We have not come here to take prisoners

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

I've been going through a bit of a rough patch recently, exacerbated today by a hurtful incident. I went to a favorite poetry spot for solace and this verse from "Oh please" by Hafiz jumped out at me:

"Run like hell, my dear,
from anyone likely to put a sharp knife
into the sacred, tender vision
of your beautiful heart."

So I'll continue to be, to a great extent, absentee as I work on healing my wounded heart (by learning to "surrender ever more deeply to freedom and joy") and preparing for the summer in South America . Please know that SparkPeople is my "social network" of choice, where I've found dear and precious friends. It not only keeps me honest and offers beaucoups resources in my journey toward optimal health, but also offers a balm to my soul through all of you who support me on the journey.



Oh please



We have not come here to take prisoners

But to surrender ever more deeply
to freedom and joy.

We have not come into this exquisite world
to hold ourselves hostage from love. Run, my dear,
from anything that may not strengthen
your precious budding wings,

Run like hell, my dear,
from anyone likely to put a sharp knife
into the sacred, tender vision
of your beautiful heart.

We have a duty to befriend
those aspects of obedience
that stand outside of our house
and shout to our reason
"oh please, oh please
come out and play."

For we have not come here to take prisoners,
or to confine our wondrous spirits,
But to experience ever and ever more deeply
our divine courage, freedom,
and Light!


~ Hafiz

You will not be sorry if you take some time to explore:
peacefullpresence.blogspot.com/

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A little down? Need to be inspired?

Friday, May 06, 2011

The Koh Panyee Thailand Soccer Club

Click here for five minutes of pure unadulterated joy:

www.karmatube.org/videos.php?id=2298





I KarmaTube, a repository of inspiring online videos coupled with small, be-the-change actions that we can all engage in!




(Part II, P.M. edition!) And if you still need a bit of buoying up, check out SparkJohn's blog, displaying that same attitude about about how to Make.It.Happen...on SparkPeople...and in life in general!!! I *stalk* John frequently (you'll see why!!!). He sez' lots of stuff the way I need to hear it. I love his approach -- thanks John!!!



Ta-DAAAA...I present JOHNTJ1 to you:

www.dailyspark.com/blog.asp?post=yes
_we_can

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Strike Against Terror

Tuesday, May 03, 2011

STRIKE AGAINST TERROR
By Thich Nhat Hanh



"Strike against terror" is a misleading expression. What we are striking against is not the real cause or the root of terror. The object of our strike is still human life. We are sowing seeds of violence as we strike. Striking in this way we will only bring about more hatred and violence into the world. This is exactly what we do not want to do.

Terror is in the human heart. We must remove this terror from the heart. Destroying the human heart, both physically and psychologically, is what we must absolutely avoid. The root of terrorism should be identified, so that it can be removed. The root of terrorism is misunderstanding, intolerance, hatred, revenge and hopelessness. This root cannot be located by the military. Bombs and missiles cannot reach it, let alone destroy it. Only with the practice of looking deeply can our insight reveal and identify this root. Only with the practice of deep listening and compassion can it be transformed and removed.

Darkness cannot be dissipated with more darkness. More darkness will make darkness thicker. Only light can dissipate darkness. Violence and hatred cannot be removed with violence and hatred. Rather, this will make violence and hatred grow a thousand fold. Only understanding and compassion can dissolve violence and hatred.

Hatred, and violence are in the hearts of human beings. A terrorist is a human being with hatred, revenge, violence and misunderstanding in his or her heart. Acting without understanding, acting out of hatred, violence and fear, only helps sow more terror, bringing terror to the homes of others and ultimately bringing terror back to the homes of the attacker. The philosophy of "an eye for an eye," only creates more suffering and bloodshed and more enemies. One of the greatest casualties we may suffer results from this wrong thinking and action. Whole societies are living constantly in fear with their nerves being attacked day and night. Such a state of confusion, fear and anxiety is extremely dangerous. It can bring about another world war, this time extremely destructive in the worst possible way.

We must learn to speak out for peace now, so that our spiritual voice can be heard in this dangerous and pivotal moment of history. Those of us who have the light should display the light and offer it so that the world will not sink into total darkness. Everyone has the seed of awakening and insight within his or her heart. Let us help each other touch these seeds in ourselves so that everyone can have the courage to speak out. We must ensure that the way we live our daily lives does not create more terrorism in the world, through intolerance, hatred, revenge and greed. We need a collective awakening to stop this course of self-destruction.

Spiritual leaders in this country need to be invited to raise their voice strongly and speak up for peaceful solutions to the world problems and bring about the awareness of the teaching of compassion and non-violence to the American nation and the people.

By understanding the nature and cause of the suffering of humanity, we will then know the right method to begin to heal the great problems on this planet.



Thich Nhat Hanh, November 2002



YES! I'm following DragonFly's en*light*ening idea and posting this exquisite project/music to STRIKE FOR LOVE:



Click here for ONE LOVE (in more ways than ONE!) --

playingforchange.com/episodes/1/The_
Journey

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Happy Easter whatever your path!

Friday, April 22, 2011

My computer woes continue: I can't believe I accomplished this wish to share Easter greetings with you...ON DIAL-UP!!!



I love Jesus, who said to us:
heaven and earth will pass away.
When heaven and earth have passed away,
my word will still remain.
What was your word, Jesus?
Love? Forgiveness? Affection?
All your words were
one word: Wakeup.

~ Antonio Machado ~
(Translated by Robert Bly, in
The Soul Is Here For Its Own Joy)
www.panhala.net/Archive/Proverbios_V
II.html


Antonio Machado, born July 26, 1875 in Sevilla, Spain, died February 22, 1939 in Collioure, France. An outstanding Spanish poet and playwright of Spain's "Generation of '98," Machado received a doctoral degree in literature in Madrid, and attended the Sorbonne. He rejected the modernism of his contemporaries and adopted what he called "eternal poetry," which was informed more by intuition than by intellect.
www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/3
54525/Antonio-Machado

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Anyone Can Sing

Sunday, April 17, 2011

This says so much of what I feel so much better than I would articulate it:


Song Thrush
tinyurl.com/3dyxff3 and www.birdjam.com/birdsong.php?id=32


ANYONE CAN SING

Anyone can sing. You just open your mouth,
and give shape to a sound. Anyone can sing.

What is harder, is to proclaim the soul,
to initiate a wild and necessary deepening:

to give the voice broad, sonorous wings
of solitude, grief, and celebration,

to fill the body with the echoes of voices
lost long ago to bravery, and silence,

to prise the reluctant heart wide open,
to witness defeat, to suffer contempt,

to shrink, lose face, go down in ignominy,
to retreat to the last dark hiding-place

where the tattered remnants of your pride
still gather themselves around your nakedness,

to know these rags as your only protection
and yet still open - to face the possibility
that your innermost core may hold nothing at all,

and to sing from that - to fill the void
with every hurt, every harm, every hard-won joy
that staves off death yet honours its coming,

to sing both full and utterly empty,
alone and conjoined, exiled and at home,

to sing what people feel most keenly
yet never acknowledge until you sing it.

Anyone can sing. Yes. Anyone can sing.

~ William Ayot
(Small Things that Matter)

www.panhala.net/Archive/Anyone_Ca n_Sing.html
and
peacefullpresence.blogspot.com/

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