only one day?

In the US, I grew up thinking May 1 was a day where we would leave some cute baskets of candy on friends doorsteps. In other countries the plight of the working class is lifted up, recognized if even for only one day. Then it is back to reality.

Sometimes this feels like an empty gesture. Kind of like the National Day of Prayer is today. For one day we should pray as a nation? And gather around the town hall to do it? I must admit, I find this really difficult. I don't need the government to set aside time for me to pray. Nor do I need a school to do it. And really, just one day?

For one day only, (whether it is May 1 or Labor Day) we should remind ourselves that most people work very hard for little pay (and most people don't get a paid holiday on either day)? For one day we should remember the horrors of war and the people who have sacrificed their lives in pursuit of ever elusive peace?

Ah, May. The month that seems to have many one day celebrations. We don't have enough time to truely honor these events. Can we really hope to internalize them in our lives?

Can we make issues of justice, spiritual hope and memories of peace our own?