3/27/23, Resurrection

Hi Everyone,

I hope it’s been a good week for you. I’ve been working on an outline. It’s been a long week, with strikes in Paris, interrupting all the public services they can, transportation, the postal service, and the garbage is piled high in the streets, with violence on appointed days, and small fires set all over town. It definitely impacts the usually pleasant atmosphere in Paris. And rats will be the next addition to the strike if the garbage isn’t picked up soon, with mountains of overflowing, torn plastic garbage bags spilling garbage all over the sidewalks. Not a pretty picture!!

Other than that, life is rolling along, and I stay home and use the time to write when there are demonstrations all around the city. Despite reports in the international press, it doesn’t feel dangerous to the average citizen, just incredibly inconvenient, which is what the strikers intend.

We are rapidly approaching one of my favorite times of year: Easter. And Passover is always around the same time. The main theme and message of Easter is one I particularly love, the idea of resurrection. After the dark days preceding Easter, commemorating the crucifixion, in the days following the powerful message is all about resurrection, a time for healing and rising from the ashes, and starting life anew again. Who among us hasn’t had ‘crucifixion’ times, a broken relationship, a lost job, the loss of a loved one, a sickness, a disappointment, a divorce, a break up,  a financial problem, or the betrayal by a friend?. We’ve all been there at one time or another, and I always say problems seem to come in bunches. We’ve all had dark times in our lives, and these are still difficult times for many people in the aftermath of Covid.  The world isn’t fully back on its feet yet. And after hard times, what better thought than that of resurrection, of healing, of being born anew, wiping the slate clean and recovering from whatever blows we have been dealing with. This past year was one of many losses for me, of dear friends. My agent of forty years died, and at his best over many years, he was mentor, agent, brilliant advisor, fierce protector, and beloved friend, and even a father figure to me. It was a huge blow to lose him, even at ninety two. He led a great life, but left a huge void when he died. And not long after, another friend died, and at the end of the year, another dear friend (Barbara Walters) and then a beloved brother in law. Three of them had reached a great age, and were still active and vital when they died, but all of them had been my friends for many years, and I felt the absence of their love and presence for months, and still do. So I can use a resurrection from that, a lifting of my spirits and peaceful acceptance that they have moved on, and I have so many happy memories of them to cherish. They were in my life for so many wonderful years.

And then there are all the little problems that gnaw on us night and day, keep us awake at night, they’re not life threatening, but they impact the quality of our daily life. And added to that, the sad events and disappointments that make our daily life less glowing than we would like. And every year the Resurrection redeems us, wipes the slate clean of those disappointments, and we get to start fresh again. I can’t wait!!! The resurrection gives us new hope for the future, feeling renewed and refreshed and ready to leap into life again. There are many celebrations throughout the year, but for me none as powerful as the idea of resurrection.

May this be a healing time for you too, and if you’ve been wrestling with something, or feeling down, now is the time to rise again and start fresh with a clean slate. And whatever religion we are, or none, it’s a concept I love to embrace, as we leave our problems and wounds aside and bury them and move forward with a lighter heart. I hope blessings and joy will rain on you in the coming weeks!!!

much love, Danielle