Literature. Plain and simple is one of the best ways to learn about other cultures. Of course, as a writer and individual talking to people from different backgrounds than you is highly important but so is reading and educating yourself about these backgrounds different from your own. This brings me to one piece of literature I discovered quite recently and have thus thoroughly enjoyed. Glory Happening: Finding the Divine in Everyday Places by Kaitlin Curtice. She is part of what is called the Potawatomi Citizen Band Nation. They are a “federally recognized government” and according to their website have thirty-nine Native American tribes with a base in Oklahoma. I must admit all of this was new information for me but the information I was thrilled to find. This shows you and I, how many different cultures are out there that are not widely known. And the sooner we as an audience discover and become aware of other cultures out there that are not always so different from our own or different in many ways, the sooner we can appreciate them.
This book and the viewpoint the author portray on everyday events is one I find to be quite beautiful. She emphasizes the importance of stopping and appreciating what is in front of you. Whether these events are difficult or exciting. This is not something that I find easy to do and she acknowledges how difficult this can sometimes be when all of us at one time or another find ourselves to be immensely busy. Always on our way from one place to the next or looking forward instead of stopping and enjoying the present moment. This is one of the reasons I think everyone should read this book, not just to read from an author whose culture is so different for your own but because she provides insightful advice and beliefs. She proceeds to do this by invoking her own memories and how she recognizes the importance of all of them. She sees the importance of saying goodbye to a friend even if this is in itself a difficult task to the excitement of moving to a new place. She acknowledges how important they both are. And how they contribute to the overall theme of the book.
As her title suggests, she emphasizes the idea of glory. She does this by her own experiences and by invoking Christian beliefs. Though she does so in her own unique way. I never found this book to be one where I would have to know much about the religions and cultures she invokes to appreciate or understand it. Which just helps me appreciate it that much more. She quotes from the Bible as well as from individuals such as Albert Einstein and J.R.R. Tolkien, just to name a few. And all of these diverse individuals wrapped up in this book aide the reader to appreciate her point of view. At least it did for me.
The idea of glory in this book provided the message for how beautiful each small moment in life is. Whether it is a moment where your significant other is gone for a family visit and you find comfort in the animals who drape themselves on your bed because they can or reading after a long day at work. It is these moments and each moment that can be appreciated no matter how mundane that can change your perspective. I do not want to give the whole book away but I hope that I have provided enough incentive to read it for yourself.
References (And for more information):
https://kaitlincurtice.com/about-kaitlin/