A series of essays.....
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| HAVING FUN IN THE MICHIGAN SNOW |
.....as seen through my eyes!
By: Jacqueline E. Hughes
During my recent stay in Michigan, I listened, intently, to all of our grandchildren, made a long list and have been checking it twice, even three times over, since returning to Florida! And yet, the invigorating vibes of a passionate Holiday Season are ignoring me and shooting past my personal radar. Like the small bat we recently found living in the attic space of our 'little yellow cottage' in Michigan, I am hanging upside-down from an ancient rafter in order to avoid the hostile world beyond the confines of this small, insulated, and relatively unoccupied room.
Grateful for the diversion of the epic MSU/Iowa football match-up we watched this past Saturday evening that, justifiably, awarded Michigan State the Big Ten Championship and placed MSU in the number three spot in the nation.....Go Green....., it felt good to tuck things in the back of my mind for a few hours. Just so you know, Coach Saban of the University of Alabama, you may rue the day that you hired Mark Dantonio on the football staff at MSU back in 1995! I assure you that all MSU alumni and fans appreciate your business acumen in this regard.
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| BEYOND THE PICTURE WINDOW |
Sitting at lunch last week with my twins, Brendan and Kerrington, together we watched airy, white snowflakes generously coat the Michigan landscape beyond the picture window. A delicate, white baby's blanket of powdery ice crystals should have done the trick and welcomed in this glorious season of magic and joy. Snap! The snow melted as swiftly as it had arrived and my 'flagrant funk' burned as bright as ever.
What is wrong? I feel as if I'm living within a '60's animated Christmas film where the Abominable Snowmonster has knocked me unconscious and no one is able to rescue me. Has the spirit of one of my Russian ancestors resurrected the 1913 silent film "The Night Before Christmas," by Wladyslaw Starewicz and based on the tale by Nikolai Gogol, and cast me in the starring role of evil-doer with malicious intent? A strange, frightening, yet most interesting film, nonetheless. No thank you, great, great uncle Boris! This is one gig I don't wish to accept!
Grandchildren, Michigan snow showers, Christmas shopping.....and my melancholy erupts in sadness and gloom. What will it take to awaken the sleeping 'Goodness' that represents this holy and beautiful time of the year? If I believe in this goodness so deeply, why hasn't it been enough to pull me through the funk and swaddle me in its warmth and joy?
Following the parameters of a fast-paced, technological agenda, we are all acutely aware of the fragility of our world. Cameras and cell phones have ignited the "as it's happening" aspect of our lifestyles and spawned instant feedback from those of us who consciously follow what is happening in the world around us. If CNN isn't your thing, then you might be aligned with social media a good portion of the day. One way or another, it would be difficult today not to be aware of major events within moments of them occurring in real time.
Common sense, rhyme or reason.....call it what you will and then toss it out of the window!! The conscience and logical explanation for what is happening between human beings all over the world is the unconscionable conduct of lost souls who have devalued the importance of life whether it be that of their own or of those around them.
Each and every one of us is caught in the middle of this desperate game of power, whether we want to acknowledge it or not. If we understand that our spirit is interconnected with all others around us, our brothers and sisters in Paris, San Bernardino, Syria, Boston, Lebanon, or Sandy Hook, Connecticut, they become more real to us.....their circumstances more personal and humbling.
In the words of the 1990's band, FireHouse: "So, why are you always bringing me down?"
I do take things quite personally. I believe that what affects someone living in Erekta, a remote village of Papua, New Guinea, can and will effect a change in all of us one day. Our Earth has grown more fragile, this is certain, and she has shrunk in size, as well. Through the power of communication, in all of its amazing forms, we have watched the spaces between lands, their people and cultures, minimize on a daily basis. Therefore, we've become closer and more aware of places and the people around us even if, logistically, we remain miles apart. I think of it as Evolution at its finest!
The website, Behind the Name, tells me that Ebenezer means "stone of help" in Hebrew and was the name of a monument erected by Samuel in the Old Testament. In 1843, Charles Dickens used it for the miserly character, Ebenezer Scrooge, in his novel 'The Christmas Carol.' I haven't gone all 'Bah Humbug' on anyone....yet. And, I would never show disdain during the Christmas season toward its religious aspects, as well as the inevitable commercial ramifications! There is way too much at stake here.
Silently, ahhh, silently, my heart aches. Finally, I am beginning to understand what is altering my passion this holiday season. I don't like what I see. And, I don't, exactly, know how to change it to make it better.
Bonobos. Bonobos are peace loving primates who live in the Democratic Republic of the Congo located in central Africa. According to the Bonobo Conservation Initiative, these magnificent apes share more than ninety-eight percent of our DNA and are complex beings with profound intelligence and emotional expression and sensitivity. Watching Anderson Cooper interact with the bonobos on 60 Minutes this past Sunday, it was easy to fall in love with them.
"This female-dominated culture of chimpanzees is peaceful and more egalitarian. Sex transcends reproduction, as it does in human society, and serves to promote bonding, reduce tensions, and share pleasure. Because of their caring and compassion, bonobos serve as a powerful symbol of peace and cooperation." We have much to learn about them.
Many of us are familiar with the anti-war slogan associated with the American counterculture of the 1960's.....'Make love, not war.' This nickname has been applied to the docile and diplomatic bonobos in reference to their social and sexual relationships. Can we humans consider incorporating their generally peaceful and cooperative society that is based on a highly complex social system into our own society and learn to elevate LOVE to the highest degree? It appears that the bonobos have much to teach us about ourselves.
By writing about the possibility of societal change for the better and believing that for each 'wrong' there is a 'right' and that good and evil can coexist without the constant threat of human annihilation, maybe I can salvage some semblance of peace and calm this season. Thinking about the loving bonobos, I will better appreciate the intricate snowflake pattern as it melts upon my grandchild's cheek. The selection of paper and ribbon for each present I wrap will make me smile. Understanding the Christian symbolism of the Nativity above and beyond its artistic representation of the circumstances of the birth of Jesus Christ, will fill me with great joy.
And, that's it.....there is HOPE. There will always be HOPE. As long as there are good, loving people walking upon this fertile land, there will always be the feeling that something desired so greatly will inevitably happen.
We must never give up on the HOPE of a better world.
Copyright © 2015 by Jacqueline E. Hughes
All rights reserved
Photograph Copyright © 2015 by Jacqueline E. Hughes
All rights reserved
"The devil's been so busy lately,
Even God must get the blues."
~~~~Jo Dee Messina
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