideto stay right where we are. Ugh! Going through the house and all theclosets and drawers and the garage and our shed would be a tremendousproject that I do not have the strength or energy for.  

        So, here I sit tonight,surrounded by all our pretty “things” but realizing none of it isall that important … realizing that somewhere along this trail ofshopping and decorating and baking and buying even more “stuff”for that decorating and for that Christmas meal and for all thosepresents I feel I need to wrap and give away, I forgot what it isreally all about. And that is the reason for this blog … just toremind everyone to give deep thought to the true meaning ofChristmas. It is about family and sharing and thanking God forsending His Son to earth to bring us hope and forgiveness.

 

        MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL OF YOU.May Christmas Day make you thankful for all those gifts, but alsohelp you remember the true meaning of Christmas and the gift-givingthat comes with it. If all you can afford is the gift of love andcaring, that means just as much as a new “thing” that has onlymaterial value.