Themed Month January:
The New Year
Welcome to the new year. Hopefully 2021 will be better to us, even though it started out with a BANG (not only in the news but in my family too). Before you’re scared off by the rant that’s following (only this once, promised), please leave your wishes for subjects or themes I should be blogging about. I’ve run out of ideas again but would love to create a list of interesting topics like last year to help me through the year. Just leave me a topic in the comments.
And now back to the two ps I’m not going to mention again after this post: the current political upheavals and the pandemic. We’ll start with the latter. I know the restrictions for the pandemic are hard for everyone, but don’t forget that everyone suffers for the sake of their fellow humans. But that is not the only way how you can help if you want.
Do you have a family member, friend, neighbor, or acquaintance you haven’t been in contact for a while? Call them. Make sure they’re okay, that no black clouds are hanging over them. Depression sneaks up on you and sometimes you don’t even know you’ve got it before it’s too late. If you’ve got the funds, gift your friend a book or eBook. Taking one’s mind off the two ps is a good way to find your center again.
And don’t forget yourself either. If you’re living alone, try to get some fresh air daily, even if it’s just standing at a window for a little while (better would be a walk in an uncrowded area). Keep your distance from anyone not living with you and wear a mask. And if you feel like it, let me know you’re okay. I keep worrying about my family, my friends, and my readers. Hopefully this will be over soon.
As to the second p (politics), I’ll just say, listen to Arnold Schwarzenegger. He might not be a specialist on Nazis, but he’s lived through what they left of the German countries. Since the aim of Nazis is the destruction of democracy, the ONLY way to handle Nazis is to chase them away, cut off their access to mass media, and/or lock them up (if they can be rightfully charged). And that is NOT censorship. They’re still allowed to say what they believe. It’s just a severe reduction of their platform. One thing to always keep in mind: if you find yourself agreeing with a Nazi (or similar), you’re in the wrong. There’s no debate possible about that.
I am not taking sides. I just would like to drop one thought into your minds. Here in Germany, we’ve got Conservatives too (plus many more parties), but even the ones farthest to the right are still pro democracy. If the people you support aren’t, you should rethink your values.
Thank you for bearing with me. I (hopefully) won’t need to rant again any time soon.
A good thought. I was holding my breath for a while there. Still sending a few prayers and good thoughts for everyone. Take care, stay safe. Hoping we can at have the midwinter drum ceremony here in the village. We’ll see, it’s been requested.
Interesting topics: A bit more about the forest you worked in. I live in like a boreal forest.
Thank you. I didn’t think anyone was interested in forests, but that’s surely something I can talk about easily. Not next month though because we moved the quarterly Blog Hop to coincide with Valentine. You’ll get tons of free stories then. 😀
Hey Cat,
Just like you always thinking of the better things ahead. I’m of course wondering about what will happen later this year when we come back out (like the moment in the fairy tale when the witch appears to be dead at last). What will change, how should we greet each other in the coming year, and what new habits will we form? All the best!
Oh yes, those are interesting questions. I think many things will change but humanity as a whole will remain as ignorant as ever.
Ahh, I think we’ll be more conscious of our health habits. One of the things I noticed when the pandemic started is that on our Rez and else where, there wasn’t much convincing of the People to Mask up, Wash up, and Quarantine if necessary. I could see now why our parents and grandparents insisted on healthy habits, A lot of what was recommended was stuf we’d been more or less doing all our lives. Some of us even came to the conclusion that perhaps the 1918 pandemic is what got our ancestors to insist on certain things.