Yes, if that title rings a bell, it is because a little over a year ago, that is how I approached the upcoming Yes, Virginia season. Heavy in heart from a full year of too much personal loss, stress, and juggling of emotions - the promise of coming together to make magic again for so many lifted my heart and the corners of my mouth.
I am needing that again. We are needing that again.
No, I am not talking about the specter of that orange swamp monster - he will get all that he deserves eventually. That deck is fully stacked against him right now. What has grabbed at my heart, filled my eyes with tears, and made already catnap-nights into sleepless ones is what's happening on the other side of the world.
I am well versed in the never ending conflict between Israel and Palestine. I know that both pieces of land continue to be in strangleholds by players and politicians who have not only self interests, but god-playing at their cores. Murderous, bloodthirsty, money hungry, power grubbing. And they have never cared who gets in their way.
But what has taken place since Saturday is - or should be - core shaking, heart breaking for anyone with a heart. As in every conflict, battle, war that has ever been or will ever be waged, there are PEOPLE who are just simply written off as expendable. Casualties of war, as it were. The cost of doing business. In this case, concert goers, families, little babies who have zero concept of bias, racism, hatred, or zealotry - targeted for simply being who they are, where they are.
The children piece of this horror is unspeakable. What has been done, is being done to children, to BABIES, I just cannot wrap my mind around the venal, soulless, evil players in this. How? HOW??? How do you kill 40 babies and ascribe it to your god? What god condones wiping out entire families, bloodlines, reducing them to blood and ash?
Yes, I know. Every single one of them when in the hands of zealots who begin to think they speak for, act for their deity. We are seeing it on our own soil. And to think it cannot ratchet up here is folly. I am sickened by the constant targeting of Jewish people, a drumbeat that is getting louder and louder in this country. This wholesale belief that one group of people is so very different than another, ergo worthy of demise.
As the saying goes, all cats are black in the dark. We are not different.
We are all sacks of meat. That's it, that's all. Strip away the religion we have been raised in, taught. Take every man written tome and remove it from our gaze. Blindfold us all. WE ARE THE SAME. Same heart, lungs, kidneys, bowels, hemorrhoids, tiny bones in our ear canals, bunions, canker sores, stomachs that get hungry on a regular basis, brains that require sleep to function. WE ARE THE SAME.
The baby being born in Arkansas right now is the same as the baby being born in Afghanistan is the same as the baby being born in China is the same as the baby being born in Gaza is the same as the baby being born in Israel. They are completely interchangeable. Blank slates. Take the one in Gaza, swap it with the one in Israel and then raise it with the dogma and daily struggles/conflicts of that side of the line and that baby will grow up to think a certain way, and worse, to potentially hate the people in the land of his/her actual birth. WE DO THIS TO OUR BABIES. Again, blank slates. And we write on them with our own biases, beliefs, religions, notions, racism, hatred. (Look into the eyes of the beautiful child in the following picture - she has no idea what is happening, what HAMAS means. And her father loves her as you love your child.)
What happens is a new generation of beautiful souls, souls that turn into scribbles that grow up to perpetuate so much strife, hurt, bloodshed.
I am not naïve. Again, I know all about the history, the fights, the lives constantly being lost there. I know that HAMAS must be wiped out. And in doing so, innocent lives are literally being lost as I type. It is a Rubik's Cube of tears and blood and loss. And in the end, it still won't be solved.
But back to the children. We cannot make what is happening there not happen. In that we are powerless. But we can turn our gaze to the littlest among us here, children who are caught in circumstances they did not create, going to bed hungry not because of anything they did, wearing clothes that do not fit, keep them warm enough, and parents who cry into their pillows because of their love for their kids and their inability to provide more than they are.
That is where we once again come in.
As I wrote last year: My hopes for another Yes, Virginia season have me thinking about one of my favorite holiday songs, We Need A Little Christmas.
Haul out the hollyPut up the tree before my spirit falls againFill up the stockingI may be rushing things, but deck the halls again now
Amazing to say, but as we sit at the middle of October, I am not rushing things at all. Yes, Virginia takes time. And the first step is your help in getting out the word, sending those who need our help to my inbox.
For we need a little Christmas, right this very minuteCandles in the window, carols at the spinetYes, we need a little Christmas, right this very minuteHasn't snowed a single flurry, but Santa dear we're in a hurry
We all need the spiritual lift, the twinkle lights for the soul we always feel as we come together and remind those in need that the good people still outnumber the bad in this world.
Climb down the chimneyTurn on the brightest string of lights I've ever seenSlice up the fruit cakeIt's time we've hung some tinsel on the evergreen bough
My inbox already has some whose chimneys were ripped asunder by recent storm systems, whose twinkle lights have no evergreen bough to hang upon because of our current uncertain economy. We can help. We will help.
For I've grown a little leaner, grown a little colderGrown a little sadder, grown a little olderAnd I need a little angel sitting on my shoulderNeed a little Christmas now
OK, the leaner part is a constant work in progress, but the colder, sadder, older? Well, I daresay I am singing this portion to the choir. This is our opportunity to come in from the reality cold, gather around the DGMS tree, and, crow's feet be damned, smile at one another as we let those little angels find their home on our shoulders.
For we need a little music, need a little laughterNeed a little singing ringing through the rafterAnd we need a little snappy, happy ever afterWe need a little Christmas now
The time is now. Our chance to reach through the ether and effect real change, life real spirits, make some happy ever after for those who need it most.
I am ready to get going again, regardless of where I am, how many diapers I am changing. This endeavor is one that goes with me wherever I am. My laptop is in my Sorento sleigh, and the elfing magic can happen anywhere I am. Even in a rocking chair with my granddaughter fast asleep on my shoulder.
So, step one - please begin letting me know who in your world needs some help making magic this year.
And step two - donate if you can. It's never too early, and the days are going to start flying by. I am endlessly grateful to the DGMSers who have been donating regularly throughout this past year, providing a cushion from which to begin elfing.
Donation methods:
Paypal > [email protected] > please do it as Send Money, not as a purchase. If you do it as a "purchase" they withhold a portion of your donation.
Zelle > [email protected]
Venmo - @Linda-Sharp-29
And if you prefer to send a check, please email or message me for details.
Thank you all for your patience as I have been somewhat AWOL, for your emails and messages checking in, and as always, for being the amazing people you are. Now, let's make some magic. Again.
You are a beautiful soul 🩷 I am proud to be a tiny part of your mission, friend!
Posted by: Shana Moore | Tuesday, October 10, 2023 at 06:07 PM