Yeah! Yeah, Y’all! It’s Friday again and I’m about to jump out of my skin with JOY! TGIF, if you’re up to it!! You don’t have to be grateful but you’re gonna learn!! That’s something I’ve learned over and over – BE GRATEFUL!
It’s “Semana Santa” out here in my neck of the woods … where I’m at today … Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica! I remember one “Easter” when I lived in Cali, Colombia, SA and my Mother came to visit me!! I was so freakin’ happy … we BOTH were!! She wanted to know why I returned to teach English in another country just as much as I wanted her to know why!! I was just coming off of a whirlwind of a divorce and I really HAD to leave the country!! It was at a time when I KNEW that I was going to do something stupid … so I just left … the country!! It was a “win/win” for me as I imbibed myself in Spanish and Colombian culture, and taught English at two private secondary schools and two universities in Cali. The students got a few years, five to be exact, of a very talented African American man … from “Snoop Dogg’s” country! I kid you not! Those well off Colombia youth loved Snoop, ‘Pac, and Dr. Dre in Cali! So, out here in Puerto it’s pretty much tourist and “Tico” madness. I am so glad that I have my e-bike and can enter or leave the town easily even with all of the traffic which is common for Semana Santa, especially on those “one lane bridges”! Really, I have calmed down so much that I don’t recognize myself sometimes!! People gossip, backstab, and do stupid stuff here too and the town is small so everybody “claims” to know YOUR business! Half of the time, those same people don’t even know what they are doing!! But, they have enough time to spread nasty rumors about “you” because one (you) is actually doing something positive with their life (lives)! So, I try consciously to “stay in my lane”! Trust me, it gets lonely out here in my “magic carpet” lane!! LOL! But I’m good … not so much traffic “up here”!! And little to no drama unless I allow myself to be sucked into it. Lord knows that I didn’t come here to get sucked into OTHER PEOPLE’S DRAMA!
As Semana Santa kicks into high gear out here this weekend, I was feeling a bit mystical … you know … thinking about my Mom and Dad and how we used to dress up and go to church together when I was a kid on Easter Sunday … just the three of us … me in the middle! I never have spent Easter with my estranged daughter or grandson and that tugs hard on my heart strings. But THIS is what makes me “ME” … handling the hard stuff pretty much alone! “It’s a tough job and I have to do it!” (I do know that “the family spirits” are with me.)
Something that I’ve noticed amidst the “madness and mayhem” going on Stateside is that there are so many narratives out there that some of these people, politicians included … and especially them, can be classified as “insane”! I mean, damn!! Now, some want to have two different countries, ie Civil War II, and even some governors act as if they “own” their state!! It might sound cute as one chooses sides or colors but it looks pretty stupid to me! I was on social media Thursday morning and noticed a post of a student from the high school where I taught for ten years. The gent had a Confederate flag stuck to his wall in the background … and he’s from New York!! I wanted to write him a kind note just to ask him what that flag symbolizes for him. I decided against it, probably best for now! The behavior of #45 is unraveling slowly, his comments about people who are doing THEIR job(s) and his continued attempts to claim to be the victim while he lies through his teeth about EVERYTHING he discusses is insane … and people follow him and GIVE the “fake” Millionaire mo’ MONEY! Is that just stark raving madness or am I missing something?!?
It seems that we live in these “modern times” where everybody wants to be a “rockstar” and thus, has to come up with a narrative. Some of the narratives are based on lies, pure nonsense, and deceit. Those narratives can become pretty far-fetched as we observe people playing their “personal madness” out! Me, I stay clear of that madness as it wrinkles my peace. But, my heart breaks over and over as I watch these “politicians” attempt to turn back the hands of time to allow them to impose their narrative of “supremacy” and infallibility. It’s pretty disgusting, to say the least! This is when an individual MUST know who they are or run the danger of becoming a miniscule part of somebody else’s narrative! I had one “person” introduce me to some visitors as her “perverted uncle”! I was like, “No she didn’t!” But it was clear that she did! I vacated the premises in hopes that people could see who the real pervert was, and it ain’t hard to tell … unless one has an axe to grind with me. Believe me, I saw that coming maybe four years ago with this same person! Things like this can happen in your own family and circle of “friends”, too. It’s becoming more and more difficult to determine who your “friends” really are nowadays!! I mean, with everybody spinning their own narratives like the politicians do, it’s become more of a daily challenge … just to LIVE!!
Of course, I have my own narrative which is backed up by experience, facts, and documentation. I get “challenged” a lot either in person or on social media. It gets pretty interesting trying to navigate my response with some of these “creatures” who find their way into my life. It is during moments like these that I embrace the mantras of Educational Excellence … “Know Thyself!” or “Be the best that YOU can be!” … and maybe “Be yourself … because you are YOU”! A few weeks back, I had the opportunity to sit and chat with a guy from the States who some people call a shaman. I’m glad to call him a friend! Yet, I do recognize his creative genius in his craft and wanted to give you an opportunity if interested in reading some of Jade Wah’oo Grigori’s contributions to humanity. He’s the person who generated the concept of “the dominators” to identify those mutated personality types who want to be in control of everything and dominate EVERYBODY. Visit Jade at: jadegrigori.com for some interesting “shamanic” readings, information, and thought!
In the meantime, enjoy your Passovers, Easter, Ramadan and other “holy days”, and be sure to include an extra dose of “respect” to make things flow smoothly! Thank you for reading …
Peace,
John I. Cook, Director
Educational Excellence 