Dear ones,
I just arrived back home earlier this month from another trip to Latvia, a sweet little country where my mother is from, in northeastern Europe. You are welcome to dive into my deeper writing about the trip, specifically on my learnings from the traditional pirts experience that I had with my daughter and nieces. The link is located below.
Beyond what I have already shared elsewhere, I will say this. Dear sisters and friends, the citizens I met in Europe are pretty worried about us here in the US. Well, of course they are. And honestly, it felt a bit nerve wracking to come back through customs as a dual citizen of US/Latvia, especially as our president continues to change his mind on his relationship to Putin and Ukraine, a relationship which is of deep interest to the Peoples of the Baltics. The countries of the Baltics are generally in solidarity with the citizens of Ukraine, and, so too of occupied Peoples everywhere.
Given these shifting political times, it was surreal to not be clear on how my body and identity would be treated as I returned to the US. The lack of certainty around my ability to return to my country of birth and my choice of residence was a new experience for me. I now recognize the extraordinary privilege in the comfort I have had to move freely in the world through most of my life.
As I touch into the tentative quality of this returning, it feels as if we, as US citizens and residents of a gorgeous, diverse citizenry, increasingly cannot move as freely due to government actions. Our response as citizens is 100% necessary. I am so thankful for all of those who are taking direct, non-violent action to bring awareness and express opposition to these changes, and especially thankful to those who are looking after our most vulnerable neighbors.
I am reminded of the 800 years of occupation of the Latvian Peoples and what it has taken for them to carry on their traditions, to radically and intentionally protect their joy, despite limitations forced upon their bodies. Let's keep moving together in unity, and with non-violence in our hearts, towards a future of healing and regenerative joy for all of our neighbors. And let's be sure we call upon each other for support and offer what we can. As counter-intuitive as it may be, for those who have the privilege to do so, for sustained action, we must move in a way that honors our nervous system and our body's natural responses to stress, such as flight, fight, freeze and appease. Tend to the healing in your body as part of your personal call to action. Donate, give support, act. We can do this.
With love,
Maija
