Why do we associate spider webs with spookiness and Halloween? Is it just because the biggest garden spiders are more active in the fall, or is there some deeper reason why these helpful agents of pest control have such a negative reputation? Who else around you might be unjustly getting the blame?
Who are you tempted to think of as dangerous, without any evidence behind your fear?
Who do I think dangerous without any evidence? Well, perhaps it could be a person who watches me closely to see what I’m doing or where I’m going or when I’m doing something. This could prove to be a good defense mechanism; however, it could be just a time when someone is curious, envious, bored with other things, to name a few reasons. Often (but not always) we attribute a reason to someone’s action that may turn out to be entirely false. It is a two edged sword.
I have been thinking about the fifth of the Ten Commandments: Honor thy Father and Mother. UU’s are apt to refer to themselves as “recovering Catholics” or recovering whatever we inherited from our families or backgrounds.
My own focus has tended to be on White Supremacy and the honoring the departed Confederacy and such like. I can’t and shouldn’t deny that these elements of my heritage were and are really bad. That said, I now think that we should “honor” our particular heritage as much the positive elements such as industry, fiscal responsibility, and kindness to people that they actually knew personally allows us to. For one thing such honoring tends to counter bitterness and unhappiness in remembering.