Speaker 1: Good morning, Peeves, and welcome to okay F Daily with
Speaker 1: Meet your Girl Danielle Moody pre recording from the Long
Speaker 1: Island Bunker, Folks. Every year on the holiday known as Thanksgiving,
Speaker 1: for the past couple of years on wok F, I've liked,
Speaker 1: I have wanted to, and I've liked to and I
Speaker 1: have um dedicated a show to gratitude Thanksgiving. As we
Speaker 1: all know who are politically astute and just you know,
Speaker 1: aware of the many, many lies that we have to
Speaker 1: unlearn as we get older. From our k through twelve
Speaker 1: in doctrinization, is wasn't a celebration of a coming together
Speaker 1: of two cultures. In fact, it was quite the opposite.
Speaker 1: It was the decimation of Indigenous people. It was a
Speaker 1: decimation of their good will and hopefulness to be in
Speaker 1: community with these newcomers to what they the indigenous population
Speaker 1: Native Americans believed was shared land and a shared experience.
Speaker 1: And instead, as we all know, that the Europeans that
Speaker 1: would make their way to the United States would claim
Speaker 1: it as their own, would destroy the land, which would
Speaker 1: commit genocide over countless generations. And I believe that currently
Speaker 1: we are living the results of that trauma. Particularly in
Speaker 1: this country, and just the assumption that it was just
Speaker 1: the times, it's just the way that things are. We
Speaker 1: accept the fact that hundreds and thousands of people in
Speaker 1: this country enslaved other human beings. We just accept that.
Speaker 1: We accept that policies were created in order to have
Speaker 1: a permanent underclass in this country. We just accept that.
Speaker 1: We accept genocide and rape and brutalization and violence and
Speaker 1: horror as just a part of what it means to
Speaker 1: live in America. And they say consistently that those that
Speaker 1: do not understand their history will be condemned to repeat it.
Speaker 1: And not only do we repeat our history in this country,
Speaker 1: it seems to get worse as passing generations happen. And
Speaker 1: what do I mean by worse? The desire to cover
Speaker 1: up reality, the desire to deny the wrongdoing as a
Speaker 1: way to absolve those of us living now from the
Speaker 1: responsibility that we have in order to continue to educate people,
Speaker 1: educate young people, educate elders so that we can come
Speaker 1: to a more acceptable common ground, a more create, more
Speaker 1: of a community that is steeped with the same shared
Speaker 1: values right of humanity and love and peace and goodwill.
Speaker 1: And you know, as I reflect, and I promise this
Speaker 1: will get more uplifting. But as I always reflect this
Speaker 1: time of year, as we close out the year on
Speaker 1: all that's transpired, I find myself really overwhelmed this week.
Speaker 1: And I said this to you all yesterday that I
Speaker 1: hadn't really allowed myself to process the shooting that just
Speaker 1: took place in Colorado Springs until I was in the
Speaker 1: middle of my interview with Jonathan. And it took a
Speaker 1: lot for me to kind of choke back tears because
Speaker 1: I hadn't allowed myself to feel paying. And I think
Speaker 1: that Jonathan, you know, provided earlier in the week his
Speaker 1: medical perspective as to why we do that this disassociation
Speaker 1: as a way to have self preservation. But the reason
Speaker 1: why I do it, I think why I was trying
Speaker 1: not to feel is because I'm genuinely really tired of
Speaker 1: being sad. And you know, we get these couple of bumps,
Speaker 1: you know, like with the midterm elections and the fact
Speaker 1: that more young people Generation Z turned out in higher
Speaker 1: numbers than was to be expected, and that we're going
Speaker 1: to have our first Gen Z member of Congress enter
Speaker 1: into Congress from Florida's tenthsion congressional District, Maxwell Frost, and
Speaker 1: we have more women that are serving, we have more
Speaker 1: people of color that are serving, And so I really
Speaker 1: tried and try to hold on to those good things,
Speaker 1: because without those good grains, right, we just exist in
Speaker 1: a land of despair. And I know and you know
Speaker 1: that that is the goal, right of the Republican parties,
Speaker 1: to create a country that is rocked by despair and
Speaker 1: grief and trauma and violence so that they can shape
Speaker 1: themselves as the party to fix the things that they
Speaker 1: have caused. So I try not to despair, and I
Speaker 1: try not to put myself in the shoes of those
Speaker 1: who have lost family members to gun violence, whether it
Speaker 1: be mass shootings, which are just commonplace a part of
Speaker 1: what it means to be an American, whether it be
Speaker 1: you know, domestic violence, whether it be gang violence, whether
Speaker 1: it be anything. The fact is is that there are
Speaker 1: too many fucking guns on the streets, and we have
Speaker 1: politicians that stoke fear, Republican politicians that stoke fear and
Speaker 1: add to the climate that is already heightened and as
Speaker 1: breaching a breaking point. It's hard. It's hard to look
Speaker 1: at young queer kids in Colorado who had this one
Speaker 1: place for their safe haven shattered right then it hearkens
Speaker 1: back to Pulse. It hearkens to Buffalo and families on
Speaker 1: a Saturday morning going grocery shopping. It's hard to think
Speaker 1: about what to be thankful for and have gratitude for
Speaker 1: in the midst of so much angst and tragedy and
Speaker 1: anxiety and anger and rage and sadness. So I don't
Speaker 1: want to go over what happened in Colorado as if
Speaker 1: it's some type of speed bump and we're just moving
Speaker 1: on to the next thing. What I want to say
Speaker 1: is that I know for many of you, like myself,
Speaker 1: that it is hard to sit around a table with
Speaker 1: chosen family, blood family, a mix of friends and family
Speaker 1: and not just want to collapse into despair, collective despair.
Speaker 1: So what I want to offer today is that we
Speaker 1: can hold multiple things at one time. We can hold
Speaker 1: grief in our hearts for the unrelenting gun violence and
Speaker 1: mass shootings that have become the norm in our society
Speaker 1: over close to thirty years. We can hold hope for
Speaker 1: the next generations to solve the previous generations problems as
Speaker 1: we celebrate the fact that there was no red wave
Speaker 1: that more people showed up to vote in this midterm
Speaker 1: election than I've ever voted before, and we can feel
Speaker 1: proud about that. So we can hold pride in our
Speaker 1: hearts alongside grief. We can hold hopefulness for more people
Speaker 1: becoming conscious to their power right, because that's what the
Speaker 1: midterms showed me and why I was and continue to
Speaker 1: be happy about how folks turned out at the beginning
Speaker 1: of this month, because I tell you all the time,
Speaker 1: sometimes I turn on this microphone and I feel like
Speaker 1: I am speaking out into a void, and I feel
Speaker 1: like there's only a hand full of people that are
Speaker 1: listening and who are nodding along with me, but that
Speaker 1: there is no real impact that is happening, because the
Speaker 1: tragedies just keep happening. And then I get wonderful, amazing
Speaker 1: emails and dms and messages and tweets that are not
Speaker 1: just about boosting my own ego but really reminding me
Speaker 1: that this work matters and that you all matter, and
Speaker 1: that I am really grateful for the opportunity to do
Speaker 1: what I love and do what I feel like I
Speaker 1: have been called to do for the past several years
Speaker 1: on wok F. It is really a privilege and an
Speaker 1: honor to speak to each and every one of you
Speaker 1: on a daily basis, And I can't thank you enough
Speaker 1: for the words of encouragement that I receive that really
Speaker 1: do keep me going, And even if I don't respond immediately,
Speaker 1: know that, like, there are days when my heart feels
Speaker 1: really closed, when I feel really tired and just kind
Speaker 1: of done with this country and it's madness, and as
Speaker 1: trying not to cry on this episode, and your shared
Speaker 1: messages and encouragement and just ability to kind of pull
Speaker 1: me out of the darkness, I'm just so appreciative of
Speaker 1: because there isn't a probably a week that goes by
Speaker 1: that some family member or a friend of mine doesn't
Speaker 1: tell me to find a new job. And it's not
Speaker 1: because they don't think that I am good at it,
Speaker 1: or because they don't have any impact, but because they're
Speaker 1: consistently worried about the toll that it takes on my
Speaker 1: emotional and mental well being. And that's okay because we
Speaker 1: have gotten back on the path to physical and mental wellness.
Speaker 1: You guys know that I meditate multiple times a day,
Speaker 1: and every once in a while I have these fits
Speaker 1: where I will get into physical activity again and then
Speaker 1: I'll get pulled away and it'll be weeks that I
Speaker 1: haven't worked out, and so I am holding myself accountable
Speaker 1: as I am slowly but surely getting back into that
Speaker 1: physical activity as well and not You know, it's funny.
Speaker 1: I think that what happens to with age is that
Speaker 1: initially you kind of want to work out, then diet
Speaker 1: because you want to fit into an outfit, or you
Speaker 1: have a special occasion coming up, or you want to
Speaker 1: make somebody jealous, or you want to make yourself feel good.
Speaker 1: And I think that what happens with age, and I
Speaker 1: was having this conversation with my mother is you know,
Speaker 1: for those of you who have listened to the show
Speaker 1: for many years, you know that my mother, at the
Speaker 1: beginning of twenty twenty, right when the pandemic was happening,
Speaker 1: was diagnosed with a brain tumor, and thankfully it was benign,
Speaker 1: and thankfully she recovered. And we were talking about her
Speaker 1: recovery because the only reason she was able to bounce
Speaker 1: back is because my mother is so physically fit, is
Speaker 1: because she not only owns a yoga studio, but she
Speaker 1: works out every single day. And you know, whether it
Speaker 1: is walking or yoga or Pola bodies. Her physical and
Speaker 1: emotional and mental well being has always been a priority
Speaker 1: in her life, and I realize now that the reason
Speaker 1: why she's been able to bounce back from ailments that
Speaker 1: would take anyone down her age or older, sometimes even younger,
Speaker 1: is because they don't have a good foundation. So as
Speaker 1: we continue to deal with the stress, the stressors and
Speaker 1: the trauma and all of the things that do bring
Speaker 1: us down, both emotionally and physically, it is just really
Speaker 1: important that if you are, if you do have the
Speaker 1: ability to be mobile, that you are, whether it is
Speaker 1: ten minutes a day, fifteen minutes a day or more,
Speaker 1: to give that gift to yourself to wake up with
Speaker 1: gratitude for an able body. And if you don't have
Speaker 1: an able body, if in some way you in fact
Speaker 1: are disabled, there are so many ways in which to
Speaker 1: exercise in a way that you can, right. So I
Speaker 1: say that to folks, because you know, I do find
Speaker 1: myself the last couple of weeks being really grateful for
Speaker 1: the ability to go walking, for the ability to you know,
Speaker 1: take classes, and the ability to work from home, particularly
Speaker 1: at times after these shootings when I feel really unsafe, right,
Speaker 1: and I have a lot of privilege because I'm able
Speaker 1: to record these shows from the safety of my home.
Speaker 1: But we know that there are people that are shot
Speaker 1: and killed inside of their homes as well. But I
Speaker 1: don't want us to give up all the things that
Speaker 1: make us whole, happy human beings, which is the ability
Speaker 1: to take care of ourselves and then take care of
Speaker 1: the ones that we love. So I just want to
Speaker 1: give gratitude for all of you and for all that
Speaker 1: we have built together and all that we hopefully will
Speaker 1: continue to build together for years to come. Woke F
Speaker 1: wouldn't exist without the woke F community. I wouldn't exist
Speaker 1: in the work that I do if I didn't have
Speaker 1: people that were willing to listen to me on a
Speaker 1: regular basis and take in what I say and create
Speaker 1: your own mustard seeds of hope. But yeah, this has
Speaker 1: been a tough week, and I think that it's okay
Speaker 1: to both hold the joy of being able to take.
Speaker 1: Hopefully everyone is able to take a day or two
Speaker 1: to gather with those that you love, and whether that
Speaker 1: it is that happens in person or remotely, take the
Speaker 1: opportunity if you haven't talked to somebody in a while,
Speaker 1: if you haven't text with them, and now it feels
Speaker 1: awkward and weird to reach out. Just reach out. Let
Speaker 1: the people know who you love that you love them often, right,
Speaker 1: Take an opportunity to go around your table, if that
Speaker 1: is where you will be this week, to really think
Speaker 1: about what you are grateful for, and not just in
Speaker 1: the moment that the question is asked, but really think
Speaker 1: about it every single day. Not everyone has the ability
Speaker 1: is given the gift of waking up every day. Not
Speaker 1: everybody that leaves their home return safely at the end
Speaker 1: of each day. And I think that we take these
Speaker 1: little baby miracles for granted because we're always hoping and
Speaker 1: wishing and trying to manifest the next great thing. Opening
Speaker 1: our eyes is a great thing, the honor of being
Speaker 1: able to be present each and every day. As my
Speaker 1: mother says all the time, and as many Yogis say,
Speaker 1: they call it the present because it's a gift right.
Speaker 1: The future is not has not happened, and the past
Speaker 1: is done right. So I just want each and every
Speaker 1: one of us, whether around the table with our family
Speaker 1: and friends, are over zooms or text messages, to create
Speaker 1: space for those that we love, and to fill that
Speaker 1: space with a love and empathy and compassion and grace
Speaker 1: for ourselves and for everyone around us. We are all
Speaker 1: dealing with more than we are sharing, and let us
Speaker 1: not walk through life making assumptions about other people's pain.
Speaker 1: Some are visible and some are not. Some will be
Speaker 1: shared and some won't. But I think that that is
Speaker 1: the point of grace, and that is the point of
Speaker 1: empathy and compassion and love. Right So, my hope for
Speaker 1: all of you, and this is a genuine hope, is
Speaker 1: that with each and every day that you're granted, that
Speaker 1: you find something to be grateful for, even if that
Speaker 1: day that you can only say it is just the
Speaker 1: error that I'm taking in my lungs, and that each
Speaker 1: and every one of us live in a way that
Speaker 1: if we were taken tomorrow, it would still be a
Speaker 1: life well lived. I am so very grateful to each
Speaker 1: and every single one of you that listens to the show,
Speaker 1: that shares, the show that holds me in your hearts
Speaker 1: and your minds. I am just genuinely appreciative, and I
Speaker 1: wish for you all as we enter into multiple different
Speaker 1: types of holiday seasons, that we find a way to
Speaker 1: hold all of our emotions, but most importantly, peace and
Speaker 1: joy and gratitude in our hearts. That is it for
Speaker 1: me today. Dear friends, on this Thanksgiving episode of Will
Speaker 1: Gay f If you feel so inclined in the comment section,
Speaker 1: let me know what you are giving gratitude for today.
Speaker 1: Every day see her and know that if no one
Speaker 1: has told you you are appreciated, I appreciate each and
Speaker 1: every one of you as always. Power to the people
Speaker 1: and to all the people. Power, Get woke and stay
Speaker 1: woke as fuck.