????| Leadership Coach to those NEVER satisfied with the "Status Quo" | Host of Way of the Warrior | Giant Slayer | Bully Crusher | Another Warrior in the Arena | Graphic Artist | Published Author |
“You’re Welcome” The below is a brutal story… ?? TRIGGER WARNING ?? A different take on what it means … …to actually be thankful…. “The sky was the color of old iron as I stood on the edge of the bluff, staring down at the valley where settlers had planted their neat rows of crops. Smoke from their chimneys curled upward, faint against the horizon. It was Thanksgiving, or so they called it. ….I suppose we’re meant to feel thankful, too, though no one ever asks us what we think. Maybe they assume we’re grateful for the smallpox blankets, the treaties written in ink that vanishes when it rains…. ….or the way our rivers and spirits have been poisoned alike. Maybe they imagine we “celebrate” how they chopped up our land into tiny squares and told us to play pretend with fences and deeds. “Happy Thanksgiving!” they’d probably shout, smiling with mouths that once promised peace…. yet delivered guns, tears and death. But I’m not bitter. Not at all. I mean, who doesn’t love a good origin story? A group of pale, starving strangers wash up on our shores…. ….we save them from their own bad luck, and then —plot twist— they repay us by calling us “savages” and erasing us from their history books…. ….Classic. I can hear their laughter from here, their toasts to “freedom” and “prosperity.” They carve their turkey, the fat bird splayed out like a conquered thing, and pretend they know what it means to “give thanks.” But I’m not angry…. No, I’ll give thanks in my own way. I’ll thank the WIND for carrying our songs even when our voices are silenced. I’ll thank the EARTH for holding the memories of my people, the stories buried beneath the settler’s plow. I’ll thank the FIRE ?? for reminding me that even the smallest flame can burn away lies. And I’ll thank THEM—the ones down in the valley. I’ll thank them for teaching me that survival isn’t about what you’re given, but what you REFUSE to lose. So, Happy Thanksgiving, settlers. Enjoy your feast. I’ll be here, watching, remembering, and THRIVING. Thankful for what, you ask? Thankful that you underestimated me. It makes MY survival that much sweeter…. Ohhhhh n one more thing… You’re Welcome.” ???? Written by Trevor Martin #Thanksgiving #grateful #USA