Crystal Hearts

i used to love fireworks. before the war. now my whole body reacts when I hear them. wanted to write about it today, but saw this short piece by Palestinian-American writer Naomi Shihab Nye and wanted to share. 

maybe I’ll love fireworks again one day, but today I’ll need to wear noise-cancelling headphones, to avoid associating them with bombs and drones dropping explosives.

community builder /bright-moments, storyteller, AI enthusiast, activist, nonprofit founder /crystal-hearts 🤍🇺🇦📍Ukraine

I’m sorry to hear this. I do feel like fireworks (especially spontaneous ones in public places) are irresponsible and inconsiderate to those who have experienced warfare. 

It reminds me of how, when I travel in the country of my mother’s heritage, I get to experience the joy of travel and self-discovery.

But when my mum returns there, all she feels is fear and worry - little things (like sirens, or soldiers) evoke the trauma of living in (and eventually fleeing) a war torn country as a child, which she clearly still carries with her to this day. It’s not fair, that I can enjoy the country of her birth but she can’t. But that’s life I guess.