The family that plays together, stays together

Discussion with fellow elders about our childrens' "birthright:"

In our consumerist, and familially fragmented culture, we do not bestow birthright financially as in days past when the children gave the work of their lives to the family estate. Today, their birthright has more to do with identity.

Identity is a very necessary commodity in a culture where staying sane is a full-time, fully demanding job in and of itself. The survival benefit of family membership today is not acreage, but identity: belonging.

In our family, much intention and financial resource is invested in providing emotional "home," in the form of rest, play, and wherever possible, community industry. The hope is that family identity will give the younger ones shelter against existential angst, which is as much a threat to survival as starvation was in a time of less material plenty.

Is this really zen? Hmmmm. The identity of which I speak is ego-based. However, it is my observation that enlightenment arises late in the journey of a well-traveled ego. The Buddha's for example.