Thursday, October 22, 2020

Love, Loss, and Growth

 


Dia de los Muertos

In the last blog, we looked at the benefits of fear. This blog, we are looking at loss. Loss can cover any number of things in life. We can feel loss when we leave a school, move out of a home, leave friends and family. It can also occur when a loved one leaves us. In the world, death is addressed differently. In the next week, we will hear about Dia de los Muertos or Day of the Dead celebrations. You might also hear of All Saints' or All Souls' Days. Let's learn a little more about these upcoming holidays which focus on our lost loved ones.


Día de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, comes from Mexico. Day of the dead is traditionally celebrated November 1st and 2nd. This two-day celebration is believed to be when the passageway between the real world and the spirit world opens and our deceased loved ones can come back to visit. This celebration involves making our loved ones favorite meals and offering their favorite drinks. The living sing, dance, and rejoice their lost loved ones before they return to the spirit world. The first is traditionally for the children who have passed to come back and celebrate as angelitos. The second is the day the adults return to celebrate a Difuntos. Families celebrate by creating altars, decorating burial sites, and cooking specific food. Día de los Muertos began when the Spaniards came to Mexico and introduced Catholicism to the indigenous people. This celebration blended the Aztec festival dedicated to the “lady of the dead” goddess Mictecacihuatl and Catholicism. Today, festivities include families gathering during the night at cemeteries to light candles and place flowers on the burial sites of their lost loved ones. There is music and reflections of their loved ones.

Traditions:

  • Ofrendas (altars): usually consist of water, the loved one’s favorite food and drink items, flowers, bread, and other things that celbrate the dead person’s life. Ofrendas showcase fire, water, earth, and air.

  • Marigold flowers: The marigold is thought to guide the spirits back with their intense color and pungent smell.

  • Calaveras (skulls): Skulls were used during rituals in the Aztec era and passed on as trophies during battles.Small, decorated sugar skulls are placed on the altars. They are decorated with colorful, edible pain, glitter, beads, and sport huge smiles.

  • La Catrina: The skulls and skeletons that are so prominent come from a desire to stay true to the culture. People painting their faces with skulls and flowers to symbolize Día de los Muertos.

  • Papel Pícado: perforated paper art that comes from the Aztec tradition of chiseling spirit figures on wood. You will find them strung up on alters and in the streets. Papel picados represent air on the ofrendas.

To learn more about recipes, sugar skulls, traditions, and history, look at https://dayofthedead.holiday/ and National Geographic Dia de los Muertos



For Roman Catholics and Christians,  All Saints’ Day (November 1st) and All Souls’ Day (November 2nd)  celebrate those baptized Christians who are deceased and saints that are both known and unknown to the human world.



Mourning What We're Missing


We talked about fear during the last blog and additionally during our 7 Mindset lessons.  As we get closer to Halloween, Dia de Los Muertos, and All Saints’ Day it’s important to remember those people and things we have lost.  Not just in a sense of death, but also being able to mourn the activities affected by Covid-19 and other experiences.  Here are two videos about ways to find positives in the midst of loss and practice new coping skills.


Mourning what we’re missing



Unlikely Basketball Hero


Activity

When fear, sadness, or anxiety sets in we need to make intentional time for happiness. With your family, allow time to blow bubbles, make an album with pictures and happy memories of loved ones and fun times, draw or color these 7 Mindsets coloring pages, relax a little more, take time to express gratitude on the form, tell funny stories, etc. Allow time to intentionally express joy and happiness.

Thursday, October 8, 2020

There is Nothing to Fear but Fear Itself (F. Roosevelt Quote)

 



Fear: an unpleasant emotion caused by the belief that someone or something is dangerous, likely to cause pain or a threat.


The month of October is commonly associated with scary things and fear because of the October 31st holiday of Halloween. Yet, originally, Halloween comes from the term All Hallows’ Eve which is a celebration of All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day. Similar to Día de Los Muertos, All Saints’ and All Souls’ Days celebrated the souls of those who died. They were believed to return to visit their homes on these days or believe to journey to the otherworld. Celebrations included feasts and bonfires, masks, and costumes. Halloween has evolved since those days and includes a specific emphasis on scary things and focuses our minds on the dark and fearful. There are benefits to fear. It may seem crazy, but the truth is that fear is a necessary survival tool.

Benefits of Fear:


Fear keeps you safe. Fear is an internal alarm system. It lets you know when you are being unsafe or think you are unsafe and prompts you to action.


Fear temporarily boosts your immune system. In a 2009 study, participants’ blood was tested before and after a horror movie. The results showed that physiological fear caused an elevation in white blood cells- which strengthens your immune system.


Fear gives you a natural high and sense of empowerment. When you feel fear, your body releases adrenaline, dopamine, endorphins, oxytocin, and serotonin. This increases your energy and focuses your brain. When you come through a challenge or an obstacle, you feel empowered because you overcame that challenge.


Fear helps you manage stress and relaxes you. Stress is fear-based. You worry about unknown consequences or unpredictable events. When under stress, your body and brain are filled with adrenaline and dopamine. This rush of energy can focus you to accomplish things or make choices. Once this happens, you are able to relax and take a breath.

The key to having the benefit of fear without the drawbacks is to remember that we must embrace our fears in small doses. As with anything in life, too much fear can cripple a person, cause doubt and frustration so that all of the potential learning and accomplishment disappears and we are thrown into crisis mode. Small doses of fear help us overcome, grow, learn. This doesn’t mean that you must tackle everything you fear at once nor does it mean all situations that fear appears can be beneficial. Life-threatening situations cause fear which will hopefully keep us safe, but it can also paralyze us. The important thing to remember is that everyone feels fear in their lives and more often than not, it will help us become better.



Something to Fright, Something to Fathom, and Something to Repulse




This blog's book talk centers around the ghoulish, ghostly, and monstrous. This slideshow has some recommendations of mysteries, tales, horror, and just good stories. It also includes some collections that have many more titles available in our catalog. Click on the picture and check out some scary stories. (Hint the QR codes in the presentation take you to the link in the catalog so you are able to put it on hold for checkout. Make sure you are logged in to make it go smoothly.)


Impossible or Possible? It's all in Your Mindset


As we close out the Everything is Possible mindset, and Halloween is approaching, it’s important to reflect on fear.  The greatest obstacle to taking action on something is fear of failure, but the most successful people in the world don’t see failure, only feedback. Simply learn from mistakes and move forward, because this is the only way to make our dreams into reality. Act on them, and be prepared to adjust. 


A brick wall stood in the middle of a New York City park accompanied by a sign encouraging passersby to try kicking through it.  Watch what happened.

Could You Kick Through this Wall?

After watching the video, talk to your family members and discuss these questions:

  • How did the brick wall make you feel at first?

  • When have you felt like you can't do something? Explain.

  • When is a time that you have had to face your fears and persevere through them?










Summer is Almost Here! Last Blog of the School Year

  Our last blog for the school year! There is so much to talk about and so little time. Let’s start with celebrating National AAPI Heritage ...