A Twist of Irony

Hugo Chavez died today. I saw the news on Twitter. I typically hear of breaking news like this from my husband, who reads news online whenever he gets a chance. (It's like his version of Pinterest, only without the pinning...or the chocolate.) Because he's always far more aware of world events than I am, and forms his opinions much more quickly, he's the first one I go to when I need to process news. I rely on him not only to keep me more or less up-to-date, but also to explain the many things I don't understand about world history, politics, economics, etc. I always learn something from his reflections on world events.

Since Taras reads news online several times a day (in three different languages, I might add), it is very rare for me to hear or read of something big before he does. So, of course, I was very proud of myself when I told him the news of Chavez' passing today via Google chat before he had a chance to see it himself. As always, though, he reflected quickly and with his characteristic wisdom. I thought it deserved to be shared:

4:13 PM        me: Did you see the news about Chavez?

4:18 PM Taras: Now I did! I can't say I am sad or disappointed, except only that he has likely died unforgiven for his many sins and heavy crimes.

4:19 PM me: Yes. I feel the same way.

4:20 PM I do hope that this will open a door for more freedom and hope in Venezuela.

4:27 PM Taras: I hope so, too, but I am also skeptical. Chavez, just like Stalin and Lukashenko [the president of Belarus] is not just a person, but a national mentality, and a nation's mindset does not die the instant the person's heart stops beating. It is a strange twist of irony from God that Chavez died on March 5, 2013, the 60th anniversary of Josef Stalin's death (back in 1953) when tens of thousands wept and stood in lines for hours to pay tribute to his body. The question, "Did Stalin really die or do his works 'ever live on' as the most glittering slogans of his day would have it?" is a very relevant one for today.

4:28 PM Especially for today

*Gulp*

On June 14, 2011, I gave up on blogging. It was about time, really. I had just saved an almost-finished draft of a nice, long post for this blog...when I noticed that I had only published 1 of the 8 drafts I had written since February. I mean, writing 8 posts in 6 months could hardly be called blogging in the first place, and I only published ONE of them. Several of the drafts were complete, and some only lacked a sentence or two, but in my perfectionistic little mind, they weren't ready. They could be better. I didn't have time to make them better, of course, but I couldn't quite let them go as they were either. I couldn't fulfill my own expectations, so I quit.

Fast forward to 2013. A whole lot of life has happened in 18 months. So much, in fact, that I feel the memories slipping already and I wish I could catch them all and fix them to something more permanent. Most of it has been documented on Facebook, where posting feels less like writing and a cute photo can stand in for the words I don't have time to craft to perfection. Still, every now and then I feel the urge to actually write something—to craft something that requires more space or thought or (virtual) solidity than a Facebook status. Or something that actually needs to be formatted in bold or italic type (why can't Facebook do that?). And then I remember I have a blog.

Now, most of the really good blogs I read seem to share at least one of two basic elements: 1) a clear focus, theme, or purpose, and/or 2) a really excellent, prolific writer (or several) behind it. Mine has neither, which is why it will never be a really good blog. And the realization of that fact, ironically, is the key. If I can aim to write a merely good blog, or even a mediocre blog, I might actually produce something. Not only that, but the exercise might even push me a little farther down the path of learning to let go of perfection and embrace the beauty and freedom that comes through honest, open-handed weakness.

So, I'm going to give blogging another shot. I might not post often at first. It might not be all that interesting. I might even chicken out and drop it again. Or maybe not.

Here goes...