I avoid Black Friday as if it were the plague.  I used to think it was because I hated the crowds.  Don’t get me wrong, I do hate the crowds…but I think deep down I hate Black Friday because I don’t want it to render null and void, the belief that I have that this is truly the season of good will toward all, and a time to prepare for the entrance of light into the world.  This morning I woke up to the news of record numbers and violence for shoppers that started early on Thanksgiving.  I felt robbed, I felt sick, not because people don’t have a right to the good deal, but because it is beginning to reflect more of who we are as a culture, one obsessed with material goods and not good will toward all.  Stuff matters more and more…and it makes me sad.  It isn’t what the season is about, and I can’t help but think what a perfect diabolical plot it is for the father of lies to completely ruin what should be an essential moment in time to get us back on track, to remind us that we can be so much more than what the limitations that our physical beings offer .  We were given the gift of light, and can forever be so much more…if our focus is where it should be.  There is no store anywhere that could give us the deal that we’ve already been given, and we need to remind our souls of that.  We need to remind the world of that…and it will only happen one person at a time.  This can be a season of love and kindness, generosity and compassion, peace and goodwill, but it truly up to all of us to curb the desire for shop for the best deal, and activate the one we’ve already received.