Kilwin’s window display invites a smile and asks passersby to ponder what the hokey pokey is really all about.

Dennis Sparks/Contributor

This month’s holidays ask us to reflect on life’s most important purposes and values. They are also a call to spend and consume, a siren’s song that has little allure for me, which may explain why this past week I recalled a sign I had observed in October in Kilwin’s window that asked: “What if the hokey pokey is what it’s all about?”

On days when my purpose, metaphorically speaking, seems to be successfully placing one foot in front of the other without stumbling, doing the hokey-pokey seems like a worthy and stretching aspiration.

On others days, though, my goals are loftier, like leaving my small part of the planet a better place than I found it or contributing in a meaningful way to addressing worldwide problems such as the most severe forms of human deprivation and destructive climate change.

There are obviously other important life purposes. A United Way ad in a recent print edition of AnnArbor.com began, “There are basic things we all need for a good life—a quality education that leads to a stable job, income that can support a family through retirement, and good heath.” The ad concludes: “Give. Advocate. Volunteer. Live united.”

While a good life begins with the basics the United Way describes, the ad reminds us that it includes serving purposes larger than self-interest. That may mean making financial donations to worthy causes, but it can also include the gift of another precious commodity, our time.

In addition, the good life includes laughter and joy shared with family and friends, which is what the hokey pokey is really all about. And that human connection is one of many cherished gifts of this Holiday Season.

Dennis Sparks’ “Things Observed” photos and essays encourage readers to slow down to deepen their appreciation of aspects of daily life that may sometimes elude awareness and to see familiar things in fresh ways. You can contact him at dennis.sparks@comcast.net.