It is very true that parents often live vicariously through the lives of their children, and in so many ways I have done that, and have "seen" the world through your eyes. We spent most of our adult life touring, and absorbing the sub cultures of North America, (In September we will have experienced all 50 states, and I think I have been in 5 or 6 Canadian provinces).. Unfortunately, by putting off the pursuit of the global exploration, we now see precious little of the individual identities of the world. When we started touring the North American Continent, we were often treated to regional cuisines, accents, and yes, in some cases, even dress. Now, you see nothing but a repetition of the same stores, so called restaurants, and a total lack of regional "dialect", well, except for the deep south's ever present "all-ya'alls",
From childhood, I have been enamored with the beauty of cultural style. But even with our brief encounters with "foreign lands", we are realizing that those same stupid fast food waste of money blights are invading places you thought would be selling "native fare". And the idea of "native dress" is mostly seen when encountering devoutly orthodox religious folks. I fear we will only see the native culture if we purchase a ticket to "native culture dinner", via Ticketmaster, with the typical unintelligible added on fees!
I would have loved to see Thailand when everyone was wearing "native dress", instead of Chicago Bulls, or Dallas Cowboy t-shirts.
You have told so many stories of meeting people/peoples that I have only read about, or seen in a documentary, and now, i get to "see" your encounter with this beautiful lady through your eyes.
I love your desire to see, meet and get to know these precious people. And I know your desire to meet and encourage them to stay who they are.
A multi cultural world creates the most beautiful of all tapestries!
I am thinking about all of the shipping containers of western wear - t-shirts and jeans, etc., that end up in countries of conquest by colonial powers, so many of those clothing items made by slave wage labor in those very same countries… As if to say, thanks for the t-shirts, now here is your uniform to make us more so the people who earn enough to do so can buy them new, and show up for their jobs in the proper attire, to earn just a little bit more than you earn, as they too are slave wage laborers, helping the elite ones continue to sink this ship of Mother Earth. Regal-ia =regal, noble
Thank you, I will carry these thoughts with me as I travel to ceremony this week.
And long live the spirit of James Baldwin. May all beings be free from suffering.❤️
Oh wow. Yes. So much Yes. You nailed it, sister. Modernity would have us conveniently strip away all this awareness, all the narratives of what actually allows us to thrive and just get on with it, just take what we want, snap a selfie and throw the uncomfortable truth aside. To be fair, we can never escape doing damage, Life requires sacrifice and reciprocity, but what we can do is honor that which feeds us, adorns us, and allows us to live. My wife and I have started a practice of always telling as much of the Story that we can remember of what we take whenever we harvest anything. And also, we ask permission before we take. And when we plant our seeds, we are well aware that the children of the corn mother is allow us to bury her children so that we can live. We weep and remember and give thanks. This is ancient wisdom. And its in our DNA. It seems inconvenient and silly only to the spiritually atrophied modern man. But real beauty can only grow out from good compost. James Baldwin knew this. All blessings to you Leah. Thanks for sharing...
It is very true that parents often live vicariously through the lives of their children, and in so many ways I have done that, and have "seen" the world through your eyes. We spent most of our adult life touring, and absorbing the sub cultures of North America, (In September we will have experienced all 50 states, and I think I have been in 5 or 6 Canadian provinces).. Unfortunately, by putting off the pursuit of the global exploration, we now see precious little of the individual identities of the world. When we started touring the North American Continent, we were often treated to regional cuisines, accents, and yes, in some cases, even dress. Now, you see nothing but a repetition of the same stores, so called restaurants, and a total lack of regional "dialect", well, except for the deep south's ever present "all-ya'alls",
From childhood, I have been enamored with the beauty of cultural style. But even with our brief encounters with "foreign lands", we are realizing that those same stupid fast food waste of money blights are invading places you thought would be selling "native fare". And the idea of "native dress" is mostly seen when encountering devoutly orthodox religious folks. I fear we will only see the native culture if we purchase a ticket to "native culture dinner", via Ticketmaster, with the typical unintelligible added on fees!
I would have loved to see Thailand when everyone was wearing "native dress", instead of Chicago Bulls, or Dallas Cowboy t-shirts.
You have told so many stories of meeting people/peoples that I have only read about, or seen in a documentary, and now, i get to "see" your encounter with this beautiful lady through your eyes.
I love your desire to see, meet and get to know these precious people. And I know your desire to meet and encourage them to stay who they are.
A multi cultural world creates the most beautiful of all tapestries!
Beautiful. Thanks for sharing dad:)
Indeed.
I am thinking about all of the shipping containers of western wear - t-shirts and jeans, etc., that end up in countries of conquest by colonial powers, so many of those clothing items made by slave wage labor in those very same countries… As if to say, thanks for the t-shirts, now here is your uniform to make us more so the people who earn enough to do so can buy them new, and show up for their jobs in the proper attire, to earn just a little bit more than you earn, as they too are slave wage laborers, helping the elite ones continue to sink this ship of Mother Earth. Regal-ia =regal, noble
Thank you, I will carry these thoughts with me as I travel to ceremony this week.
And long live the spirit of James Baldwin. May all beings be free from suffering.❤️
Oh wow. Yes. So much Yes. You nailed it, sister. Modernity would have us conveniently strip away all this awareness, all the narratives of what actually allows us to thrive and just get on with it, just take what we want, snap a selfie and throw the uncomfortable truth aside. To be fair, we can never escape doing damage, Life requires sacrifice and reciprocity, but what we can do is honor that which feeds us, adorns us, and allows us to live. My wife and I have started a practice of always telling as much of the Story that we can remember of what we take whenever we harvest anything. And also, we ask permission before we take. And when we plant our seeds, we are well aware that the children of the corn mother is allow us to bury her children so that we can live. We weep and remember and give thanks. This is ancient wisdom. And its in our DNA. It seems inconvenient and silly only to the spiritually atrophied modern man. But real beauty can only grow out from good compost. James Baldwin knew this. All blessings to you Leah. Thanks for sharing...