New Year’s Eve, and the Petchary is tired of hearing of all the disasters, mistakes, deliberate wrongdoing and accumulated grief that made up 2010, in Jamaica and elsewhere. A thirty per cent increase in the fatal shootings of civilians by the police is but one of the most bitter leavings of the Old Year.
Best thing to do is ignore the “year in review” (who wants to look back at all that?) Let’s not look forward or back.
Let’s enjoy the moment. A green and gold morning with sunlight seeping through the trees. The Jamaican Oriole, in his crisp greenish-yellow and jet black, emerges from the shiny leaves of the apple tree to sip from the hummingbird feeder. The long, drooping lilac/purple flowers in our back yard hang low, burdened with star-like petals and the humming of bees, resting their plumes on the acid pink of the desert rose flower.
The Petchary is listening to “One Giant Leap,” an extraordinary journey taken by two young New Zealanders “to explore the unity in diversity.” Some of the songs (in particular, Asha Bhosle and Michael Stipe‘s “The Way You Dream“) make you catch your breath; others by the Mahotella Queens, Whiri Mako Black, Baaba Maal and Michael Franti help you to exhale blissfully. There is even a beautiful lament by Jamaican singer Horace Andy. Try it out for size.
The global pulse. Let’s feel it, in the moment. But you must sit still first.
Petchary's Blog 
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