With gratitude

Reflections on 27 years with Macedonia

Today is May 25, 2023, and today, I celebrate 27 years with Macedonia for it was on this day, a Saturday in 1996, that I arrived in Macedonia for a three-day visit to see if I liked that place since I was considering a three-month gig starting in mid-July of that year.  I did indeed like what I saw and experienced in those brief three days, and I returned that July intending to stay for three months and then return to Washington, DC where I had been living and working. Three months turned into seven years of living in Macedonia.  But even then, after purchasing a home in the land of my birth, Arizona, I continued with Macedonia, spending much of the rest of the aughts there.  And these years, I visit at last twice a year, sometimes more. 

I want to begin this column with where I left off in my column of the same observance this time last year.  It ended with a quote from British author and intellectual Douglas Murray, who, in his latest book, includes a short “interlude” as he calls it on gratitude.  He closes that section by writing “…a life lived without gratitude is not a life properly lived.”  And so, desiring to live a life properly lived, I give you my slightly different observance for this annual column, a list of things in Macedonia that I am truly grateful for.

But before I list the places, the landscapes, the wines and foods, the traditions, and more, please know that I am truly grateful for my many Macedonian family and friends who are a part of my life. I am indeed, living a life properly lived.

Grateful for the many cities, towns, and villages I have visited and spent time in: Skopje, Tetovo, Gostivar, Leunovo, Mavrovo, Struga, Ohrid, Kumanovo, Kratovo, Kriva Palanka, Krushevo, Lukovo, Bezovo, Tresonche, Bitola, Gjavoto, Makedonski Brod, Prilep, Demir Kapija, Valandovo, Berovo, Debar, Kavadarci, Negotino, Radovis, Strumica, Stip, Veles, Resen, Sveti Nikole, Gevgelija, Delcevo , Krnjevo, Rosoman, Kuklica, Gorno Sonje, Veljusa, Trpejca, Galicnik, and probably a few more I am forgetting here.

Grateful for the Macedonian Orthodox Church and the faith and rich traditions that I have been baptized into.  Grateful for other Believers though of different faith traditions.  Grateful that many Macedonians, whose identity as Macedonians is vital, also have the eternal identity of Believers. Grateful for the many churches and monasteries I have visited and worshipped in, especially the one I was baptized in, Sv. Jovan Kaneo.

Grateful for the many natural beauties and landscapes of Macedonia I have spent time in, including long or short visits, hiking in or swimming in or boating on: all parts of Vodno, Matka Canyon, Mavrovo National Park, Pelister National Park, the Shar Mountains, Lake Ohrid, Lake Prespa, Lake Dojran, Lake Tikves, Berovo Lake, numerous historical sites, and probably, again, a few I am forgetting. I am grateful for the hiking I have done in Macedonia and hope, in the future, to do much more.

Grateful for Macedonia’s grapes which produce such amazing wines and spirits! I am grateful for Vranec, Kratoshija, Stanushina, Plavec Mali, Temjanika, Zhilavka, and yes, Smederevka! Grateful for the vintners and wineries whose care and craft produce Macedonian wines, and grateful too, for Macedonian mastika and rakija (especially homemade), a cold Skopsko in summer and a hot rakija in the winter.

Grateful for Macedonian food, so good, so fresh, so delicious….skara (in all of its forms), salads like my favorite, tarator (bez luk), ajvar (mild, please!), pastrmajlija, kebabs, uviache, so many cheeses (especially when fried or grilled), fresh breads and more (and before you note that fish is missing, I am allergic to all fish).

Grateful for Macedonian history which has taught me much, not only about Macedonia and the region, but about my own country too.  There is a saying that if you only know one country, you know no countries.  I am grateful that I know, really know, more than my own country, and that, beyond Macedonia, I know several others, and know them well.

Grateful for Macedonian music and art which are a part of my home in Southern Arizona.  Grateful for Macedonian sports and, even though I am not a big sportsman, I especially enjoy it when I see, for instance, the Macedonian handball team scoring big wins.

Grateful for my familiar hangouts like Nadjuk in Debar Maalo where I can go and chill with friends and know that I’ll get an excellent meal in a lovely Macedonian atmosphere and that it will all be so familiar to me – home, in fact.

Grateful to be able to not just tell but show others around the world about Macedonia in my writings, speeches, a documentary film, and more.

When – not if – you find yourself a bit down on life, for whatever reason, do yourself a favor and start listing things you are grateful for.  I guarantee you that your attitude and outlook will change and that you will, rather quickly, begin to have a much more positive, and dare I say, happier, outlook on life.  Try it – because gratitude is uplifting.

In 27 years, I have found beauty, adventure, knowledge, wisdom, strength, patience, purpose, peace, truth, love, and friendship, and more, in Macedonia.  And I am grateful.