As I did last year, I will attempt to write a blogpost a day for the 12 days of Christmas; except this time I will pick a new topic each day. This is the blogpost for the twelfth day of Christmas 20/21 and yes it is four days late 🙂
This is not what I anticipated, and not what you anticipated either, I guess. Yesterday I was watching “The Oxford Murders”, which besides being a good crime story had some points about series, how we humans like to have series of things, and knowing what is next. Numbers, months, shapes- we like series and we like the order that lies in anticipation and knowing the next step. And yes the 12th post of 12 posts 🙂
Today’s topic is inspired by the wise Geepaw Hill, who is also a very supportive friend 🙂
My original plan was to write a blogpost during each of the days of Christmas and it all went well until the last day. Most were written in the evenings and the one on New Year’s eve even after midnight, while the rest of the house were out watching fireworks. And then we came to the last day, where I was just full of inputs from lovely people all over the world; my plan was then to write about skipping a day (again thanks to suggestion of GeePaw) or the concept of slack and how important that is (thanks to suggestion from Bill Caputo). Both are very important topics. And then the siege of the Capitol in the US happened – not what I expected and yet not surprising. I could only watch that train wreck with horror.
There are still lots that needs to get out in the open, but some facts are there. A defeated president who said “we are going to walk down Pennsylvania Avenue, I love Pennsylvania Avenue, and we are going to the Capitol“, t-shirts printed with “MAGA – CIVIL WAR – January 6th 2021” showing how planned this was, and yet the police did not seem prepared. And then the things that need confirmation. Like Pentagon offering forces before the day and being told that it was not needed. Or figuring out why reactions did not happen sooner. Or how white supremists can get into a place that is supposedly secure…
It seems like the Capitol police did not anticipate this at all and I think most of us did not. Somehow I just wish I was more surprised. I must admit that the last 5-6 years has taught me more about the darkness of human actions than I ever wanted to know and thus my level of surprise has fallen even when I see terrible and evil behavior or built-in prejudice in what ever form that takes.
I don’t have the same kind of anticipation that people will do good as I did, when I was younger. Sometimes that removes my hopes for a better world as I see no way of figthing this. And then I bounce up and start figthing again. I want to change the world to a more tolerant, kind, and accepting one, and I believe we can all do our bit; it is not enough, but it is a start. We also need more systemic changes for the built-in things; we need lots of learning and unlearning; we need to face that ugly monster in the mirror that shows us “this is us; this is who we are“, so we can move to “this is not who we want to be” and it all starts with us making a choice to make a difference.
I have read the following story in so many variations that I do not know the origin, but it ressonates with me and it has a good point.
It is a day on the beach and the tide has pulled the water back in the sea leaving many starfish on the shore. A young boy walks along the beach, picks up a starfish and throws it back into the sea. An old man sees this and asks the boy “Why do you do this? Look at how many starfish lie on the shore. You will never be able to help them all before they dry out, so you won’t make a difference.”
And the boy answers “It makes a difference for this one”.
For now we might not be able to help all the starfish, but we can make a difference for one. And if we all save one starfish that is a lot of starfish back in the ocean.
I also think this has another effect: it makes us feel that we can make a difference. We need that feeling to keep on moving, keep on being motivated to make that difference. Once we have that feeling, we have the anticipation that we can do more of a difference. It may be a small effect in the beginning and yet that can lead to big changes.
For the most anticipations are for things outside of us and things beyond our control; what if we changed that things that are within our control? Changed it to things we can affect and then go for having the anticipation be fulfilled.
What is a change that you want to see?
What is an anticipation, you want fulfilled and what can you do to make it so?
Blogpost for the first day of Christmas 20/21: Time for reflection
Blogpost for the second day of Christmas 20/21: Unicorns
Blogpost for the third day of Christmas 20/21: Raining again
Blogpost for the fourth day of Christmas 20/21: Being or doing
Blogpost for the fifth day of Christmas 20/21: Gratefulness
Blogpost for the sixth day of Christmas 20/21: Having people in my space
Blogpost for the seventh day of Christmas 20/21: Family
Blogpost for the eight day of Christmas 20/21: Uninspiration
Blogpost for the ninth day of Christmas 20/21: Fear (and courage?)
Blogpost for the tenth day of Christmas 20/21: Jumping in puddles
Blogpost for the elleventh day of Christmas 20/21: The choice is yours