Holidays Cancelled Due To Trump PTSD

Standing at the checkout line behind a grandmother and her young grandson, I heard him ask his grandman, "Are you finished with your Christmas shopping?" The grandmother turned to him and said, "We're not doing Christmas this year," then quickly looked at the others in line behind her. I diverted my eyes because there was no reason for her to have my approval or disapproval. I know EXACTLY why she and the boy's mother had made the decision. If you think about it, you know WHY too.

The feelings I experienced hearing a little kid being told there will be no Christmas, darkened my spirit. a Kids being A kid, he held out hope and showed his grandma a little toy he really wanted. She nodded politely and changed the subject. A glimpse of pain registered on her face momentarily. She took a breath, gathered herself, checked out and exited.

For those effected by the SNAP shutdown and just the HIGH cost of groceries, difficult decisions are being made about the holidays. For people who have FOOD SECURITY and support Donald Trump, the shutdown was just another opportunity for cruelness. SNAP receipients were publicly MOCKED and SHAMED. They were called fat, lazy, stealers, a drain on the nation, and any other things they could think of to denegrate a person for needing help to feed themselves and their family. It was a public, brutal, ABUSIVE ASSAULT.

While mocking people needing assistance with food, our president partied, golfed and threw money around to foreign governments as people were not sure about their next meal. America is a wealthy country with citizens paying taxes that are to help the country and its citizens. Overwhelmingly many people are saying poor lives don't matter. Poor people have become reviled and seen as the OTHER.

When trauma, and not knowing if you will be able to eat IS a trauma, there can be long reaching consequenses such as PTSD. You remember feelings, smells, words, actions of a traumatic experience whether you want to or not called FLASHBACKS. Hunger is traumatic by itself without being denegrated for being hungry.

PTSD, or post-traumatic stress disorder, is a mental health condition that can develop after a person experiences or witnesses a traumatic event, such as a car accident, natural disaster, or assault. Symptoms include re-experiencing the trauma through flashbacks or nightmares, avoiding reminders of the event, and feeling on guard or easily startled. Treatment options like psychotherapy and medication are available and can help manage the symptoms, which include negative changes in mood, difficulty sleeping, and trouble concentrating.

Can you imagine, if people who WERE affected by the SNAP stoppage did have enough money for Thanksgiving and Christmas meals, sitting around the table having flashbacks of not being able to buy food. How is their self-esteem after living through food insecurity? Do they think about what if this happens again and they're unable to buy regular groceries AGAIN? HAVE THEIR MENTAL HEALTH BEEN AFFECTED?

People in favor of the cuts were like, "just get a job" when many recipients of SNAP benefits are WORKING Americans, elderly, children and the disabled. Minimum wage is a struggle income and jobs for college educated people barely pay more. Ask recent college graduates and they will tell you they can't EVEN find a job with a degree. Many American homes are filled with parents, adult children and elderly parents. Many grandparents are raising grandchilren on their own. 

The HAPPY season of holidays is suppose to be joyful. But Donald Trump has turned the season into flashbacks of trauma. Republican Christians fight so hard for people to say MERRY CHRISTMAS because of Jesus while showing no reverence to Jesus and how he cared more about the POOR than the WEALTHY. One of the three times Jesus became angry was when the poor was being taken advantage of.

Jesus expressed anger at least three times in the Bible: he was angry when merchants commercialized the temple, "My house will be called a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of robbers" (Matthew 21:12-16). He was angry that the temple had become a place of commerce rather than worship. When people lacked compassion for a man with a withered hand, and when the Pharisees stubbonly refused to believe his teachings. His anger was described as righteous indignation at the hardness of heart or the desecration of his Father's house, not as a sinful human anger.

PTSD is not just happening to those whose SNAP benefits were cut. Americans wake every morning in FEAR of what cruel abusive thing Trump will do next. The news has become a source of trauma. No matter how hard you try, you can't escape Trump's antics. In some way or form he has hurt an American citizen. Even though airports are back at full operation, people are not going to fly. Trump's indiscrimnate FIRING of COMPETENT government employees and whoever else he wants to fire, has caused people not to trust flying anymore. Those who do fly are filled with anxiety questioning their decision.

The damage Trump's administration is inflicting will be felt for years. Even if people aren't experiencing TRUMP PTSD now, it can show up years later. Trump is an ABUSIVE president and have supporters who enjoy the pain he inflicts. This may be the most traumatizing of all. The realization of how many OTHER cruel people exist in America is SHOCKING to the system! This will be the hardest phychological healing for many. 

PTSD can be helped with therapy and medication, but many do not know they are suffering from it. Having a family member at holiday meals who RAVES about how wonderful Trump is can send someone into a rage. Pushing those feelings down, trying to get along, adds to the anxiety and stress caused by Trump.

Trump is a grifter and a ROBBER. He robs people of their dignity, humanity. This is not TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME. This is something else, TRUMP PTSD. He is robbing people of their joy and SECURITY in so many areas and ways as he enjoys his life without threat or fear. We are experiencing trauma from his actions and behaviors daily. If you do a self-check, you probably are experiencing anxiety. Every day people are wondering, "How was he even elected?" Then we have to face the fact we live among the cruelest of people who continue to support him. Feelongs of helplessness and hopelessness abound. Our children are experiencing the same emotions as the adults. This is their world too. And for parents and grandparents, their hearts break for the little ones.

No, there is no need for explainations why the holidays have been canceled. People are preparing for the worst they know is YET to come. But how do you prepare for blatent abuse of power? You can't and that is TRAUMATIC.

The LOVE of Roses

So, you made it through Mother's Day I am assuming. You did your due diligence and picked mom a special gift which made her smile. WHAT A WONDERFUL CHILD YOU ARE.

No one was smiling more than florists filling thousands of bouquet orders of flowers on Mother's Day. And the number one flower people wanted to give mom was the ROSE. Roses are not just the go-to flower to give to your mother, it is the go-to flower for most gift giving to a loved one or person of interest. The rose spans many occasions of celebration. Oh, by the way, Kenya is smiling too. Commercial rose growing in Kenya goes back decades. The country is famous for its vibrantly colored blooms. Rich soil and an abundance of sunlight give Kenya’s roses their natural, distinctive hues. 

The flower which represents love has been loved for centuries. Napoleon wife Josephine Bonaparte loved roses. Between 1804 and 1814 Empress Josephine built her rose collection. It was to become the greatest and largest rose collection in the world, unsurpassed until the creation of Sangerhausen in Germany and L’Hay outside Paris, one century later. The collection was made up of about 250 species and varieties. By 1830 some 2500 different rose varieties would be available to Parisian rose lovers, all influenced by Josephine’s zeal for rose collecting. It was also the first time that anyone had had thought to create a garden with only one type of plant.   

I am a Master Gardener, and my great love is the rose. At last count I have 165 roses (not species). That is actually a small number of roses for a rose enthusiast. I am slowly becoming comfortable calling myself a Rosarian. I am a member of several Rose Lovers Facebook groups. I love roses and I am not alone. 

People love roses for their beauty, symbolism, cultural significance, exclusivity, and association with special occasions. Roses have been around for over 35 million years and are a staple in the wedding world. Red roses are associated with love, passion, and longing, and have been used in romantic gestures and rituals since ancient times.

People have been giving roses to each other since the 17th century as a way to express love. Roses are the favorite flower of Venus, the Greek goddess of love, and are often used to represent strong emotions. The Victorians also used bouquets of flowers to communicate feelings through a messaging system called "floriography," and roses became a symbol of romantic affection.

Various religions have long used roses as symbols of religious belief. In ancient Greece, the rose was a symbol of Aphrodite. It was also part of the Egyptian myth of Isis. More modern religions still use the rose symbolically. The rose is a repeated leitmotif of Judaism that symbolizes both Israel and royalty. Jewish people are also compared with roses in the Bible. After the rise of Christianity, the rose became heavily linked with the image of the Virgin Mary. Some Catholic sects place crowns made of roses on statues of the Virgin Mary during different religious holidays. Islam also incorporates these flowers into its symbology.

Whether you realized it or not, the color of rose you chose to buy and give to your loved one has meaning. Roses are filled with meaning and superstition. Me personally, have made it a point when I was in the dating arena to tell men who showed interest in me that I preferred NOT to be gifted roses. For me, receiving roses was an intimate thing and I wanted to steer clear of possibly sending the wrong signal to a man whom I had not yet declared MY love to. Plus, I wanted him to be a little more thoughtful about the flowers he bought me as a gift. Roses were such an easy go to. Roses did all of the work for him. 

Let's look at what the color of roses means first.

For example, blue roses symbolize mystery. This is not a naturally occurring color for roses but rose growers remain on a quest to create a true blue rose. There are several roses named as a blue rose such as the rose named Blue Girl, Blue Moon rose, Blue Nile, Carding Mill rose, Rainy Blue, Rhapsody in Blue, Suntory Blue Rose Applause, and Shocking Blue. Yellow roses are ideal to give away to friends.  In the past, the yellow rose was associated with jealousy or infidelity. Yellow roses used to stand for unfaithfulness, so giving a bouquet of yellow roses to your romantic partner would lead to fights and eventual break up. Nowadays, we see this rose as meaning strength, friendship and cherishing. 

Orange roses are for joy. Green roses represent strength and fertility. Oddly, there are several true green roses: Green Tea, Mayra’s Green, Jade, Super Green, Lemonade. I don't like green roses. Leaves are green. Why would I want a flower bloom to be green?

The symbolism of the elegant white rose is trust, innocence, purity, loyalty, respect, and also a fitting gift for a fresh start or a farewell. The white rose is also a symbol of remembrance. The white rose is very popular in the bridal bouquet and also suits farewell and memories. In addition, a bouquet of white roses is perfect for new business customers, for a housewarming party or of course the beginning of a new love.

Red roses are known worldwide as the symbol of love and romance. With red roses, you really give a feeling or emotion to someone else. So red roses are ideal to give to your partner on, for example, a wedding day, Valentine's Day or other special occasion. The rose has many options for giving red roses to someone. So, you have bouquets of 100 red roses for a very impressive gift, but you can also order your number of roses in a bouquet of, say, 33 red roses, for a birthday or wedding anniversary.

The message that the purple rose wants to send out is 'Love at first sight'. So, it's not that only red roses do well on Valentine's Day, also purple roses fit perfectly with the feeling of enchantment and desire.

Pink roses also have multiple meanings. For instance, you can use these roses if you are grateful to someone for something and they want to show their gratitude with these roses. Furthermore, pink roses also represent desire and are for thanksgiving. 

Now for a few superstitions regarding flowers in general and gifting them. Hopefully, you didn't break any superstitions on Mother's Day or at any other time when gifting flowers.

• Red and white: Some say that sending a combination of red and white flowers to someone who is sick can bring misfortune or even death.
• Odd numbers: Some say that giving someone an odd number of flowers is lucky, while even numbers are for the dead and may bring bad luck.
• White carnations: In Russia, white carnations are said to take away talent and good luck.
• Withered flowers: Some say that flowers that fade in the house bring good news, so you should keep them for a few days.
• Before a performance: Some say that it is bad luck to give flowers to someone before they go out to perform on stage, and instead you should wait until after.

It is said that roses are planted near someone’s grave to protect their soul from evil spirits. 

Seeing a white rose bloom in autumn signifies an early marriage. 

Throwing rose leaves into a fire is said to bring good luck.

Where roses are concerned, different cultures have different beliefs about giving roses. Most people view a rose as innocent and just a very pretty flower. In certain countries, you can run into awkward situations if you are not up on you understanding of roses.

In America, more often than any other flower, we hold the rose dear as the symbol of life and love and devotion, of beauty and eternity. For the love of man and woman, for the love of mankind and God, for the love of country, Americans who would speak the language of the heart do so with a rose. We see proofs of this everywhere.

In Hungary, roses are actually a popular funeral flower. While they still retain the classic rose symbolism of love and even romance in that context, they tend to represent one’s undying love for a lost friend, spouse, or relative – so they may not be the most appropriate gift for a first date in Budapest.

Roses are also funeral flowers in Mexico, but here it’s a matter of choosing the color carefully. Yellow roses symbolize death in traditional Mexican culture, so it’s not a good idea to show up for a date or a fiesta with a yellow bouquet. This is just one of many rules of thumb for giving roses in Mexico. If you’re giving red roses in Mexico, you’d better be serious! These beauties are loaded with meaning – two, in fact. In terms of romance, they profess grand, undying love. They also stir up superstitions of magic and spell casting. Purple roses symbolize witchcraft and casting spells too, so there are plenty of ways to infuse rose-giving with some high drama.

South Koreans take rose-giving in a different direction by making these lovely blooms a coming-of-age symbol. Every May, on Coming-of-Age Day, South Koreans have a giant party celebrating all the young people turning 20 that year, at which the birthday boys and girls (men and women?) exchange gifts, including bouquets of roses – typically red.

The Finnish have also adopted the rose as a symbol of appreciation between friends. In fact, every February 14, the Finnish swap the traditional Valentine’s Day for the more inclusive Friend’s Day, a custom that started in the 1980s and hasn’t gone anywhere since. In that spirit, the Finnish celebrate Friend’s Day by exchanging cards, candy, and pink roses.

In Catalonia, Saint George Day is celebrated with roses. Legend has it that St. George, your typical knight in shining armor, saved both a town and a princess by slaying a dragon who’d taken up residence nearby. When the dragon fell, roses sprang up from where its blood had spilled – and now every April 23, Catalonians give each other red roses to symbolize St. George’s valiance and sacrifice.

Cut flowers are traditionally for funerals in China. In this case, both yellow and white roses represent death. White, furthermore, symbolizes bad luck. Numbers are highly symbolic in Chinese culture, and influence flower-giving in many ways. The number 14, for example, means imminent death, so a bouquet of 14 roses would not be well received. But recently a modern-day fairy tale and a magical number gave red roses renewed significance in Chinese romantic culture.

Taiwan’s Valentine’s Day rose traditions take that symbolism to the next level. When V Day rolls around, rose bouquets are bought in specific numbers to send particular messages to crushes and loved ones. A single rose symbolizes one-and-only love. 11 roses are given to a “special someone.” 99 roses are given to someone you’ll love for eternity. 108 roses = “Will you marry me?”

 I know my love affair with roses will only deepen as time marches on. It would be difficult for me to say which color of rose is my favorite. I just love roses. Now that I am married, I enjoy receiving roses and my husband doesn't have to be concerned about the color he chooses. But for the rose gift giver, taking the time to understand the meaning behind the flower and color of the flower can score you big points or lead to big misunderstandings.

Why Were You Created?

There are those who wrestle with the timeless question, WHY WAS I CREATED? They wonder what is their purpose in life. I believe I first wondered what was my purpose in life and as life began to beat me up, I wondered why was I created.

If you are of the Christian faith, it is almost DRILLED into the followers that God created humans and gave them a talent/gift and purpose. It is up to us to learn what our talent/gift is and live into it. Teachers/preachers of the Bible use the Parable of the Talents in Scripture to show it is imparative that we use the "talent" gift that God has given to us from Mathew 25:14-30. 

In the parable a master gave three men different amounts of money. One man he gave 5 talents, the second man he gave 2 talents, and the last man he gave 1 talent according to their abilities. The one he gave 5 talents went and made 5 more talents with the original 5 he was given. The man with 2 talents made 2 more talents. To the servants who DOUBLED their talents the master said, "Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master." The man with 1 talent buried his which DISPLEASED the master. He did not double his talent. He called the man wicked and slothful and took his talent and gave it to one of the other men. The master then said, "For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away." In this passage the master represents God and the servants represents us. Instead of the talent maintaining its original meaning of MONEY, it is often taught to mean a person's personal talent or gift given to them by God. It is taught God expects us to use our talent or it will be taken away from us.

The switching from money (talent), to an individuals gift has caused people to search for their gift or talent for ages. Failing to find their gift/talent causes frustration and fear. Add to the mix that Christianinty frowns upon teaching predestination which is throughout the Bible, many become desparate trying to figure out what PURPOSE they were created for.

In other creation stories from around the world, the creation of man was an after thought. Humans were created out of waste material, even disgusting materials. There was no purpose for humans. There were not any special gifts or talents given to humans. Humans are always created last on the rung of creation. Everything else we see and enjoy such as the sky, sea, and animals all came before man.

The Western thought about ourselves has indoctrinated us to believe we are more important than other aspects of creation mainly because we are supposed to be the most intelligent, capable of great things. We set ourselves above the elements of nature and other creations such as the heavens, seas, nature, and animals. With such a high view of ourselves, we then believe we are supposed to acheive great things because we have gifts. 

We preesure ourselve, stress, and search trying to find that gift or purpose for being when the sun does not stress or feel pressure to be the sun. The stars, sea, trees, birds, and other animals do not stress about their gifts or purpose because their existence is their gift and purpose already. 

There is another part of Scripture which instructs us not to worry, “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the feild, which is here today and tomorrow thrown into the fire, will he not mouch more clothe you - you of little faith" Matthew 6:25-34. In this passage we see everything and everyone is cared for and just need to focus on being.

We may live and never find out what our talent, gift, or purpose for being is and miss the joy of just being. We need to take the time and thnk about the other parts of creation which do not get wrapped up in trying to figure out why they exist but exist as they were intended to exist. A flower grows, blooms, and dies. As a Master Gardener, I look forward to the process each spring and enjoy the flowers their entire season until they are gone. Enjoy your process of growing and blooming and know in the end, you must end. But during your time, others enjoy your process also. They look forward to it. Remain humble, knowing their are creation stories which say, as humans, you are not as important as you have been led to believe. Elevating yourself above everything else in creation, may not be the healthiest stance to take.

Below are a few creation stories that are far from the creation ideal of humans in the Christian teachings. No matter whether you believe any of the creation stories of humans, stop stressing and worrying about whether your are not using your gift/talent or failing to reach your purpose. Be as the birds of the air and flowers of the field and realize, being is a gift in of itself. 

A long story of creation begins in Babylon where two watery tumultuous beings, one female and one male are the center of the story. Apsu, which is seen as sweet water represents the male and Tiamet, seen as salt water, represented the female. The union of Apsu and Tiamet produces a varieties of sea creatures and gods. In the chaos Tiamet the female creator tries to take control, but her descendants unite against her, choosing the god of Babylon; Marduk to lead them.

Armed with hurricanes, Marduk meets Tiamet and her evil accomplice Kingu in battle and kills Tiamet and Kingu both. Marduk splits the monstrous corpse of Tiamet into two parts. From one half of Tiamet, Marduk creates the earth and from the other half he creates the heavens, In the heavens he constructs a dwelling place for his colleagues, the gods. Marduk realized they would need servants, so he uses the blood of Kingu to create the first man. Take notice of the materials this myth uses to create man.  

In India Purusha is a primal man sacrificed by the gods as the act of creation. The sky comes from his head, the earth from his feet, the sun from his eyes, and the moon from his mind. The four castes of Hindu society are derived from his body. Birds and animals came from his fat which drips from him during the sacrifice.

The account of mankind from China teaches Pan Ku is hatched from a cosmic egg. Half of the shell is above him as the sky and the other half below him as the earth. He grows taller each day for 18,000 years gradually pushing the two parts apart until they reach their appointed places ultimately falling to pieces. His limbs become the mountains, his voice becomes the thunder, his blood the rivers, his breath becomes the wind, his two eyes become the sun and the moon, and the parasite on his body becomes mankind.

In the drawn-out origin story of the earth from Greece there are several gods vying for power. Eventually Zeus becomes the powerful leader. During all the chaos of battles somehow mankind arrives on earth but it’s not clear how. But men are certainly there because a free-thinking Titan named Prometheus, smuggles to mankind the valuable resource of fire. In one of many versions how the present-day man originated is that Zeus being mad at Prometheus, sends a great flood to drown mankind but two humans escape in an ark. When the flood subsides the Oracle of Delphi told the two to cast behind them two bones of their first ancestors who they reasoned was Gaea, the earth. The two threw stones over their shoulders and out of each stone a human being is created.

In Japan, the origin story does not lead to the first man but to the first emperor. Jimmu-Tenno was the first Japanese emperor with three items given to him by Ninigi, great grandfather of Jimmu-Tenno. He was given a jeweled necklace symbolizing benevolence, a mirror for purity, and a sword symbolizing courage. A necklace, mirror, and sword are still the Japanese Imperial symbols kept in an inner sanctuary of Shinto Shrines.

The Norse theory has the origin of man originating from German tribes who gradually moved south through Europe from the shores of the Baltic. It is in Scandinavia that the Germanic legends are eventually recorded and preserved in the stories of the Norse gods.

In the beginning there was nothing. Gradually water fills the space which freezes then partially melts. From the drops of melting water, a giant in human form emerges called Ymir. From Ymir armpit a man and a woman appear; giants like him. Meanwhile a cow licked the melting ice and revealed another giant who the god Odin descends. Odin and his brothers kill Ymir in his old age. Of Ymir’s flesh they make the earth, of his skull the heavens, out of his blood the sea, of his bone the mountains, and out of his hair trees.

The maggots in Ymir’s corpse take the form of stunted humans, dwarfs to remain in his body beneath the surface of the earth. On earth Odin and his colleagues breathe life into two tree trunks turning them into the first man and woman.

***Origin/Cration stories and topic are excerps from my manuscript, Manhood Interrupted but Never Denied.****