Stacey Moves

Saturday, September 23, 2006

KALI MERA! As I drift through life searching for familiarity in every face I meet, oftentimes I find what I am longing for takes form in my opposite. I bellydance, make curry for dinner, and take solace in Turkish pop music and hummus. Let us not forget the men. Could I have been reincarnated as a white girl to teach my people about the East? Perhaps. I see more of myself in Ganesh than the Virgin Mary. These inklings of doubt as to my heritage solidified last night as I twirled my heart out on stage at the Greek Festival, accompanied by live music and a real-life court jester; I'm not sure how Greek that is, but it's unique. I almost wore jeans last night. I almost wore my hair up. I almost forgot my silver bangle bracelets. But somehow I knew that wearing my hair down, putting on my pink gypsy skirt and adorning myself with exotic jewelry was the right way to go. I learned Greek words, practiced traditional folk dances and ate too much philo dough. It made me feel incredibly alive. I long to be part of a culture that celebrates life by dancing and eating and preserving tradition. Unfortunately, I do not mean "The Electric Slide", potato chips and Super Bowl Sunday. Never knowing my real heritage has given me the opportunity to explore everyone else's but prevented me from embracing my own. So now I give thanks for my untethered past, allowing me to absorb so much of the world's diversity with ease, but I hope to find a tradition of my own- one to sustain me and connect my life with something bigger. Something old and distinct, to lend some geography to my life. Efharisto.

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