No, I'm good thank you. Besides, i'm pretty sure we got it backwards again.
Yeah, sure, JC is great and all, but can we give it up for Mary though??? I mean this day would be nothing with out her brave and steadfast love and of course her creative life/giving superpowers... while folks around her said she was crazy, slutty, shameful etc... and then there's that other Mary...and then the "other" Mary and Maria and on and on. Really though.
no mas christ por favor. no more forgetting our mothers as we celebrate or cry out for our fathers. no more whitened histories that relegate women to vessels, virgins, or slutty sidekicks, we kick ass and doors and buildings down as we bear down and birth new suns...daily. no more coopting our blood and (re)birth/creation from wombs nor sending our babies to early tombs and entombing our voices and choices along with them, for generations upon generations. no more crucified men to be made examples of. No more scapegoats. No more martyrs from historically oppressed group of people. No.more glorified crosses to bear nor free passes out of jail. No more hammer. No.more nails.
And like the spirit of sweet baby jesus wants us crack ho ho hos on an old güero sweatshop boss' lap and give eachother heartburn, hasbro, and hangovers anyway... um, nope. I'm good over here thank you.
For this and so so many other tough and tender and tried and true reasons this day has (and many other "holidays") have never been easy. But then this year, mi vida (a la badu) has never been either, and i always loved a good story. the way i see it, that little brown baby boy just wanted and needed some warmth and shelter, outside of the womb, to be and feel close to and loved by his earthen (material) momma and later to honor and please his astral (ideological) poppa.
He was blessed to be birthed with the beasties, connected to the greater nature of things, though anthropocentrism and hierarchy denote this a classless and pitiable thing. But at least the cows chickens and sheep have pretty much all ways known what they are doing when birthing and surviving. no shame in that at all.
I prefer feliz navidad, pero como feliz navegar, reminding us of exactly that, happy orienteering, traveling, journeying and to be grateful for our journey, from darkness to light. To humble our selves and seek greater and brighter days ahead despite the unknowns of the way. To travel in threes. To carry the earth with you, as los tres magos did, in homage to mary (and all mothers). It is a humanizing parable for the solstice and a powerful reminder of the immense joy for the coming sun and brighter days at the end of shorter and darker ones that press down on you and force you inside.
this year I broke up got broken into; i lost a few irreplaceable, precious, and priceless things. years of work beautiful images of beautiful memories and invaluable time. utterly insignificant in the big picture, yet life is, and the sun rises each day even when some sons and daughters don't, and the world keeps on turning. there are days, especially in the winter darkness and cold starkness that I worry if the balance is intact.
All last night and this morning i fought back tears, worry, and doubt. wrong and righteous, judged and framed, shamed and blamed, pitied and aided. I kept moving forward. I travelled the roads of my youth till i found myself crying in my mothers lap. I could not at all have predicted that. But i should've, because I need to know that in my body.
If i am to give, i must also recieve. If i am to teach i must also believe.
These words are but one humble offering.
