December 25, 2023

Quote of the Week

"On the day when the weight deadens on your shoulders and you stumble, may the clay dance to balance you" -- John O' Donohue

For The Children

By Gary Snyder

The rising hills, the slopes,
of statistics
lie before us.
the steep climb
of everything, going up,
up, as we all
go down.

In the next century
or the one beyond that,
they say, are valleys,
pastures, we can meet there
in peace
if we make it.

To climb these coming crests
one word to you,
to you and your children:

stay together
learn the flowers
go light

--
Gather with your children or those around you and reflect on the concluding phrases of this poem: stay together/ learn the flowers/ go light. Consider how might these words matter to you and your family? Invite children to consider what staying together signifies in your context? As a household, as friends, as neighbor(s), as people who might hold differing views? What might you like to shed away as you walk, stumble, dance through this journey - regrets, biases, othering? We hope this poem, penned in 1997 by Gary Snyder, inspires you just as it did when we read it here.

Reading Corner

Name: Man-Man and the Tree of Memories
Authors: Yaba Badoe; illustrator: Joelle Avelino
Ages: 8 to 12 y.o.

"Notting Hill Carnival, which occurs annually in August, is one of the largest street festivals in the world and of huge cultural significance to British African Caribbean people. Its presence in this book is so strong that it feels like a character, not a setting. Man-man and his family are all busy preparing for Carnival and Man-man is particularly excited to dance at the front of the procession. There is just one shadow falling over his excitement; his mother’s ill health which prevents her from joining in with the festivities.

Carnival is not just a festival, though – in this book, Carnival is alive and mystical, its magic present in the enchanting Queen of Revels and the sacred Tree of Memories. To confront the hurt that still strongly affects his family in the present, Man-man has to face the devasting atrocities his ancestors underwent in the past – only then, can the present heal. Badoe skilfully writes about the difficult topic of slavery and generational trauma for a younger audience, emphasising hope and resilience without sugar-coating history...." -- Synopsis by Children's Books Ireland

Be the Change

Try this with your family: Go on a Colour Walk