Life As We Don't Know It

   I ran across a most interesting tweet by @curiousordinary about finding our ancestors’ story:

Some say that in families the unprocessed pain of one generation is passed on to the next & by discovering your ancestors stories & acknowledging their suffering you can break the cycle & start to tell your own story. In my experience, I think it could be true.#FolkloreThursday https://t.co/DFJpjzobA0

— curious ordinary (@curiousordinary) January 17, 2019

   How moving to hear someone discovering their emotional connection to their past. We carry on the pain and suffering in ways we never knew. Yes, I’ve heard the references say “we inherit the sins of our fathers,” or that each generation continues the patterns from before. But the way this person expressed it shows to me the depth of where we are in life. It shows we matter, past and present.

   I look back on one part of my past, where my French ancestry was living in Acadia (Nova Scotia area). They lived peaceably. It was the British who came into conflict wanting to take over the land, so they fought with the French Acadians. One of the outcomes of the conflict (starting in 1755) was the “Le Grande Derangement” - the Great Deportation of the Acadians by force, as the Acadians refused to pledge allegiance to the King of England. Families were split up, many died from starvation and disease as they fled while the British burned their homes and crops. Those captured were sent to France, some surviving ones fled elsewhere, many to the south to Louisiana where French communities were already established.

   I see why I have strong feelings against authorities using force against innocent people.

   Many groups of people throughout the world have gone through this type of situation, for centuries. One would think that each generation would learn something from this, learn the cruelty of conquering, the hatred that leads to dehumanizing people. 

📷 acadian.org

   Learning one’s ancestry can be vital for change. I see this now. When we fail to face the actions of our ancestors, fail to understand the realities of their own lifetime, we fail to learn why we are living the way we are living. Perhaps some people are okay with that. They choose to continue the hatred, the prejudice, maintaining their illusion of authority over others.

   Each individual who seeks to learn, understand, and to appreciate their ancestors’ struggle can act to improve relationships and lives today. Rather than looking to just connect the dots on a tree, we can search for the heart and soul of our ancestors’ being. We can understand and forgive. We can weep and we can rejoice. We can continue to live life as we know it or live a life that helps to bring justice to those that led us to who we are today.        Theresa M.       

                                                       

follow @curiousordinary on twitter

referencewww.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca  “The Deportation of the Acadians"

Being Different

   I’ve always felt different.

   As far back as I can remember I didn’t fit in. I didn’t feel that I belonged, even though I lived within a family - blood descent. But I felt shy, unsure, unloved. I was made fun of for my looks and deformities all through childhood and even into adulthood. I could never just be a regular girl-next-door.

Skitterphoto on pixabay.com

   I was awkward with friendships, let alone adult relationships. I struggled to earn a living, as I lacked confidence in whatever I pursued. I was smart and loved learning, but to believe in myself, when I didn’t think I mattered much to anyone, well that was a huge block for me.

   I’ve always had a heart for the underdog. Anyone who has struggled, or been ridiculed, or outcast. I understood their pain, their sadness, their sense of isolation. And the injustices of their treatment, whether it be the low castes of India, the slaves, the Native Americans, the poor, the immigrants. I feel with them. They are treated as different, less than, unworthy. They do not deserve that. Their treatment comes from people who expect entitlement, but are insecure and selfish. This selfishness led them to steal the land, place burdens on indigenous people, rig voting rights, and passed on to the next generations the racism, prejudice, and injustices. Even to today.

   I’ve always felt different. In my collective consciousness I have memories buried of the deep struggles of mankind, generations before me. I have a heart that weeps for and loves them all. I have a mind that understands that they must do what they can to survive.

   I have a vision that beyond this world we who are different will unite. We will belong. We will be strong.

   We are one in the Spirit.               Theresa M

photo by Riccardo Maria Montero, flickr.com

Let it Snow! or Whatever

Ah, winter! With its cold, cloudy days
some filled with snowflakes, some simply grays.
We bundle up and burrow in our warm huts and houses.
Some may drink a nip too much despite alarms from spouses!

Board games re-play for the bored and the grinch
To pass hours of day and night in such a cinch.
Or watch Mother Nature, the squirrels are getting cheeky
As they pop in and pop out, oh how very sneaky!

A warm hot cocoa awaits me at bedtime

As do the cuddly kittens, oh so simply sublime!
Thus for all you summertime souls who dread the wind & the sleet
Await your turn for the seasons to complete.

Warmth wends its way under covers of quilts

So high they stack up, I might need some stilts!
Alas, I burrow in with my cocoa and kittens
Oh my goodness! I left out my mittens!

Theresa M

                                                                    Good night!

Rearrange and Change

   I’m looking at my living room arrangement. It seems a bit off. Just two months ago I cleaned and cleared out a bunch of stuff. But now it needs something.  I laugh remembering years ago I fell through the ceiling from the attic, and there was fireplace ash everywhere!

   That reminds me of times when I felt overwhelmed with life and obstacles. Anxiety would increase, worries would pop up (what-if’s and such!). I felt powerless, and in some cases was actually powerless to fix everything.

   Someone then had told me that I could take control of little things in my life. That taking action of some kind would help release some of the energy built and trapped by the anxiety. Instead of letting my thoughts run around loosely in my head, trashing the place, so to speak, I could set tasks to do. Like housekeeping.

kabaldeschO - pixabay.com

   Yes, housekeeping serves more than the purpose of cleaning up. It is a useful tool to take action, to do something positive, to feel a sense of accomplishment.

   Well, it does help. And to further its advantages, there were times I would plan to re-arrange a room or two. Methodical - measuring - movement. A refreshing new look in one’s environment can also refresh your outlook on life. Little accomplishments in your own space can lead to bigger accomplishments outside yourself.

   Sure it doesn’t solve everything. But it does help to get your mind off of worries. It helps you prioritize. It helps bring you back to knowing you can do something good and positive. You can make a difference in little ways. You can even do this for someone else.

   So I look at this living room. I look within myself. Some things in life aren’t turning out so good. Some things I can’t control. Not only will I make a plan to rearrange things, but I’ll plan to change what I can, and let go of the rest.                 Theresa M.

“God grant me the serenity

to accept the things I cannot change;

courage to change the things I can,

and wisdom to know the difference.”

                              - Reinhold Niebuhr