Ancestors, mental health and the banana birthing..


Ancestors 

Ancestors on my mind as the last of my mausi (maternal aunts) has passed, and Pitri Paksh ends today. 

Thinking of ancestors again as technician put me down as East Indian on the blood donor intake form and I told her nah, I mixed because I honour the non-blood ancestors that had to carve out space for me to be here. 

Including trying to build up a kind of society in which connected by blood or unconnected by blood , we could thrive and that I, us could be in some 'better ' place.

Thinking of ancestors as I sat with relatives to do pitri puja , and then practising the Ramayana singing with some of the youths as another kind of puja for the ancestors who found joy in singing this Ramayana with all its contradictions.  

Mental Health

Finding joy as I lamented the weird stresses, new stresses which are emerging, the increased tensions and energies in the environment; the removal of green spaces

Development apparently not making this calmer or cooler, but intended to have more noise, more rage, more anger, more destruction , the removal of green spaces. 

And today is 'World Mental Health Day' and as with all of these things, every day should be mental health day and in the Gita discussion this morning, a lot of talk about being engaged without being consumed as the stress in Guyana seems to rise as the GDP rises.  

A friend asked if I am resistant to change, and I am grateful for changes which I have pushed myself to go through while resisting the changes which mean more noise, more heat, poorer drainage, poorer governance, increased costs of trying to stay well, greater divides in the population..

 Banana Birthing

And so grateful as I see  banana sucker which is descended from ancestors planted by my father is birthing.  

I remember hearing from the last generation.. 'you know we Guyanese, we gatta plant something somewhere.. and I bless all those in my generation who got thing in pot growing in heated rooms in cold places .. and nuff suplus in warm winter months.. my mausi included who used was the first who told me about roasting her baigan in summer harvest and freezing for winter baigan choka.

I remember others who celebrated concrete while leaving spaces for things to grow , but something broke somewhere and bananas birthing mean nothing to some of the descendants of those who took pride in having things grow around them.

And so wondering as I watch the banana birthing , about those who would rather this be gone from Guyana, removed from the urban spaces. 

But grateful for those who also enjoy watching things grow around them . 

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