If you can’t fly then run, if you can’t run then walk, if you can’t walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward.~
Martin Luther King, Jr
Wish there was a day-after pill for stressful, sad, bad, ick days. And another pill for how we feel after an exceptionally good day. Both tend to be a vexation to the spirit. Yesterday, the USA celebrated another year of turkey genocide aka Thanksgiving. Not to mention the 57 million (some studies say 100 million) indigenous humans murdered in North America. I know, I’m a party-poop. Ya know what? Just pass the cranberry compote and try not to think about it. We’ve done a great job of being thoughtless since well before 1863 – why not carry on? Why not, indeed?
Thanksgiving as we were taught in school is a lie. Like Columbus Day and Christmas. Come to think of it, the only holiday that isn’t a lie is New Year’s Day, and that is simply a government issue like Daylight Savings Time. I’d feel better about yesterday if we changed the meaning of Thanksgiving and left the poor turkeys out of it altogether. But that’s just me. I’m not fond of genocide or ‘genociders‘.
For many of you, it was your first holiday without a beloved family member or friend. You are in for a few more of these ‘firsts’. Do they get easier as the year lumbers by? No. No they do not. We cherish our MIA beloved’s memory and make new ones in their name and that’s about as good as it gets, and that’s not bad. Not bad at all. If we are mindful, we become kinder and more resilient as a reflection of our love for them. Who we are after they have left us is often more important than who we were when they were here. As soon as we are ready to take that first step on the after journey, we keep moving forward. Do it in your own time, but it must be done. We owe our progress and future happiness to their memory.
I have a Thanks For You Faces Special Offer going through Sunday, so I stayed home alone to answer phone calls. I watched a couple of must-see releases on Netflix to pass the time. Farha: A true story about a 14 year old Palestinian girl. Just as she persuades her father to allow her to leave her small village and continue her education in the city. Farha’s dream is shattered by the harrowing events and ethnic cleansing of the 1948 Nakba. Watch it asap as there are multiple campaigns to have it banned. However, as you know, the truth of any matter cannot be banned. Or changed.
I also watched a five-part Netflix series called Cigarette Girl. The story is woven around the home-based tobacco industry that existed during and after the Indochina Wars. A love story. Historically informative. A heart-stirring soundtrack. For me, it brought back memories I didn’t know I had. Seductive. Absorbing. Smoldering. Highly recommended binge. Now, I must read Ratih Kumala’s book by the same name.
There are many things I am thankful for. Amongst those things is my want and ability to learn something new every day. I learned a lot yesterday. Hope to learn more today. I give thanks for that.
Sending Love, Light & Oceans Of Bliss…
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