Authors We Like- Rachel Sharp

My apologies to all, I’ve fallen behind on my Authors We Like Event because of the eminent demise of Old Faithful the furnace. Since I live in Michigan I hope you will all understand my near obsession with getting a replacement ASAP. All I want for Christmas is heat.

Here is Rachel Sharp.

I was raised with no religion. My parents, far from being anti-theist, seem to have decided before I was born that the best thing for a kid is to let them figure it out for themselves. I’m fairly certain that my mother believes that the universe it its own higher power, forever bending towards justice, and my father has some vague hope that there is a heaven and that when you go there, you get to see all of the dogs you ever had.

Left to draw my own conclusions about the holidays (free of gods, saints, prophets, kings, and flying spaghetti monsters), I arrived at the following.

The holidays are a time of year, in the dead of winter, when people try harder than usual to make the world beautiful and be nice to each other. We feed each other. We write more thank-you notes. We call and Skype and send pictures, and travel by plane, train, and automobile to see the people who have known us our whole lives.

New York City lights up in red and green. In Portland, Oregon, the reindeer on the Old Town sign gets a Rudolph nose in celebration. Phoenix, Arizona pretends that snow might fall, and when it doesn’t, they put up plastic snowmen and smile anyway. In Montpelier, Vermont, volunteer firefighters wind strings of lights up the lamp posts all the way down State Street.

People scattered all over the earth watch silly Claymation movies. They drink and they dance and they sing.

Does it have to be magic? Does it have to be God? I don’t think so. I think it can be beautiful without names, sects, or even tradition. Don’t get me wrong, everyone is welcome to whatever power makes it happen for them. Faith can be beautiful. Tradition, too. For me, the attempt at peace on earth and goodwill towards men and women is its own cause, and its own reward.

Find her book here.