Historic Eastern Market, admiring its reflection in the hood of a shiny car.
I watched all 104 minutes of Leni Riefenstahl's Triumph of the Will yesterday, on youtube of course. Youtube is such an amazing phenomenon, isn't it? I was blown away - what a beautiful piece of work. Wow. Of course it isn't sophisticated by today's standards, but wow. I kept thinking about how devastated Germany was at the end of WWI, how people were literally starving to death, not to mention humiliated in every way possible. Then there was the Depression, which made everything worse. Conditions there were way more intense than you and I can begin to imagine. OF COURSE the people were more vulnerable to Hitler's promises and visions than they might otherwise have been. Here's a link to one image I captured digitally. Holy cow. What was that dude channeling?
Yikes.
In preparing for the trip to Poland, I'm not wanting to get entrenched in some rigid idea of what the Holocaust was; I want to open my mind and heart to what I don't already know. Sincere thanks to everyone who commented on yesterday's post. Y'all are so thoughtful, insightful and smart. THANK YOU.
I could get further into this topic, but today is not a day to dive deep into the black hole of WWII, nope. It's going to get up to 65 F. in DC today, and I have the whole day free. Oh yeah I WILL be out there walking around, looking at things, taking pictures. It's going to be warm enough to sit outside without a coat, scarf, gloves, hat. Oh man!
The Sufi acupuncturist would agree with today's strategy, to turn away from the darkness, get out into the sunshine and warmth. In fact, yesterday he gave me a musical prescription. I am to listen to this song at least three times a day for nine days. Greatest prescription I've ever had! I'll be getting out into the light, oh my yes.
Of course the warmth won't linger, which is fine. Late February is not supposed to be warm, not even here in swampy DC. But a day or two of sunshine and warmth? What a blessing!!
Seizing the day. Shalom.
That ole devil moon is Very Full today. I'm feeling the buzz. Are you?
9 comments:
YES, I'm feeling the buzz! I couldn't sleep at all last night...light was streaming into my bedroom like daylight and I felt the pull of it.
Maybe the solar flare had something to do with it, as well?
Great post, Reya. Get out into the sunshine and share YOUR light!
OH, knew something was up last night. I had a nightmare from an old wound and heard a gentle whisper in my ear reminding me that wasn't my real life anymore. I don't have nightmares very often and not that one in a looong time. I just listened to that song and the soft morning light is streaming through my window, transformative :)
"I will see the light"~ Love the song and it too is my mantra for this spring. Great post Reya!
Love and Peace! It is 72* today! YAY!!
"Holy cow!What was that dude channeling". Wow you got that right! The photo says it all.
When shamanistsically (is that a word?) one realizes the power and place of energy, you only have to watch those ranting speeches to know that particular energy is coming from somewhere.
Reya isn't Edward Tick interesting in his work with War and the Soul. I have just heard an audio of him speak about his work with war vets.
Wishing you a peaceful and happy weekend ahead.
I haven't heard of Edward Tick. Thanks, Pam. I'll look him up!
Just as cough medicine has a nighttime variety, so does the prescription from your acupuncturist. You can find it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0yBnIUX0QAE
Thanks Hammer.
I sat outside on Wed.--had a jacket (not coat) and scarf on, but I was sitting *outside* comfortably. It was great.
I once had the transformative experience of watching "Birth of a Nation" at a film festival (that sucker is about 4 hours long, if I remember correctly); the revelation was: oh, NOW I get how people could believe this storyline. (It makes the KKK look like heroes riding to the rescue of noble values.) Your description made me think of the similar conditions after the war, of change so huge people couldn't deal with it so they invested in a fiction that would get them out of it...
I didn't anticipate ever understanding or having an insight into racism, but now I get how the way you tell a story is a powerful thing. Of course, I see this all the time now, but it was a revelation that the power of stories can cut both ways. Or lots of ways!
Karen - thank you for this insight. Four hours, eh? My attention span isn't what it used to be, but now I'm kind of interested in seeing "Birth of a Nation."
I've been looking at propaganda posters from Germany prior to WWII. I've seen the antisemetic ones, but was struck by one whole contingent of pics, of old, sickly people - the propaganda on these posters is centered around the fact that they can't work. "Useless eaters." Whoa!
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