Happy Holidays

Happy holidays. In corporate America, that's the proper way to convey wishes for peace and joy at this time of the year. And it's appropriate in our global and pluralistic society. At work, I have a team member who has already celebrated her "holiday season" with observance of Ramadān and Eid ul-Fitr. I work daily with people who emphasize Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Pancha Ganapati, or Chinese New Year above Christmas.

For many others in Western countries, December 25 is, for cultural reasons, the default date for a secular observance of giving and family togetherness--and "Christmas" is the default name even though the individuals involved might not be practicing Christians. This is actually quite appropriate in a way, since Christmas began as a Christian alternative to a cultural festival occurring on the same date.

To me, spiritual diversity is a beautiful thing. Back in the Bible Belt, family members who tell me about a person I'm not acquainted with there will inevitably describe him/her as a "good Christian man" or "good Christian woman." For them, someone's identity as a member of a religious grouping or faction is the most important thing to know about that person.

For me, the spiritual and energetic qualities of a person have little to do with religious identity. Even though I am a Christian, I would not want my workplace to be exclusively Christian. I have known enough Christians who are incompetent, passive aggressive, needy, or judgmental that the odds are that my work life would be less pleasant if my colleagues were replaced by a subset of Christians. And I wouldn't want to work in an all-Muslim or all-Hindu or all-New Age workplace either--for the same reasons. Diversity is the best answer.

Maybe we can find a better way to express heartfelt, spiritual wishes to a fellow traveler than "happy holidays." My hope is that through a spiritual renaissance, spiritual people will honor one another without competition, without prejudice, without proselytism.