Happy almost new month, my love!

Are we extra overwhelmed yet with all that is going on in the world?

I must say that despite the charge and what people keep saying….

Do not turn off social media right now!

It is important, EXTREMELY important that we value the times we live in and the tools that are accessible to us.

Because more often than not we forget how things used to be.

i.e. 👉🏼 Way back when, my granda was pregnant of my mom right in the final months of WWII. She’d be *glued* to her radio waiting on news to know what was going on, to understand, and continuing her hopes that the world would finally “come back” to what it was {it never does, does it?}

📻 That was their only way and PERSPECTIVE on current events — wherever traditional news would tell them.

Everyone back then was dependent on a tv channel, radio or the papers to know what was going on. And if the news was to be omitted or altered to fit a certain narrative that benefited the ones that were in charge? They’d never know.

They had no other way to stay updated with what was happening in the world other than what was chosen to be transmitted through the radio. Or the papers.

The type of information that would come through about another part of the globe was completely and fully in the hands of just a few. And wherever they wanted to tell, that would be it.

{Funny side story — even thou my grandma was faithful to that radio and eager to hear the news from it about the war end, she didn’t! She got into labor right on the last day of WWII, and just received the news later, when my mom was born. Cute 🎀}

⏳ Now, let’s go back in time even more.

I still remember, as a kid in school, trying to wrap my mind around a comment the history teacher made about Brasil in the 1800s. He was talking about the Abolition of Slavery and how even thou it was made official in the whole country that on May 13th slavery was illegal, it took time – months! – to get the news across the entire country. People did *not* know they were illegally being held from that day on.

Because how would they know? The further from the big city centers, the hardest it was for the news to get through because said news — specially that one — was controlled and distributed by one group of people to benefit this same group of people. So of course, when, how and what the news were, was in the hands of those few.

⏳Now let’s fast forward. By a lot. To a moment in time we can relate.

10+ years ago, the Arab Spring happened.

👉🏼 Remember how groundbreaking and mind blowing it was to realize how Facebook {out of all things… Facebook!} was having a key role in spreading the news of what was going on over there?

Remember that?

Even protests were being organized through Facebook. It was a whole new way of connecting around the globe, understanding one another, seeing through other people’s lenses what truly goes in their lives, their thoughts, views, perspectives, and most importantly — their suffering and struggles.

It was clear more than ever, that we were freed from having to rely on the filtered news outlets. We could connect and see right there what the people were going through and asking for. We didn’t have to rely on a third party telling us what *they* thought should be told. The people were telling us.

📍And here we are, right now in Oct 2023.

The PRIVILEGE, we have to be able to live in this time and age where anyone with a phone and wifi can directly show us and give us their version of the what is going on.

The PRIVILEGE we have over past generations to be able to watch what is happening LIVE, in real time as shown to us by the people living it!

Not a filtered version of what politicians and governments want us to see and know — but actual current day by day, sometimes even hour by hour reports of the real life struggles and situation occurring in other parts of the planet.

We don’t have to be by the radio listening and blindly trusting the information about a war {like my grandmother}. We don’t need to be constricted, limited and at the mercy of believing history unfolds the way governments wants us to believe it unfolds.

As someone said in the socials:

⭐️ The TV channels are telling us what is happening, social media is showing us what is happening.

And with that information in our hands {literally!}, We CAN find answers for ourselves, see other people’s lived experiences, their opinions, POV and connect with one another in a different way.

So my love….

For the love of all the ones that came before us, for the love of all our ancestors that had no other option but to rely on the information that was given to them about themselves, and the world around them so they could live life, make decisions, understand ‘the other’ and make sense of their reality,

For the love of those that came before us and struggled so much because they could and were being played, toyed, molded and manipulated because there was no other option,

For the love of them all….

Do not turn away from social media right now.

It IS overwhelming, I know! But this is nothing compared to the chance we have in our hands to actually understand, see and help.

Do take care of yourself, take breaks, re-center {my last post was about that} but do *not* shut off social media.

👉🏼 To support this even more, another important thing I want to highlight.

There are tons and tons of videos being shared about what is going on in Palestine at this moment. A lot of the people doing those videos, showing us all that is happening, are giving us all this information in english.

Meaning they are *CHOOSING* to communicate in *SOMEONE ELSE’S LANGUAGE* other than their own, to make sure people in other parts of the planet can understand them and see what is going on!

This is literally a cry for help, to be seen and to be witnessed.

And even if we feel helpless from over here, we can see and hear what they are asking us to see and hear. Not others. They get to tell their stories and we can see and hear those stories.

We can bear witness to their lives and stories.
We cannot, we just can not turn to the other side and look away from social media because it is uncomfortable or because the easier route and the default mode is to turn on the TV for the filtered, biased news.

Now, having said all that I want to share a few of the things I found that can be helpful.

Since we all get confused on what to trust, this journalist here is giving us a few tips on how to spot if something is true or not:

Click the image or right here to watch it.

This other one *just* came through my feed earlier today but I don’t think it will be up for too long as Meta has been taking it down from most accounts that posted it.

It is a message from one of the Israeli hostages and how pissed she is at her own government for letting it all happen and leaving them there.

Check both links in case they are not live anymore.

• This one has the translation in english on the video as caption >> Click Here to Watch
• This other one has the translation in the comments >> Click Here to Watch

I also have been sharing everything I found to my stories that I feel is relevant and grouped it in one highlight.

It is SAFE to watch, no bodies blown into pieces, or blood or anything of the likes in here. Information, perspectives and resources only.

Click right here to watch them all or the image below👇🏼

Now, to be super clear:

👉🏼 What happened on October 7th to the Israeli people was horrific and deplorable. And I do *not* believe that when a group of people {hamas} does something horrific like that, a much greater and larger group of people {Palestinians} gets to pay for it 1000x fold and much less that they get to be wiped out of the planet through a genocide. {like wtf?!} They did not “do that to themselves” or “deserved” all that is happening.

I do not believe ANY group of people on this Earth are born inherently bad or deserving of bad things. I do not care what any nation leaders and governments out there are claiming as an excuse to exert power over their own people and other people.

No one is more or less deserving and worthy of being alive in dignity, goodness and prosperity. No group of people is more worthy of a good life than the other.

One people’s freedom is not dependent or conditional on another’s oppression.

Cease Fire Now and Release the Hostages.

And as naive as this might seem….. may discernment and love always prevail.

Much much love,