It was two weeks before Thanksgiving and the awesome autumn day called for a walk down to the botanical garden. To my dismay, they had already put up their Christmas tree. As beautiful as it was, I couldn't but help ask myself, "What's the big rush?"

No doubt the poor economy has merchants hoping that early sales will help business, and with people out of work, perhaps early marketing means extra jobs. Before we canonize these motives, however, it would be wise to reflect on our rushed, quickened culture and what it is doing to us.

Last year a news report captured the madness of Christmas sales, portraying wild people running through stores eager to grab the advertised bargains. In the mad rush, one group of people became an uncontrolled mob that killed a person. This sobering event raises the question, Is our culture turning us into frenzied mobs?

It goes without saying that traffic jams, hordes of people coalescing for an athletic event and the sense of breathlessness this creates are common. Advertisements urge us to run to grocery stories and stock up for the holidays or to take advantage of special sales on gifts we need to buy.

Holiday madness has become part of every holiday we celebrate. I believe most people would agree that this is not the spirit we should come to expect and embrace. How, then, do we recapture the proper spirit of the holidays?

One way to do this is to substitute one compulsion for another.

The word "compel" means to drive with force, giving the image of being pushed hard to take action. Perhaps the action we ought to take is a hard look at the driving forces attempting to push and rule us.

What is the merit in doing this? In identifying the forces, we can expose their desirable as well as their undesirable features. This in turn causes us to raise serious questions.

How really enjoyable is being a part of the rushed, frenzied holidays? When last have we absorbed their true spirit and drunk in the holidays' peaceful side?

Are we and our children losing the taste for stillness and the peace they create? Do we know how to be "all there," which is the result of true stillness, and not to be here, there and everywhere? What do we ultimately want to enjoy during the holidays?

Questions like these cause us to stop, think and rethink, and to better align ourselves with the true spirit of the holidays. More important, they slow us down and diminish that rushed feeling.