Graditude....

 

Hi!

As far as the world goes, precious few countries celebrate a holiday called Thanksgiving.

As a kid, all it meant was turkey, company for supper and a vague story about how the holiday came to be. 

As an adult, I've come to understand the reason for keeping it vague. What really was happening when the original feast took place isn't pretty, not something that those of a tender age should have to try to wrap their heads around. 

We whitewash what our ancestral colonizers did with platitudes of gratitude. Under this guise, we rewrite the facts to better soothe our egos. God forbid we should take the time to understand the truth,  accept the reality, learn from it, and strive to do better.

Some argue that scraping the sugarcoating off of history only serves the purpose of making white people feel bad. That's nonsense. 

All the truth can do is teach empathy, create understanding, and help take steps toward healing. If we can embrace truth without blinders, maybe, just maybe, we can begin to create new systems. Ones that carry actual equality. Ones that take care of our most vulnerable citizens. 

We should be thankful. We should be thankful that those who were here when we got here were peaceful and generous. They shared what they had and taught us what we needed to know to survive within this challenging landscape.

They had the option of treating us the way we treated them. But, they didn't. 

So, as I sit here today, I am so very grateful. 

I live in a fabulous country that has come far, but still has a long way to go.

I have four walls, a roof, heat, clean water, a bed, a pillow, and I get to eat every single day.

I have access to medical care that will take care of me no matter my financial situation. 

I have the freedom to love who I love, raise our kids as we see fit, and encourage our grandkids to be exactly who they are.

I am grateful that at 57, I can still call my mom and have a laugh. 

I am able to write on this platform with little restriction. Yes, trolls will troll, but, mostly, the feedback is positive, touching my heart with personal stories and conversations that I treasure.

I am extremely grateful for all of you who take precious time out of your lives to read these ramblings. When I see readers from Singapore to Sweden, from Ecuador to Ireland, and everywhere in between, it continues to thrill and perplex me to no end. 

Are there things that we still need to fight for? Absolutely.

Yes, homelessness should be illegal... it should be illegal for a country as rich as ours to allow it to happen. 

Should more things be covered by our universal health care. Absolutely. Ambulances, therapists, all dentistry, eye care, and prescriptions, just to name a few, should all be covered for all ages. There is no reason why it can't. Other countries have figured it out. We're smart, we can make it happen here too. 

Should there EVER be a circumstance, in a country such as ours, where someone should have to raise money to cover the cost of someone's death? THAT should NOT be a thing. 

Yes, there are lots of things we could be doing better. Likely, there always should be, as Utopia is still simply a fantastical place. 

We can make things better. We just have to want to bad enough to sacrifice the avoidance of hard conversations to make it happen. 

We just have to want to.

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May you find yourself among those who make your soul sing.

May you soak in the laughter, creating memories, giving your happiness wings. 

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