8 December
Kindly Light
Today Oreste would like to dedicate a poem that a special friend recommended to her.
It is a wish: to find the Kindly Light that will help you face whatever darkness you are living in this moment.
Kindly Light
Lead, Kindly Light, amidst th'encircling gloom,
Lead Thou me on!
The night is dark, and I am far from home,
Lead Thou me on!
Keep Thou my feet; I do not ask to see
The distant scene; one step enough for me.
I was not ever thus, nor prayed that Thou
Shouldst lead me on;
I loved to choose and see my path; but now
Lead Thou me on!
I loved the garish day, and, spite of fears,
Pride ruled my will. Remember not past years!
So long Thy power hath blest me, sure it still
Will lead me on.
O'er moor and fen, o'er crag and torrent, till
The night is gone,
And with the morn those angel faces smile,
Which I have loved long since, and lost awhile!
You can also listen to it sung by a choir:
However, Oreste would like to ask you to do something more today.
Lately, she has noticed an area with many green lights on in her rounds.
You know what is happening, don't you? On the border between Poland and Belarus, many families are stuck in the woods, trying to cross the border because they are fleeing from war and violence: yes, there are still many countries at war in the world.
These families have fled from their homes, and now they are stuck in the woods, without food or water, for weeks.
And here are the green lights: families living near the border turn on green lights in their windows to signal that there is shelter, welcome and a hot meal in their home. A kindly light.
Oreste then thought of asking us to turn on a green light, a symbol of hope and solidarity, a sign that we disagree with what is happening: those who flee must be welcomed.
However, this is not enough.
Oreste invites us to go beyond the mere desire of welcome. She knows so well, she is just a reindeer, can't do so much. But something maybe yes.
We can talk about it with our friends who will be aware of what is happening and, above all, support the organizations and people who commit their lives to help and save those who flee.
Here are some friends of Orestes that you can give your support to:
Be Kindly Light!
Useless advice
Be the last straw that breaks the camel's back.
Harry Potter
One of Oreste' favourite stories.
Spells, friendship, and courage are mixed in a story set in a school of Witchcraft and Wizardry: Hogwarts. Isn't it the most beautiful and magical place in the world?
That's what Harry thinks, a completely normal boy who discovers at the age of 11 that he's actually a wizard. And not just a wizard, but the most famous wizard of all time, the one who defeated the worst wizard in the magical world.
An incredible journey in which we will live a thousand adventures, defeating dragons and travelling through time, becoming dear friends with the protagonists.
This year marks 20 years since its first release on the big screen.
You know very well that Oreste prefers books to movies, but she still can't resist them. As soon as she hears the soundtrack of the first movies, her heart fills up, and she feels the same sensation that you get when you hug an old friend you haven't seen in a long time. A year in her case: last night, she started the Harry Potter Marathon for the millionth time. Do it too. Or better yet: (re)read the books.
You can find it in theatres (it's already back in theatres) and on Amazon Prime Video (for stone asses like Oreste).
Harry Potter
by Rowling J. K.
“Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much. They were the last people you'd expect to be involved in anything strange or mysterious, because they just didn't hold with such nonsense.
[...]
The Dursleys had everything they wanted, but they also had a secret, and their greatest fear was that somebody would discover it. They didn't think they could bear it if anyone found out about the Potters. Mrs. Potter was Mrs. Dursley's sister, but they hadn't met for several years; in fact, Mrs. Dursley pretended she didn't have a sister, because her sister and her good-for-nothing husband were as unDursleyish as it was possible to be. The Dursleys shuddered to think what the neighbours would say if the Potters arrived in the street.
When Mr. and Mrs. Dursley woke up on the dull, gray Tuesday our story starts, there was nothing about the cloudy sky outside to suggest that strange and mysterious things would soon be happening all over the country.”
Yes, again. Because you may not have realized how much Oreste likes it.
How fun and imaginative it is, at any age. If you want to be captured and literally catapulted into another world, if you feel like escaping reality for a few hours, this is the perfect saga to read for Christmas.
