Status Symbol Update

And a little Peace at Pentecost.

I'm going to put two posts together because they seem connected, at least to me.

Pentecost is the culmination of the Easter season. It's the celebration of the Holy Spirit. When the disciples were locked inside of the house, fearful of what was happening outside, the first words spoken to them were: "Peace be with you." My pastor speculated that if Jesus were to come back today, those would be, once again, His first words to His followers. The priest then speculated that the next words would be: "Slow down. Stop trying to fit 31 hours in a 24 hour day." It was obvious by the level of laughter in response to those words that many people had read the recent article on how people today squeeze in 31 hours of activity a day by big-time multi-tasking. Although it was acknowledged, since it was Mother's Day, that mom may even get in 36 hours a day.

His point was that we are doing too much and worrying too much about senseless things. My mind immediately turned to my status symbol specuation last week.

For me, "things" to not give people status in this world. Carrying a Coach purse, or wearing a pair of Ferragamo shoes, or driving a car with a fancy symbol on the hood, and getting around by helicopter doesn't mean a thing to me. It may be because several of those "things" are in my possession and I see them as nothing more than a means to an end. My pink Coach handbag carries my wallet and first aid kit just the same as the $15 non-branded bag (which received compliments wherever I went this winter). And in my mind they are equal. They are bags to carry my stuff. Same thing with the car--it gets me from point A to B. It seems my attitude toward these objects is in direct conflict with quite a few people out there.

Here is my example: I was driving home from the baby shoe store and I had all three of the children in the car with me. At an intersection where drivers must turn either right or left--there's a lane for each--I was preparing to turn right. There are two huge signs that remind drivers that turning vehicles MUST yield to pedestrians. Halfway into the crosswalk was a mother and her about-three-year-old daughter. The fact that I waited infuriated the driver of the vehicle behind me. The angry honking began. Her car with the three letter name meant nothing to me. I motioned to the mother to keep crossing despite the noise from the driver behind me. Once the mother and child were at the curb, I turned and the woman behind me sped up to turn right using the left lane. I looked over at her. The look of entitlement and irritation on her face was indescribable. I wanted to know what made her think that way. Was it the price she paid for her car? I know, since we have one. Could that possibly make her think that made her more important than the two humans crossing the street?

Is there any way to communicate that dignity, decorum and decency are the things a person must carry in order to hold any elevated status in my mind? And that cute shoes are cute shoes no matter if the cost was $7 or $700? I don't know.

So, peace be with you. No matter what kind of car you drive. And even if you walk.