Never Gone

Thomas Carlysle once said, ~What an enormous magnifier is tradition! How a thing grows in the memory and in the human imagination when love, worship, and all that lies in the human heart, is there to encourage to it.~ If you think about it, its astounding how many traditions have been created to the point where its celebrated either daily, weekly, monthly, or yearly. For its those particular traditions you accept at face value even though there are certain ones that tend to make absolutely no sense whatsoever. Hey, its just a matter of going with the flow as you either become a simple participant or spectator at the event/occasion in question. Thinking about it, when it comes to establishing traditions they can be considered either truly insane, competitive, or so heartwarming it touches the heart.

Let me ask you this question, when did jumping/running into freezing water wearing only a bathing suit become such a popular tradition? The Polar Bear Club as its otherwise known brings together people who share a common goal and that particular goal is to show other people how insane they truly are as they put their own health on the line doing something that is considered dangerous. How dangerous? The potential risks involved swimming in freezing cold water are hypothermia, a heart attack, cardiac arrest, seizures, etc. Anyways, we all may possibly know someone or God help you, you are that someone who quite literally takes the plunge with other people...voluntarily mind you...and runs straight into frigid cold water with reckless abandonment instead of staying warm on dry land.

Without a doubt, when it comes to the spirit of friendly competition it can inevitably turn into something traditional in which there is a possibility a bet is involved. A bet that may not always involve a lump sum of money exchanging hands, which is an act that is deemed totally wrong for any person to participate in and yet it is lucrative to those who are on the winning side...but I digress. Personally speaking, this past summer my best friend and I started a tradition in which the guy who lost in the 3rd game in bowling would pay for the other's ticket if and/or when a good movie comes out like Iron Man coming out this summer. Essentially, I've won the past two times we've bowled and with that said my best friend has to pay for my tickets, but unfortunately not the food.

For the question can be asked to all you women out there, did your husband or boyfriend ask your father, brother, or some type of father figure for your hand in marriage. You see, the reason I'm asking is because I come from the old school way of thinking where it's important to ask permission from the father in order to marry the daughter, which sounds cliche. In any case, by going to the woman's father or the father figure of the family such as the older brother, grandfather, uncle, family friend, etc, you as a guy are seen in his eyes as someone who shows great appreciation for her as woman who has a bond unlike any other that must be handled with extreme care and it most certainly puts one's best foot forward in order to establish a proper relationship with him as well.

In retrospect, you have to respect those who stand by certain traditions that adhere to either religion, family, or whatever the case may be as they date back not only decades but also centuries as well. It can befuddle the mind as to how many different traditions there are when it pertains to international cultures that have their own ways/styles of celebrating such things as birth, death, a man/woman's right of passage into adulthood, engagements, weddings, and so much more. In the end, every person celebrates something that is traditional without thinking about it showing that even though the ideals/concepts aren't always understood as to why we do it, its the essence of what it stands for/means that are never gone from one's mind and heart.