Saturdays are Sacred
Week 102 – February 27, 2022 – Paving the Path
What is happening in the world today and everyday. The pandemic has been a test for humanity and honestly, I think we are failing. We are witnessing Russia attacking Ukraine with the world paralyzed. No one wants a world war when mental health is fragile at best. People are wanting their sense of power and control back; their sense of agency. Sadly, this feeling (and need) is escalating. I thought that the freedom convoy was one exemplar of extreme activism (with spitting hand hateful words). But invading another country, threatening others, and many lives lost I begin to wonder what this is all about. Why are we here and what is the purpose of being here?
This could be an existential moment. I have been having many during the pandemic and my #pandemicreflections on my professional website makes me realize that there is no separation of personal and the professional from self. The work (or war) is not with others, but with our own being and our egos. We are in Week 102 of this joyful blog series that I thought would end 75 weeks ago. Well, I stand corrected. And the 2-year anniversary of this blog series is almost here (the week when the pandemic was declared in British Columbia and my work shifted to remote learning).
So much has happened since for me and it’s hard to believe that I have witnessed war, floods, fire, and hateful acts against Black and Indigenous Peoples. I have experienced hateful acts of lateral violence, systemic racism, and marginalization. I am a second generation Chinese Canadian with no language, little ethnic identity, and privilege as a teacher educator working in a higher education institution. My parents created that for me. A life of privilege so that I could have a “better life.” Complicated. Given all of these events, I am woke to this privilege, the marginalized, and the radicalized. I am one of them and live in both worlds. I am thankful to see this.
This blog post has taken a different slant since I first started it yesterday. I wanted to write about SATURDAYS ARE SACRED… and they are. It took some time to creat a routine that honours who I am and my time I need to self care, rest, and mindfulness. I sleep in. I get weekly chores done. I hang out with my friend in the afternoon and evening (having a glass of wine, snacks, and dinner to unpack the week). I love taking the time to take care of my kid, my home, and myself. I am hoping to get outside more to go for walks, I might take up yoga, and use Saturdays as my writing day. #METIME
Can you see how good my life is? I will not take it for granted. I have freedom. I am safe. I have food and shelter. I have my kid with me. I am employed. I love the work that I do. I interact with wonderful people. I am learning. I live in a war-free zone. I can only have gratitude. Life offers us so many lessons and what the pandemic has done for me was to get quiet with myself and understand what is really important to me. I love my kid. I love to teach. I love to learn. That’s it. I get to do that and I am so lucky. I am creating my own path and make my own decisions. This is freedom.
My heart aches for the Ukraine, for George Floyd, and for humanity. We have to see ourselves out of this mess. The pandemic cannot get the best of us. We have to be more resilient. I’m not pointing my finger at the pandemic. It will be something that we will be living with for a very long time (until we can learn the lessons that we have to learn). The pandemic is a test for humanity and it will continue to iterate itself until we can see each other as equals and as peoples. Until then, we will continue in this struggle. Look inwards. I’m done fighting. Listen. We can do this.