Of all my children, at some point in their lives they have had the painful experience of having to deal with grief & loss, too many lessons in fact at times they should have gone to bed dreaming more of wish lists and fairytales, what they wanted to be when they grow up, instead of attempting to process how something so painful could be so real, wondering what as adults many never cease asking...when will it stop!
As part of these experiences they've participated in the 'Seasons' program at school, a concept of life being a process of seasons; with everything beginning and ending. Life being a part of summer, a winter, an autumn, a spring. A time for living, a time for dying, for waiting, for joy. A season destined with a process of change, for without it there would be no life, we would have no seasons, there would be no symbiotic relationships, no connections, we would all cease to exist. Instead we do, we exist by our constant interaction with each other, as we begin, we live and life ends.
I entered into to 2012 already stuck an the approaching winter storm. The gorgeous Australian sun was beaming outside and on the inside we were battening down the hatches. We held our breathe until the storm passed, til the shaking stopped, the noise quietened and waited for winter to begin. Life is like that, one winter after another, one storm after another. There are days when it seems life has been just that, one long winter. We wait patiently, some make a great fuss about having to stay safe during those cool months, years even, for the moment when 'this too shall pass', we become frustrated, angry, inpatient.
Life is; there is a time for beginnings, a time for endings, a time for waiting.
I took the time hauled up indoors to keep focussed on the end of winter, I pulled out the 'bucket list' that has kept me alive through every event. Something so simple as a list of dreams, a list of hopes, of imagining a life other than where I am right then at that moment. It was never called the bucket list back then, it was one of those catalyst moments when you realise dreams are what keep us going forward, they give us hope, they help us grow, aide our change. As a pre-school teacher many years ago I encouraged children to dream and dream big! I mean what is the point of dreaming who you would be when you grow up if you can't imagine yourself being anyone other than who you are right now.
Somewhere in between preschool and adulthood I noticed the need and greed creep in slowly and consistently. To prevent it as parents we need to make conscious decisions to foster our children's dreams, to believe in their hopes, to enhance every aspect of their growth. For those who don't have a bucket list or need one, how incredibly inspiring and fortunate. It isn't for everyone, nor should it need to be. For me there were times when no one called, no one visited and everyday blended into the next; when I looked up to the heavens and said I will not attend one more funeral, I want the next time I enter a church to be a christening, a wedding, a celebration; believing I had unfinished business with life, my foot stuck in the door preventing it from closing, something as simple as a list of tasks, of moments I would love to experience allowed me to keep going. I really didn't know when winter would end, so I kept writing my list, I held my breathe and waited for the season to exhale. Yet to be honest, human behaviour is so predictable that the trajectory of people without dreams, without hope, without belief in themselves or the capacity to change, to learn and to grow, to become a better human being, is pretty clear as all things in nature stagnate. So whilst you may sit there and say I don't need dreams, I don't need hope, I don't need to change; we are not an island. We either change with the seasons or we cease to exist.
I call it waiting for the winter to end, as it seems to be like a ride coming to the final stop; so whilst I call it waiting, it is one hell of an experience in between. It would be ignorant to see waiting as a form of non-participation in life, to see it as allowing others to give you a hand out rather than a hand up, as if waiting is a non-compliance with life. I strongly advocate positive thinking, staying focussed on your dreams, creating goals for wishes (otherwise a wish will remain a dream), yet the same basic road rules we learned as a child, stop, look, listen, think, applies for every decision you will make. Waiting is an opportunity for you to stop, look and ask yourself where are you, where do you want to go, what is the impact of you crossing this street, on yourself, on everyone around you; listen to your voice, the voice of others, to the sounds of approaching traffic and over all the noise, listen to your heart; think about stepping off that path in a rush to cross the metaphorical street into spring or summer, are you ready?
Whatever you choose, this is your life, there is a path, one for your neighbour, your friend, your children, your parents, your siblings, everyone and there is only your path. So chose it wisely.
The Mayans hadn't predicted the end of the planet as we know it, why no one ever considered they may have just been short on stone tablets that day is beyond me! The Mayans hypothesised life as having beginnings and endings; a season of growth, of change, of re birth, of new beginnings. What we choose to do with those beginnings will determine the ending, the life in between, the joy, the peace, the happiness, the death. Calendars are another way of constructing a season, a beginning, another end, with man days in between.
For too long humanity has been focussed on need and greed, on wanting more and giving less. Of taking to the point of generating a drive of consumerism so great we disrupt the seasons of the Amazon, we erradicate species from the face of the planet. Whether you believe in global warming or not, there is no denying the destruction of humanity on the natural environment in every corner of the globe. As we take more and more from the very living force which sustains our own lives, we de stabilise the very balance of our existence, to live alongside all living things, with each other.
You may think you are just one person, how could you possibly effect something occurring on another continent? So let's take one product, say chocolate for example. The bulk of chocolate is sourced from cocoa plantations on the West Coast of Africa, some is Fair Trade, yet even then there are no guarantees. Most of the chocolate we eat has been hand picked by children as young as 6 or even younger; stolen, abducted from their families, told their parents have died or surrendered them into the care of their captors, forced into slave labour to hand pick the cocoa beans which produce the chocolate consumers demand a need for. Without the need there would be no greed. We produce the need.
You name it, we produce it by how we purchase, how we take, what we fail to give back. Over fishing our oceans (I mean Queensland has some of the best Barramundi on the planet, yet we are sourcing it from Vietnam?), over clearing our forests, over mining our shores. I am not suggesting we cease using our resources, yet to the point of leaving a legacy of devestation for our children, a crap load of mess is our legacy? What kind of evolutionary process is this? That is not an evolved race!
It is on these massive scales of selfishness and greed, which trickles into the home, into each person, each instrument of change that the most basic of growth occurs. It is our inability to step off our paths, to be the force of change, to say this is not good enough, I will not take for granted the air I breathe, the heart I've been given, the life I have. I will make a conscious decision to continue to grow, to change, to be a force of nature, to share my gifts, to dream big, to give back, to stop taking! I will step up and take responsibility for who I am and where I am going.
Life is balance. A balance of nature, a balance of living/dying, happiness/sadness, seasons are a process of balance. When you stagnate in the suffering, the pain and the hurt, you upset your balance, your balance upsets those around you, those around you upset the universal balance. You drive the demands of your life, the needs around you, your words, your actions, your beliefs, opinions, how you share with others, give to others, what you give to yourself, it is YOU, it was always YOU.
What if you stopped taking? What if you dipped your toe in the water of change and created a ripple by simply giving back. Accepting that who you are right now at this moment, you are a part of every person and every event before you. What if you accepted yourself as part of life's balance. What if you discovered your passion, what makes you tick and you gave yourself to it. What if you woke up and realised it won't matter how many cars you have, how big your house is or bling on your body, without a sense of balance for yourself, you will forever seek to fill an empty space only you can resolve. What if you finally realised love has nothing to do with possession, in telling others how to live their life, in making partners, children, family go without so you feel more fulfilled, what if you stopped taking from everyone around you and started to give back, unconditionally, completely. What if instead of wanting a friend, you were a friend. What if instead of expecting your children to be better, you expected yourself to be a better parent. What if instead of demanding someone love you, you loved someone so completely, so unconditionally, you didn't need their permission to do so.
Life is love increases our sense of balance in life, then love is the stabilising force. It is a human word and construct, it applies to no other species, we call love anything we want to possess, to own, hang on to. Yet how can that be love, the very essence of something which is good, selfless and unconditional. It is not. It is not anger, violence and taking. Like a tight rope walker as our balance in love wobbles from side to side, we try to straighten up by leaning on committment, loyalty, pieces of paper like marriage, on material possessions, even on our children. We blame everyone and everything around us for our lack of love, our unbalance in life, for our hurt, our pain, our suffering. Some go to extraordinary lengths as to compete with others as to who has suffered the most, who has it the hardest, who has walked the most miles. We keep throwing things on either end of the balancing pole, hoping that when we get it right, we will find balance. Don't you get it!
Only one person on the rope at one time! This is your path, your balancing act, the only true force of balance is an empty pole, one foot in front of the other, you with a clear head, heart and soul, from one end to the other, the beginning to the end. You don't add to the balancing act, you give back! Take all that crap off your pole!!!! Take off the material issues weighing you down. Stand naked in all your entered the world in, ask yourself are you ready, are you in the shape you need to make it through winter, to cross this tightrope, are you giving it all you've got!
You cannot force love, you cannot make it, create it, bend it, hold it. You can give it! Give it unconditionally, share it, spread it, be it. You are your own balance.
You cannot continue to take from others, from humanity, from the planet and not expect that your taking will upset the balance of life.
“To lose balance sometimes for love is part of living a balanced
life.”
― Elizabeth Gilbert, Eat, Pray, Love
You cannot love without loss. There will be winters, the seasons will change, go with it, don't resist, don't try to force it, hold on to it or grip it like it's the last chance you will have. Sometimes you need to feel the unbalance, to remember to listen to your breathe, quieten the mind, connect with your heart and centre yourself. Winters are part of our process of balance in life. There would be no rainbows without both sun and rain. These events do happen and they will, people will come and go, life will happen. There will be times of unbalance and times of stability, never stop breathing. Take all life has in and breathe out all that is unnecessary. Give back to yourself, clear your mind, your lungs, nurture your body, heal the soul.
What if in 2013, you took this opportunity to give yourself to others, to yourself; by starting with nurturing the very gifts you have taken for granted. If you started to appreciate every blessing, every friend, family member, every task before you. What if by the very process of changing your attitude towards life you created a ripple across your life in abudance. If instead of focussing on others need to change, you changed yourself and by doing so, all around you began to change.
The other night after a few extremely nice wines, trying to stay off a winter chill :) I pulled out my bucket list and with the help of a few volunteers who shall remain sworn to secrecy and nameless, I sent it out there to the universe, it had started to feel like this winter had developed into hibernation and it was time to put a little sun on those seeds of change. I had unconsciously already started without knowing to put one foot in front of the other, one by one I was removing the weights holding me down, challenging my sense of balance. Not until I looked at the list did I realise it made complete sense why my yoga had improved, my sense of balance restored and the frost was lifting. I was lighter physically, mentally and I was working on the spiritual.
For a long time it was as D'Souza had stated, "it seemed like life was about to begin", about to. Stop, listen, think! This is my life, the winter, the seasons of change, these are my forces of change. I could try to resist or I could go with it, be part of the living force that gives us life and takes it away. I could step into everyday in better condition than the day before or refuse to get out of bed. Damn right I was checking off the top most challenging traumas in life and why break a good record now! So everytime you get knocked down it hurts a little more, your body aches a little longer and you need to lay there a fraction more, that is life. Get up! There is no view from down there! Have you ever seen a whale off shore as you bask in the sun during a yoga session on the beach? Get up!
Twelve months ago I could barely cross my legs let alone consider the bakasana. I thought inversion therapy was putting more ice in my drink, never could have possibly conceived the practice of placing my heart higher than my head could create such a ripple of change and a sense of balance. I dreamed of being the same size one day as I was when I finished school (didn't appreciate what I had then either!) let alone go past this and end up sharing a wardrobe with my daughter (I draw the line at cut off denim studded shorts though!!). Yoga has become part of my life, it is my balance barometer and as I salute the sun I am made aware of surrendering to the daily inbalance, the winter, the autumn, the summer and the spring. It isn't a religion, it isn't something you have to do. It's a choice. Seeking balance in life is a choice. To celebrate what is and what isn't. To breathe in and let it out. In 2012 People came into my life with skill, with amazing ideas, creativity, friendship and love. I rediscovered friendships, I found myself. I didn't need to dig too far, it was there all along, I just learned to silence it whilst I was busy getting on with life? People changed who I was 12 months ago and nurtured who I am today. They believed in me and reminded me to believe in myself, to never ever give up.
I learned this year to let go of holding on and start embracing more; I've always known love is not something you steal, take or borrow, it is unconditional, it knows no boundaries, it lives beyond death. I learned not to take the smallest of opportunities for granted, to listen to the lessons, to plant my seeds of change, to nurture them, no matter the years, the lack of rain, to be patient for the sun, that something which has life, that needs rain and sun to grow, needs time. I did a little weeding along the way, nurtured my own patch, worried more about being a better person than being concerned with who wasn't. I shared my gifts more, mothering, friendship, family and love. I made a few committments to myself, to honour the gift of life; to never take it for granted, to be honest, true to myself, to others, to live an authentic life. I opened up to new ways of knowing, of learning, growing, dreaming. The bucket list grew! I slowed down to spare time to ask an older person struggling with groceries if I could carry anything, hold a new baby for her Mum to shop, pay for something other than for myself, to make someone elses dream a reality and in so I stepped off the path to cross the street!
I'm going into 2013, the year of giving, with a heart open to change, a mind read to explore every adventure as I watch the ripples of friendship (you are just awesome!!!!!! this will be so much fun) break down the obstacles to tackling that bucket list! I have one massive list which includes many miles, many dreams and many challenging experiences, it scares the hell out of me (see crossed another one off just thinking of the list!). It's like writing your own happy ending, chosing to stop being a passenger of humanity, stop riding on the tailgate, to stop holding life with two hands, to wrap your body around it and suck it in until the two of you become one. The very thought of making this happen is exciting and inspiring, before I even buy a ticket. I listened to what Oriah called our longing, I stopped, looked, listen and I'm thinking. Bring on one endless summer!
Ok so I still haven't finished that assignment, I still have 3 exams before the end of January and a pile of unfinished tasks, I didn't say I could do it all over night nor have I have suggested life is easy, I would be the last person persuing that belief! I've stepped off the curb, I've looked and I've listened. I've waited the winter out and I'm looking forward to who and what is on the other side. The view from where I am standing now is so incredible I can feel the summer on its way.
I have a few mammoth adventures ahead, so if you are up to hiking Cradle Mountain, a trip to PNG, a little Chocolat experience or a damn fine cold beer in Germany, the spiritual connection of Machu Picchu, you have a story to tell and you need a writer or maybe you a publisher and you are after the next big sell! Do I have a year for you!!!!!!
Bring on 2013! the year of giving, to you and to yourselves xo
Saturday, December 29, 2012
Saturday, December 15, 2012
We can do better
There is intense sadness, loss and grief around the globe tonight, a grief beyond comprehension as an event so unnatural, unfair and man made it swells beyond the borders of a small community in Conneticut. As a friend commented on a Facebook page yesterday, only in the US could gun control be a right and healthcare a privilege. When children, little children, our children, your children, cannot go to school, to feel safe receiving their human right to an education, we need to do better. We need to do so much better people.
Scientist and anthropologists; some believe we are the most intelligent species on the planet, are we, really? In a world where 95% of our health systems are burdened by preventable disease; famine takes the lives of millions, children, women, men, families; dysfunction is now a common word in families, communities are disconnected and only brought together by tragedy and grief. Someone tell me what is so intelligent about that.
War continues to perpetuate violence, using power, authority and force, as to this day we have failed to produce an alternative. Greed, anger, hate; the most powerful motivators behind human suffering fueled and justified in the name of peace. Someone please explain to me the intelligence in that. Over thousands of years of killing, hating, using force, we still do not have an alternative solution. What is intelligent about that?
When our homes, in the very neighbourhoods we share are experiencing rising family violence, childhood abuse, mental health statistics rising, where many are more concerned about the interest rate of the mortgage rates than they have interest in making their communities safer for children. When we cannot face the reality of what is in our own street, in our own homes; we cannot protect the very people we may ride the bus with, see in the shopping isle, buy milk from, pick up our garbage, when we cannot even reach out and do something to protect our own neighbours, what hope have we of protecting on a universal scale. What is intelligent about that?
In Australia people sit silently on a bus while a woman is being taunted and abused, the elderly die in their homes and only when the stench is concerning, does someone notice them gone; children being abucted from public highways and shopping centres and we need forensic evidence to find them; neighbours killing their partners and not one damn person steps up and says or does something to prevent it. Come on people! Pick up the phone at least. People who think not watching the news or reading about it makes their world safer, until it happens to them and then wonder why it happened in the first place. People who have stopped questioning the very moral code and compass we use daily to path a legacy for our children. We are not evolving in some parts of the world, we are expiring. The human race is adapting to an insular and self motivated, self preserving attitude that is allowing violence to continue in our communities. When the majority of crime, death by violent crime is drug related and I'm not just talking illegal drugs, we need to ask ourselves what the hell is going on and what are we going to do better!
When we have a headache it is much easier to reach for a tablet and fix it in seconds than it is to change our lifestyle, question what we've been eating, not eating, stress we've been under, what we contributed to it. It is much easier to push responsibility for your child onto the school or your doctor to fix them, than to change yourself. It is much easier and convenient to turn off the tv than to step up as a human being and take responsibility for the gift of life, of breathe and presence on this planet, to be a seed of change, to do something, anything damn, just don't ignore it and please do not use the "it's not my responsibility"....tone with me. Let's examine that, tell me then what is your responsibility? You, you are responsible for yourself, for your attitudes, your health, your motives and as parents, oh that is so big I don't have the time here this morning. There is not a piece of research out there about childhood which can steer away from the impact parenting has on the development of the child into an adult. Your responsibility is a member of the human race to educate, raise and encourage, love, your children. Not to set them loose irresponsibly on a community and onto others to hurt, harm and abuse, so you can kick back and enjoy the years spending your children's inheritance. Oh get with it people, wake up. Advertising is there to tell you the opposite to what you should hear. It is there to program you into wanting something beyond what you have conceived. Our responsibilities as communities is to help those who cannot help themselves, when we screw up and wow we do it so well as adults, to own it, take responsibility and the level of responsibility that comes with your role and do something about it!
I don't believe I would have been alone in being completely moved as a mother, a human being, having previously worked as a teacher, by the shattered voice of a young teacher who instinctivly knew the right thing to do in those final moments was to tell her class what a parent would say, that she loved them, they are loved, that it is going to be ok, in her heart she believed they would die. I wept and was pulled back to a time, holding my son's hand, he was cold, his breathing had slowed and telling him it was ok to let go, to stop fighting the cancer, that I loved him, I would always love him, knowing in my heart it was never going to be ok. One child suffering is never going to be ok, when we have been gifted with the intelligence to do better. When as adults we have the power, the authority and the knowledge to do better.
As those entrusted with the care of our children, we need to learn from these events and the actions, the courage, the bravery of those teachers who in absolute fear and horror knew to shield their students from the terror unfolding, told the children to close their eyes, to prevent them from absorbing the horror, from searing into their developing minds this tragedy in their school. Little ones with their eyes closed, hands on each others shoulders, one by one, connected to each other; guided by a teacher brave with courage leading them through fear and sheer strength.
The other week in the shopping centre a young Mum with a screaming new baby, absolutely screaming, the tiny one week old sound. All these ignorant people with their judgemental stares, not one offering any assistance, anyone could see or having experienced knows what it is like with a hungry new baby and a trolley full of shopping. I was keen for a cuddle and asked if it was ok I carry the baby for her, new baby and new smell, still gets me everytime; I followed her around the shop having a cuddle while she finished her shopping. We chatted and talked about how hard parenting is and I confirmed for her, it is one of the hardest and most valuable roles we ever have.
Stepping up, costs nothing and does so much. Step up people. Use the intelligence you are gifted with, do something to be a contributor, not a taker from this amazing planet. You do not need fancy gifts, expensive ones or multiple presents to be present in the life of people, you don't need wrapping or a bow. The most precious gifts you have cost nothing, a phone call, a letter, a card to let someone, even a complete stranger know they matter; to not speak when they need to talk (believe me even I struggle with that, though I guess you would know that by now!), mow a lawn, hold the shopping, take a cake to a neighbour, wash a car, babysit, put the rubbish out, heaven forbid mow your neighbours nature strip!! Extend your hand, reach out, like little children onto one another, put your hands on someones shoulders, lead them forward, give them a path, show them it is going to be Ok.
I heard the US Gun Lobby has hit back fast stating if only the teachers had been armed, if every single person was armed then this type of event might never happen. I'm sorry I don't see the intelligence in the argument that every single human being needs to live in fear they could be next and forearmed is forewarned. Someone explain to me why this belief is not across every country on the planet are we accepting that the US Gun Lobby has the greatest intelligence representative of our species? I also don't believe we can wind back the clock, guns are the instrument, the weapon of choice, they can only hurt when a human being uses them to hurt, so do knives, so do drugs, so do cars. Yet why any person can justify the ownership of a military weapon is beyond comprehension. Heaven forbid, oh absolutely tragic, is the death of a young person yesterday from an umbrella in Bundaberg, QLD, Australia. I've used a gun, used several, it was a struggle at my size to manage; I haven't touched one since high school. I was brought up in a time and environment/community where most people either owned a gun or had used on and didn't have an opinion on them. There were no automatic weapons, no assault rifles and no amnesty forced onto law abidding people to surrender family heirlooms, yet there was always crime, there always will be.
I have lived in a country where Police do not have guns, for those of us at present, who live in countries where our 'Force' have force, this would be inconceivable, yet it's the reality.
Violence breeds violence, fear breeds fear, violence breeds fear. There is nothing more powerful or profitable than the person who taps into human fear.
When I was teaching pre-school many years ago, it was sometime after September 11 and children were still asking questions, still building towers and knocking them down, still attempting to make meaning out of something adults could not make sense from. Their questions were simple and yet we had no answers, we could only allow them a safe environment in which to voice their concerns, struggle to come to terms with a reality one begs to consider why intelligence was wasted on a species which continues to fail so spectacularly. I remember a friend who had been teaching at a diverse metropolitan school, where few children in the class spoke English, many had spent years as refugees transitioning into Australia; children as young as 6 years old confused as to why violence was not an answer to resolving disputes and why they couldn't bring a gun to school. We need to do better, so much better. Children should be concerned about anything except adult responsibilities.
Whether you are Australian children, American, Palestinian, Israeli, any child, anywhere at any given time of the day or night; children wanting an education, to feel safe going to school, you should not have to carry the burden of our mistakes, of our ignorance and irresponsible actions. As a species we will continue to expire as we allow each other to hurt the most vulnerable, when we turn our backs and do nothing. You have a voice, as a parent, as a family, as a friend. You can make a difference. When we would prefer to sit quietly, to save face, to "not get involved", to not step up and make those accountable for violence against children, we contribute to allowing it to continue.
I've lost several close people to guns, it weighs heavy on your mind and heart to know your life, our lives will be forever changed by their loss of life. I picked up the phone for several years following, when I was missing a recipe or had a question; I'd been so use to these conversations in the past, it was sometime before I reprogrammed myself to believing no one would answer. No one should ever have to say goodbye to someone they love because of the ease of access to a weapon which takes less than a second to change their life, less than the time it takes for conscious problem solving and decision making, we need to do better, so much better.
We need to do so much better, today and tomorrow and everyday; to continue to learn and develop better ways of being human, of providing safer communities for our children to grow.
Today, only 24hrs after the most recent aftermath, around the world thousands of children will have lost their lives in violence, due to famine, disease, neglect. As adults we are failing our children.
I read a story yesterday of a mother whose daughter was killed from domestic violence and years down the track she continues to advocate for legislative change, driven by her daughters memory and the grief of knowing, experiencing, feeling, no parent should ever have to experience what she had gone through. This same mother made a point of speaking to those who have tried to tell her it is time to "move on" and "let go" and she raised the question, what does that mean? What is this construct of Western societies belief about grief that one just gives it a time limit and then gets on with life? Do we let go of the love we feel for our parnters when we first meet them? Do we let go of the passion or skill we have for our careers? Do we let go of the connections between our friends, our relationships, the gratitude for people who have touched our lives? Why do we tell people they need to empty a memory only they will carry? Try telling a greedy person to let go of their posessions!
Get over it people, allow people the time, the space and a way to express their grief in a way that brings them comfort, allows them to cherish, value and remember their loved ones. I can remember attending a grief and loss workshop the year my son died and an educator telling me when it was time to let go of Ben's things, his clothes, toys, bed. Over the years I've passed those toys onto children to enjoy, the bed donated to a charity fundraising for children not so long ago and the clothes to be made into a memory quilt. What right does anyone who has not experienced this loss and believe me you cannot begin to imagine what the reality is like no matter how many times you think you 'get it' by reading about it, know a friend of a friend.
The grief of losing a child is so great there is no word in the dictionary to describe it. You are widowed from the death of a partner, orphaned from the death of a parent, yet there is no word to describe a pain so great, there are no words to describe it.
So in this time of mourning and reflection, for families everywhere placing their hands on their heart, looking at pictures, wiping tears, take this time to ask yourself what could you do better!
Scientist and anthropologists; some believe we are the most intelligent species on the planet, are we, really? In a world where 95% of our health systems are burdened by preventable disease; famine takes the lives of millions, children, women, men, families; dysfunction is now a common word in families, communities are disconnected and only brought together by tragedy and grief. Someone tell me what is so intelligent about that.
War continues to perpetuate violence, using power, authority and force, as to this day we have failed to produce an alternative. Greed, anger, hate; the most powerful motivators behind human suffering fueled and justified in the name of peace. Someone please explain to me the intelligence in that. Over thousands of years of killing, hating, using force, we still do not have an alternative solution. What is intelligent about that?
In Australia people sit silently on a bus while a woman is being taunted and abused, the elderly die in their homes and only when the stench is concerning, does someone notice them gone; children being abucted from public highways and shopping centres and we need forensic evidence to find them; neighbours killing their partners and not one damn person steps up and says or does something to prevent it. Come on people! Pick up the phone at least. People who think not watching the news or reading about it makes their world safer, until it happens to them and then wonder why it happened in the first place. People who have stopped questioning the very moral code and compass we use daily to path a legacy for our children. We are not evolving in some parts of the world, we are expiring. The human race is adapting to an insular and self motivated, self preserving attitude that is allowing violence to continue in our communities. When the majority of crime, death by violent crime is drug related and I'm not just talking illegal drugs, we need to ask ourselves what the hell is going on and what are we going to do better!
When we have a headache it is much easier to reach for a tablet and fix it in seconds than it is to change our lifestyle, question what we've been eating, not eating, stress we've been under, what we contributed to it. It is much easier to push responsibility for your child onto the school or your doctor to fix them, than to change yourself. It is much easier and convenient to turn off the tv than to step up as a human being and take responsibility for the gift of life, of breathe and presence on this planet, to be a seed of change, to do something, anything damn, just don't ignore it and please do not use the "it's not my responsibility"....tone with me. Let's examine that, tell me then what is your responsibility? You, you are responsible for yourself, for your attitudes, your health, your motives and as parents, oh that is so big I don't have the time here this morning. There is not a piece of research out there about childhood which can steer away from the impact parenting has on the development of the child into an adult. Your responsibility is a member of the human race to educate, raise and encourage, love, your children. Not to set them loose irresponsibly on a community and onto others to hurt, harm and abuse, so you can kick back and enjoy the years spending your children's inheritance. Oh get with it people, wake up. Advertising is there to tell you the opposite to what you should hear. It is there to program you into wanting something beyond what you have conceived. Our responsibilities as communities is to help those who cannot help themselves, when we screw up and wow we do it so well as adults, to own it, take responsibility and the level of responsibility that comes with your role and do something about it!
I don't believe I would have been alone in being completely moved as a mother, a human being, having previously worked as a teacher, by the shattered voice of a young teacher who instinctivly knew the right thing to do in those final moments was to tell her class what a parent would say, that she loved them, they are loved, that it is going to be ok, in her heart she believed they would die. I wept and was pulled back to a time, holding my son's hand, he was cold, his breathing had slowed and telling him it was ok to let go, to stop fighting the cancer, that I loved him, I would always love him, knowing in my heart it was never going to be ok. One child suffering is never going to be ok, when we have been gifted with the intelligence to do better. When as adults we have the power, the authority and the knowledge to do better.
As those entrusted with the care of our children, we need to learn from these events and the actions, the courage, the bravery of those teachers who in absolute fear and horror knew to shield their students from the terror unfolding, told the children to close their eyes, to prevent them from absorbing the horror, from searing into their developing minds this tragedy in their school. Little ones with their eyes closed, hands on each others shoulders, one by one, connected to each other; guided by a teacher brave with courage leading them through fear and sheer strength.
The other week in the shopping centre a young Mum with a screaming new baby, absolutely screaming, the tiny one week old sound. All these ignorant people with their judgemental stares, not one offering any assistance, anyone could see or having experienced knows what it is like with a hungry new baby and a trolley full of shopping. I was keen for a cuddle and asked if it was ok I carry the baby for her, new baby and new smell, still gets me everytime; I followed her around the shop having a cuddle while she finished her shopping. We chatted and talked about how hard parenting is and I confirmed for her, it is one of the hardest and most valuable roles we ever have.
Stepping up, costs nothing and does so much. Step up people. Use the intelligence you are gifted with, do something to be a contributor, not a taker from this amazing planet. You do not need fancy gifts, expensive ones or multiple presents to be present in the life of people, you don't need wrapping or a bow. The most precious gifts you have cost nothing, a phone call, a letter, a card to let someone, even a complete stranger know they matter; to not speak when they need to talk (believe me even I struggle with that, though I guess you would know that by now!), mow a lawn, hold the shopping, take a cake to a neighbour, wash a car, babysit, put the rubbish out, heaven forbid mow your neighbours nature strip!! Extend your hand, reach out, like little children onto one another, put your hands on someones shoulders, lead them forward, give them a path, show them it is going to be Ok.
I heard the US Gun Lobby has hit back fast stating if only the teachers had been armed, if every single person was armed then this type of event might never happen. I'm sorry I don't see the intelligence in the argument that every single human being needs to live in fear they could be next and forearmed is forewarned. Someone explain to me why this belief is not across every country on the planet are we accepting that the US Gun Lobby has the greatest intelligence representative of our species? I also don't believe we can wind back the clock, guns are the instrument, the weapon of choice, they can only hurt when a human being uses them to hurt, so do knives, so do drugs, so do cars. Yet why any person can justify the ownership of a military weapon is beyond comprehension. Heaven forbid, oh absolutely tragic, is the death of a young person yesterday from an umbrella in Bundaberg, QLD, Australia. I've used a gun, used several, it was a struggle at my size to manage; I haven't touched one since high school. I was brought up in a time and environment/community where most people either owned a gun or had used on and didn't have an opinion on them. There were no automatic weapons, no assault rifles and no amnesty forced onto law abidding people to surrender family heirlooms, yet there was always crime, there always will be.
I have lived in a country where Police do not have guns, for those of us at present, who live in countries where our 'Force' have force, this would be inconceivable, yet it's the reality.
Violence breeds violence, fear breeds fear, violence breeds fear. There is nothing more powerful or profitable than the person who taps into human fear.
When I was teaching pre-school many years ago, it was sometime after September 11 and children were still asking questions, still building towers and knocking them down, still attempting to make meaning out of something adults could not make sense from. Their questions were simple and yet we had no answers, we could only allow them a safe environment in which to voice their concerns, struggle to come to terms with a reality one begs to consider why intelligence was wasted on a species which continues to fail so spectacularly. I remember a friend who had been teaching at a diverse metropolitan school, where few children in the class spoke English, many had spent years as refugees transitioning into Australia; children as young as 6 years old confused as to why violence was not an answer to resolving disputes and why they couldn't bring a gun to school. We need to do better, so much better. Children should be concerned about anything except adult responsibilities.
Whether you are Australian children, American, Palestinian, Israeli, any child, anywhere at any given time of the day or night; children wanting an education, to feel safe going to school, you should not have to carry the burden of our mistakes, of our ignorance and irresponsible actions. As a species we will continue to expire as we allow each other to hurt the most vulnerable, when we turn our backs and do nothing. You have a voice, as a parent, as a family, as a friend. You can make a difference. When we would prefer to sit quietly, to save face, to "not get involved", to not step up and make those accountable for violence against children, we contribute to allowing it to continue.
I've lost several close people to guns, it weighs heavy on your mind and heart to know your life, our lives will be forever changed by their loss of life. I picked up the phone for several years following, when I was missing a recipe or had a question; I'd been so use to these conversations in the past, it was sometime before I reprogrammed myself to believing no one would answer. No one should ever have to say goodbye to someone they love because of the ease of access to a weapon which takes less than a second to change their life, less than the time it takes for conscious problem solving and decision making, we need to do better, so much better.
We need to do so much better, today and tomorrow and everyday; to continue to learn and develop better ways of being human, of providing safer communities for our children to grow.
Today, only 24hrs after the most recent aftermath, around the world thousands of children will have lost their lives in violence, due to famine, disease, neglect. As adults we are failing our children.
I read a story yesterday of a mother whose daughter was killed from domestic violence and years down the track she continues to advocate for legislative change, driven by her daughters memory and the grief of knowing, experiencing, feeling, no parent should ever have to experience what she had gone through. This same mother made a point of speaking to those who have tried to tell her it is time to "move on" and "let go" and she raised the question, what does that mean? What is this construct of Western societies belief about grief that one just gives it a time limit and then gets on with life? Do we let go of the love we feel for our parnters when we first meet them? Do we let go of the passion or skill we have for our careers? Do we let go of the connections between our friends, our relationships, the gratitude for people who have touched our lives? Why do we tell people they need to empty a memory only they will carry? Try telling a greedy person to let go of their posessions!
Get over it people, allow people the time, the space and a way to express their grief in a way that brings them comfort, allows them to cherish, value and remember their loved ones. I can remember attending a grief and loss workshop the year my son died and an educator telling me when it was time to let go of Ben's things, his clothes, toys, bed. Over the years I've passed those toys onto children to enjoy, the bed donated to a charity fundraising for children not so long ago and the clothes to be made into a memory quilt. What right does anyone who has not experienced this loss and believe me you cannot begin to imagine what the reality is like no matter how many times you think you 'get it' by reading about it, know a friend of a friend.
The grief of losing a child is so great there is no word in the dictionary to describe it. You are widowed from the death of a partner, orphaned from the death of a parent, yet there is no word to describe a pain so great, there are no words to describe it.
So in this time of mourning and reflection, for families everywhere placing their hands on their heart, looking at pictures, wiping tears, take this time to ask yourself what could you do better!
Thursday, December 6, 2012
Speaking the truth
Sometimes the easiest thing to do appears to be and can be the hardest. Saying something out loud, something that might be controversial, call people to look hard at themselves, take responsibility, oh yes above all else, take responsibility; for their actions, their words, their motives and how they connect with all others on this planet.
Being alive every moment, every breathe is a gift, many are not afforded.
We are all, every single one of us, surrounded by death, destruction, forces beyond (is it?) your control, in yourself, in the community and around the globe.
How we all respond to that will be uniquely our own, tainted by conditioning, knowledge and belief systems.
How many times have we read stories about the truth, more recently this year of a young student shot http://video.today.msnbc.msn.com/today/49414153#49414153 for speaking out about the truth, a girl wanting to have an education; yet for many other places in the world would be more concerned about what she is doing this weekend, what clothes to wear or guy to meet (yes that is a tongue-in-cheek generalisation for the sensitive ones), not standing up for human rights, for the right of women and human beings to voice the truth.
The world is a jellybean jar of different colours, tastes & reactions. Each to their own. No one forces you to watch a program or read an article, if you don't like it, don't watch or read it.
Some only looking through one lens may find comfort in only believing one truth, their truth. Many human beings due to personality and beliefs need to find security in a well defined concrete answer, one that resonates with how they perceive the world to be.
There have been so many before us, particularly those of us in Australia have the luxury of riding on the backs of those who have done their best to wipe the stain from the soil of our country; or there are those who continue to believe we somehow earned our right to be here 'the white way is the right way' belief system; I'm still trying to understand the logic of that one. Ignorance is not bliss, it's just ignorance, yet I guess its comfortable.
As Buddha is quoted as saying "the greatest impurity is ignorance. Free yourself. Be pure".
I wrote a blog this week, I was basically airing a few thoughts I had regarding two journal articles I was asked to compare in relation to a paper for a post graduate course I'm studying at present. I am a passionate writer, I own that! I pour my thoughts in, mix them about and I push people to challenge themselves, to think outside the square. If I offend, you could try to see it as a priviledge to have been offended, I have stirred something in you that was stagnate, maybe you could learn a thing or two. Those of you who commented, smiled & laughed, thank you for being there all these years, for being able to gain the meaning of Margaret Mead's words when she said "never doubt that small group of people can change the world, indeed it's the only thing that ever has". Being comfortable won't advance the human race.
I have been told over the years I am many things, even dogmatic. Which is rather ironic considering the person who made the statement had never seen me in person, had just commenced a 5 minute conversation on the phone and we had never spoken previously; yet they read a letter in which I disputed an unjustified claim/statement which the scientific evidence/empirical data just does not support, they just "believed" it to be so. In other words anyone who doesn't see their way is obviously wrong :) The rather amusing thing is, I don't have to agree with what I write, I put my hand in the jellybean jar and I wave it around, I don't have any favourites or dislikes. I however like my little soapbox and I am incredibly grateful for the breathe that pumps through my veins, my nervous system and charges the neurons to question, to think and to share those thoughts, to be a change, to make a difference, rather than grab a free ride.
What is it that makes people grip onto their beliefs with two hands that creates a flood of ignorance through their veins? Is it genetics or conditioning in arrogance; anyone whose thoughts may be different to theirs is obviously wrong! In that case wouldn't we all be wrong :)
I don't pretend to be you, or you, or you. How could you possibly have walked in my shoes, shared the same smells of death and believe me, reading about it and smelling it, how when the blood drains from the body, it changes the brain in different ways. Watch all the movies & read all the stories you like, believe me their is a reason our sense of smell is one of our earliest and most sensitive capacities.
How could you know violence from a tv? From reading the paper? & heaven (or some God whom ever she is) forgive me if I make light of your insignificant complaints as on my radar it just doesn't rate.
How can one person hold the truth? One religion? One politician? One teacher, one parent, one friend? They can't and that is the truth.
Ever tried having a philosophical debate about what constitutes the truth with a philosopher? Take your armour and a sword and maybe a few snacks, you'll be in for the long haul.
So what is the truth and why should we speak it?
Better still what kind of world and lives would we have without any truth?
Have you ever noticed how willingly people are to try a new car, a new recipe, a new outfit, a new job, a new house even, yet try asking them about changing their mind, about thinking outside the square, about changing the one thing they don't need to spend money or go anywhere or need friends or family to help them do. THINK! Try asking them (some I might add) to learn about a different religion, a different culture. In today's world of access to the world wide library web I am still shocked by racist attitudes and stereotyping when facts, reality is right there at your finger tips.
What absence from the world would there be without the presence of those before us to point us along a different path, to ask questions, to seek compassion, understanding and challenge ignorance.
"One life is all we have and we live it as we believe in living it. But to sacrifice what you are and to live without belief, that is a fate more terrible than dying." - Joan of Arc
A woman overwhelmed with compassion and conviction, some may say she was insane claiming to hear voices calling her to a cause greater purpose, at 17yrs of age, leading an Army. Was she right? Is war an answer to the truth. I'm not challenging that blog here today. Yet to surrender to the ordinary when we are each gifted with extraordinary purpose?
As early as 384BC Plato's student Aristotle changed the face of inquiry. At a time of Alexander the Great he learned independent thinking, to challenge what the mind can conceive was a path to the truth, his truth and answers to the most difficult questions of his time. He went on to find answers to previously believed unsolveable questions and to forge a path for intellectual and scientific inquiry, that man (& woman!) had the capacity for enlightenment, if only they seek self inquiry, human goodness derived from rational thought!
Even French chemist and biologist Louis Pasteur was considerd mediocre. As challenging as it is to be 'different', humanity is grateful someone took him seriously.
Laws and science depend on the truth, religion and philosphers debate it; which truth is it: Subjective, objective, relative or absolute? What you believe to be true...is it? or is it just your understanding based on your knowledge and experience to date! Do you seek the truth? Question it and seek more? or content with sitting on a truth that is more relative rather than dance ahead to the rhythm of the footsteps of our greatest leaders, our 'crazy ones' who have pushed the boundaries in order of us to live a better life.
Oscar Wilde once said "If you want to tell the truth, make them laugh, otherwise they'll kill you". What do you think he mean't by that? Is that telling the truth, using your voice, your words, your thoughts to share a different way of knowing not only is risky, it can be life threatening. That some, so protective of their ignorance would rather hurt you than understand you.
No matter what you have to say or do in life there will always be someone wanting to challenge your version of the truth & so they should. What makes speaking the truth problematic for many is the isolation, torture and pain which many suffer in order to take their truth to a wider audience, to create change, to move the human race forward. It's a risk and at times a burden. The only way to survive it is to connect with other liked minded persons, to surround yourself with people who not only seek the truth, seek other ways of knowing, understanding the human capacity, who are constantly evolving as individuals, they desire it.
Have you ever wondered about where we would be if we never progressed? If at one time in history someone with enough power (or force?) said "right listen here, we are OK just the way we are, now no one is to seek alternatives, no answers to disease, no better ways to educate, to learn, to understand, to save the planet".
When we look at the statistics on the burden of disease on this amazing planet we fight, strive and live for, http://www.aihw.gov.au/burden-of-disease/ and the evidence to support the majority of the world's disease is preventable what does this say about human intelligence, about how we process, accept or tolerate any truth. Stress is still both a direct and indirect leading cause of disease and death and who causes the stress? We do.
Do people seek out better ways of living, balancing the budget, raising children, learn how to be kind, compassionate and practice what they preach or take it for granted. Happy to say there is a growing shift in the vibrational ripple of lateral thinkers doing their best and when it isn't enough seeking another way. One can only dream and continue to put your foot in the water to keep the ripple going.
I surprised myself this week in removing something I had written with absolute no intention for it to be directed at any one person. Do you have any idea of how many people I know in my small circle, let alone throughout life? I write to raise the level of consciousness, to challenge thinking, to motivate people to step outside the square for a moment. I am touched as much by the young east German guard on my train from Austria as I am from listening to Arch Bishop Tutu speak at a freedom rally in the day when Nelson Mandela was still incarcerated. I didn't grow up in the same house my whole life; on the year I turned 31, I worked out I had moved 31 times. I've known incredibly wealthy people and incredibly poor people, suffering and elation. You are not the centre of my universe. That would be the person I come home to in my meditations, each morning as I salute the sun. If you need to know what motivates me to be outspoken and at times controversial, I made a promise to my son, I would never be quiet about something which is intrinsically wrong, which causes people to suffer, which harms children, I will never take life for granted whilst children every day are dying, that I will be grateful for every single opportunity life has to offer, for all the opportunities many people never have the chance to try. I will use my talents, I will open my mind and grow. I will not lay down and stagnate in a pool of pus and let others look after me. It is just not in my genetic makeup.
As well as the fact that my usual approach, when I write, is if they don't like it, they can always get back into the box they came from. Yet when personal attacks are made, mud is thrown, sometimes it catches you in the eye and you are blinded for a moment what you set out to do (surprise surprise, writers have feelings too!), to share another way of seeing a truth, to grow, to live, to change, to be a seed of change, to contribute and never take for granted every single experience we are afforded. If you want to silence a writer, then don't speak. Challenge adds fuel, it stimulates discussion, it pushes the truth out there faster and further.
In our time alone, let alone history, we have lost great many people doing their best at doing better, to push a little harder, question when it appears all the answers have been given. "When we know better, you do better" Maya Angelou, is that so hard to comprehend? I've never researched or even Googled it and running out of time this morning, yet I often wonder when I read truly amazing accounts of survival, of leaders is it true that those who have the greatest capacity to give are those who have lost the most? Is it true that those who complain the most have the greatest amount to be grateful for, have never really known real, touch your hand suffering? So would neuroscientist or even behaviourists be true in hypothesising that brain which wires with ignorance, has failed to learn from the types of environmental stimulus which not only delivers advertisty, it creates resilience?
This year Grant Oyston, Founder Invisible Children and the person beyond KONY 2012 took the violence of the LRA to the wider world, that sharing the truth would promote discussion, raise awareness and bring an end to the atrocities in Central Affrica. http://invisiblechildren.com/
Mr Oyston stated in a response letter to his critics "fight propaganda with the fair pursuit of balanced truths, not with propaganda of your own"; if you are going to wage a war of attacks against someone elses truths at least make it honest and fair, at least have a balanced view to support your argument, why smear mud on something you know nothing about, let alone experienced.
Sometimes at the art gallery I would find myself drawn to a painting; to some it would seem child like, even unworthy of hanging in such a reputable location, let alone its price tag; yet few ever stop to imagine the mind of a person who could create so much from so little.
If the cure for ignorance is truly to question, is the truth is out there and we need only not seek it, yet allow others to seek it for us as well. Then at least be grateful for those who dare to be 'the crazy ones' those who are 'different', who stand up, speak up and say what has to be said, against the masses. The ones who sacrifice fitting it, for standing out, who give up the luxury of freedom to be scrutinised, to carry the burden of their own scars, those of many when they don't even know their names. Maybe even a thank you could be warranted, as you except the changes to improve your life, the freedom to say something or do nothing, the truth they dare to seek as you relax in the comfort of your armchair.
Thank you to all those who speak the truth, seek the truth and create change in the world. Thank you for daring to be different.
Being alive every moment, every breathe is a gift, many are not afforded.
We are all, every single one of us, surrounded by death, destruction, forces beyond (is it?) your control, in yourself, in the community and around the globe.
How we all respond to that will be uniquely our own, tainted by conditioning, knowledge and belief systems.
How many times have we read stories about the truth, more recently this year of a young student shot http://video.today.msnbc.msn.com/today/49414153#49414153 for speaking out about the truth, a girl wanting to have an education; yet for many other places in the world would be more concerned about what she is doing this weekend, what clothes to wear or guy to meet (yes that is a tongue-in-cheek generalisation for the sensitive ones), not standing up for human rights, for the right of women and human beings to voice the truth.
The world is a jellybean jar of different colours, tastes & reactions. Each to their own. No one forces you to watch a program or read an article, if you don't like it, don't watch or read it.
Some only looking through one lens may find comfort in only believing one truth, their truth. Many human beings due to personality and beliefs need to find security in a well defined concrete answer, one that resonates with how they perceive the world to be.
There have been so many before us, particularly those of us in Australia have the luxury of riding on the backs of those who have done their best to wipe the stain from the soil of our country; or there are those who continue to believe we somehow earned our right to be here 'the white way is the right way' belief system; I'm still trying to understand the logic of that one. Ignorance is not bliss, it's just ignorance, yet I guess its comfortable.
As Buddha is quoted as saying "the greatest impurity is ignorance. Free yourself. Be pure".
I wrote a blog this week, I was basically airing a few thoughts I had regarding two journal articles I was asked to compare in relation to a paper for a post graduate course I'm studying at present. I am a passionate writer, I own that! I pour my thoughts in, mix them about and I push people to challenge themselves, to think outside the square. If I offend, you could try to see it as a priviledge to have been offended, I have stirred something in you that was stagnate, maybe you could learn a thing or two. Those of you who commented, smiled & laughed, thank you for being there all these years, for being able to gain the meaning of Margaret Mead's words when she said "never doubt that small group of people can change the world, indeed it's the only thing that ever has". Being comfortable won't advance the human race.
I have been told over the years I am many things, even dogmatic. Which is rather ironic considering the person who made the statement had never seen me in person, had just commenced a 5 minute conversation on the phone and we had never spoken previously; yet they read a letter in which I disputed an unjustified claim/statement which the scientific evidence/empirical data just does not support, they just "believed" it to be so. In other words anyone who doesn't see their way is obviously wrong :) The rather amusing thing is, I don't have to agree with what I write, I put my hand in the jellybean jar and I wave it around, I don't have any favourites or dislikes. I however like my little soapbox and I am incredibly grateful for the breathe that pumps through my veins, my nervous system and charges the neurons to question, to think and to share those thoughts, to be a change, to make a difference, rather than grab a free ride.
What is it that makes people grip onto their beliefs with two hands that creates a flood of ignorance through their veins? Is it genetics or conditioning in arrogance; anyone whose thoughts may be different to theirs is obviously wrong! In that case wouldn't we all be wrong :)
I don't pretend to be you, or you, or you. How could you possibly have walked in my shoes, shared the same smells of death and believe me, reading about it and smelling it, how when the blood drains from the body, it changes the brain in different ways. Watch all the movies & read all the stories you like, believe me their is a reason our sense of smell is one of our earliest and most sensitive capacities.
How could you know violence from a tv? From reading the paper? & heaven (or some God whom ever she is) forgive me if I make light of your insignificant complaints as on my radar it just doesn't rate.
How can one person hold the truth? One religion? One politician? One teacher, one parent, one friend? They can't and that is the truth.
Ever tried having a philosophical debate about what constitutes the truth with a philosopher? Take your armour and a sword and maybe a few snacks, you'll be in for the long haul.
So what is the truth and why should we speak it?
Better still what kind of world and lives would we have without any truth?
Have you ever noticed how willingly people are to try a new car, a new recipe, a new outfit, a new job, a new house even, yet try asking them about changing their mind, about thinking outside the square, about changing the one thing they don't need to spend money or go anywhere or need friends or family to help them do. THINK! Try asking them (some I might add) to learn about a different religion, a different culture. In today's world of access to the world wide library web I am still shocked by racist attitudes and stereotyping when facts, reality is right there at your finger tips.
What absence from the world would there be without the presence of those before us to point us along a different path, to ask questions, to seek compassion, understanding and challenge ignorance.
"One life is all we have and we live it as we believe in living it. But to sacrifice what you are and to live without belief, that is a fate more terrible than dying." - Joan of Arc
A woman overwhelmed with compassion and conviction, some may say she was insane claiming to hear voices calling her to a cause greater purpose, at 17yrs of age, leading an Army. Was she right? Is war an answer to the truth. I'm not challenging that blog here today. Yet to surrender to the ordinary when we are each gifted with extraordinary purpose?
As early as 384BC Plato's student Aristotle changed the face of inquiry. At a time of Alexander the Great he learned independent thinking, to challenge what the mind can conceive was a path to the truth, his truth and answers to the most difficult questions of his time. He went on to find answers to previously believed unsolveable questions and to forge a path for intellectual and scientific inquiry, that man (& woman!) had the capacity for enlightenment, if only they seek self inquiry, human goodness derived from rational thought!
Even French chemist and biologist Louis Pasteur was considerd mediocre. As challenging as it is to be 'different', humanity is grateful someone took him seriously.
Laws and science depend on the truth, religion and philosphers debate it; which truth is it: Subjective, objective, relative or absolute? What you believe to be true...is it? or is it just your understanding based on your knowledge and experience to date! Do you seek the truth? Question it and seek more? or content with sitting on a truth that is more relative rather than dance ahead to the rhythm of the footsteps of our greatest leaders, our 'crazy ones' who have pushed the boundaries in order of us to live a better life.
Oscar Wilde once said "If you want to tell the truth, make them laugh, otherwise they'll kill you". What do you think he mean't by that? Is that telling the truth, using your voice, your words, your thoughts to share a different way of knowing not only is risky, it can be life threatening. That some, so protective of their ignorance would rather hurt you than understand you.
No matter what you have to say or do in life there will always be someone wanting to challenge your version of the truth & so they should. What makes speaking the truth problematic for many is the isolation, torture and pain which many suffer in order to take their truth to a wider audience, to create change, to move the human race forward. It's a risk and at times a burden. The only way to survive it is to connect with other liked minded persons, to surround yourself with people who not only seek the truth, seek other ways of knowing, understanding the human capacity, who are constantly evolving as individuals, they desire it.
Have you ever wondered about where we would be if we never progressed? If at one time in history someone with enough power (or force?) said "right listen here, we are OK just the way we are, now no one is to seek alternatives, no answers to disease, no better ways to educate, to learn, to understand, to save the planet".
When we look at the statistics on the burden of disease on this amazing planet we fight, strive and live for, http://www.aihw.gov.au/burden-of-disease/ and the evidence to support the majority of the world's disease is preventable what does this say about human intelligence, about how we process, accept or tolerate any truth. Stress is still both a direct and indirect leading cause of disease and death and who causes the stress? We do.
Do people seek out better ways of living, balancing the budget, raising children, learn how to be kind, compassionate and practice what they preach or take it for granted. Happy to say there is a growing shift in the vibrational ripple of lateral thinkers doing their best and when it isn't enough seeking another way. One can only dream and continue to put your foot in the water to keep the ripple going.
I surprised myself this week in removing something I had written with absolute no intention for it to be directed at any one person. Do you have any idea of how many people I know in my small circle, let alone throughout life? I write to raise the level of consciousness, to challenge thinking, to motivate people to step outside the square for a moment. I am touched as much by the young east German guard on my train from Austria as I am from listening to Arch Bishop Tutu speak at a freedom rally in the day when Nelson Mandela was still incarcerated. I didn't grow up in the same house my whole life; on the year I turned 31, I worked out I had moved 31 times. I've known incredibly wealthy people and incredibly poor people, suffering and elation. You are not the centre of my universe. That would be the person I come home to in my meditations, each morning as I salute the sun. If you need to know what motivates me to be outspoken and at times controversial, I made a promise to my son, I would never be quiet about something which is intrinsically wrong, which causes people to suffer, which harms children, I will never take life for granted whilst children every day are dying, that I will be grateful for every single opportunity life has to offer, for all the opportunities many people never have the chance to try. I will use my talents, I will open my mind and grow. I will not lay down and stagnate in a pool of pus and let others look after me. It is just not in my genetic makeup.
As well as the fact that my usual approach, when I write, is if they don't like it, they can always get back into the box they came from. Yet when personal attacks are made, mud is thrown, sometimes it catches you in the eye and you are blinded for a moment what you set out to do (surprise surprise, writers have feelings too!), to share another way of seeing a truth, to grow, to live, to change, to be a seed of change, to contribute and never take for granted every single experience we are afforded. If you want to silence a writer, then don't speak. Challenge adds fuel, it stimulates discussion, it pushes the truth out there faster and further.
In our time alone, let alone history, we have lost great many people doing their best at doing better, to push a little harder, question when it appears all the answers have been given. "When we know better, you do better" Maya Angelou, is that so hard to comprehend? I've never researched or even Googled it and running out of time this morning, yet I often wonder when I read truly amazing accounts of survival, of leaders is it true that those who have the greatest capacity to give are those who have lost the most? Is it true that those who complain the most have the greatest amount to be grateful for, have never really known real, touch your hand suffering? So would neuroscientist or even behaviourists be true in hypothesising that brain which wires with ignorance, has failed to learn from the types of environmental stimulus which not only delivers advertisty, it creates resilience?
This year Grant Oyston, Founder Invisible Children and the person beyond KONY 2012 took the violence of the LRA to the wider world, that sharing the truth would promote discussion, raise awareness and bring an end to the atrocities in Central Affrica. http://invisiblechildren.com/
Mr Oyston stated in a response letter to his critics "fight propaganda with the fair pursuit of balanced truths, not with propaganda of your own"; if you are going to wage a war of attacks against someone elses truths at least make it honest and fair, at least have a balanced view to support your argument, why smear mud on something you know nothing about, let alone experienced.
Sometimes at the art gallery I would find myself drawn to a painting; to some it would seem child like, even unworthy of hanging in such a reputable location, let alone its price tag; yet few ever stop to imagine the mind of a person who could create so much from so little.
If the cure for ignorance is truly to question, is the truth is out there and we need only not seek it, yet allow others to seek it for us as well. Then at least be grateful for those who dare to be 'the crazy ones' those who are 'different', who stand up, speak up and say what has to be said, against the masses. The ones who sacrifice fitting it, for standing out, who give up the luxury of freedom to be scrutinised, to carry the burden of their own scars, those of many when they don't even know their names. Maybe even a thank you could be warranted, as you except the changes to improve your life, the freedom to say something or do nothing, the truth they dare to seek as you relax in the comfort of your armchair.
Thank you to all those who speak the truth, seek the truth and create change in the world. Thank you for daring to be different.
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