Aug 30 2018

“For some reason we hit it off in the beginning. We were both full of dreams and ambitions and an overwhelming desire to make the time we had there (in the Senate) worthwhile. To try to do the right thing. To think about how we could make things better for the country we loved so much.”
Joe Biden, Former Vice President, United States of America
from his eulogy to Sen McCain, on Aug 30 2018 in Arizona

As The World Turns

A letter of hope to the people he loves

In this time of mourning for a patriotic son, I’m grateful for the week that Americans have to reflect on Senator John McCain’s life and legacy. His lifetime of service and sacrifice deserve nothing less. Bold and complicated voices can be hard to handle, but they’re also impossible to ignore.

I admire him for his love of country, his unflinching commitment to the ideals of that country, and his fierce determination, even in the time of his demise, to want to unite his countrymen through his final letter. I have other personal reflections about the man and his life, which I will leave for another time, when he has been laid to rest.

For now, I wish his loved ones peace and fortitude in their moment of grief.

The people’s tribute to the Queen of Soul

Detroit celebrated its Queen today with a near 5-hour tribute concert to Ms Aretha Franklin. She will be honored again tomorrow at a church service that promises to move and soothe us, just as her music has and always will.

Om Is Where The Heart Is

How we grieve

As I watched the services and tributes to Senator McCain and Aretha Franklin today, I was reminded of the different ways we choose to grieve.

Growing up in Asia, most of the funerals I witnessed were marked by solemnity. While some traditions may hire professional mourners to express the sadness of the moment, the emotional process of grief that follows is neither shared nor conscious.

So when I watched Michael Jackson’s, then Whitney Houston’s, memorial services on TV, and learned they were termed a “celebration of life,” I drank it in with newfound wonder. Experiencing joy at a memorial service felt unfamiliar, yet comforting. I came away buoyed from within, feeling I’d spent some time in their aura and majesty.

There’s profound beauty and symbolism, both in what I was raised with, and what I’ve since experienced.

I’ve now laid loved ones to rest in both settings. Some rituals may differ, but the love and soul connection that linger on are very much the same.

News and Views

Book update

In my last newsletter, I shared that I’m about to write my next book, an exploration of the last decade of my life.

This week, I applied for a scholarship to help turn my book idea into a finished product in 2019. The questions on the application form got me one step closer to defining the story I want to tell – the big WHY of it all, and some of the elements that will support the storyline. It feels good to make progress on this!

(Want to cheer me on and wish me well on this book-writing adventure? Send me a note of encouragement – I’d love to hear from you.)

In the next issue:

I want to have watched Crazy Rich Asians. Watch this space for my take on how Singapore was portrayed vs what I know it to be. Fun times!

Live well and lead large – Maya

(featured image of Senator McCain and Aretha Franklin from abc12.com)