I am the wind which breaths upon the sea,
I am the wave of the ocean,
I am the murmur of the billows,
I am the ox of the seven combats,
I am the vulture upon the rock,
i am a beam of the sun,
I am the fairest of plants,
I am a wild boar in valour,
I am a salmon in the water,
I am a lake in the plain,
I am a word of science,
I am the point of the lance in battle,
I am the God who creates in the head the fire.
Who is it who throws the light into the meeting on the mountain?
Who announces the ages of the moon?
Who teaches the place where crouches the sun?
Sunday 24 June 2007
Saturday 23 June 2007
Bring on the revolution ...
... it's all about the love.
"Paulo Freire says, 'I am more and more convinced that true revolutionaries must perceive the revolution, because of its creative and liberating nature, as an act of love'. He goes onto quote the enigmatic Che Guevara, who wrote in Venceremos: 'Let me say, with the risk of appearing ridiculous, that the true revolutionary is guided by strong feelings of love. It is impossible to think of an authentic revolutionary without this quality'. Freire then states a truth that is the utmost importance and, for the campaigning activist, the greatest challenge. He says:
This then, is the great humanistic and historical task of the oppressed: to liberate themselves and their oppressors as well. The oppressors, who oppress, exploit, and rape by virtue of their power, cannot find in this power the strength to liberate either the oppressed or themselves. Only power that springs from the weakness of the oppressed will be sufficiently strong to free both.
'All life entails violence', says Gandhi. We cannot walk across a field of grass without causing hurt to the creatures that live there. However, he concludes, our duty is to minimise the violence we personally exert. And to forgive and ask forgiveness: for as William Blake says, 'The cut worm forgives the plough.' Mutual continual forgiveness liberates the ongoing expression of life.
Hearing truth spoken inevitably troubles the chrome-plated peace of the oppressor. Stirring things up like this, however, is a duty, even an act of love. If done right, which is so hard to acheive as to be rare, it will speak to the oppressor's own deep self as well as on behalf of those who they oppress. A social activist cannot expect to be loved by the ego of the oppressor. But if they fail to speak to and remember the soul, then that activist will fail in the greater work that liberation is about."
Alistair McIntosh, Soil and Soul, Autum Press, 2002, p.277
"Paulo Freire says, 'I am more and more convinced that true revolutionaries must perceive the revolution, because of its creative and liberating nature, as an act of love'. He goes onto quote the enigmatic Che Guevara, who wrote in Venceremos: 'Let me say, with the risk of appearing ridiculous, that the true revolutionary is guided by strong feelings of love. It is impossible to think of an authentic revolutionary without this quality'. Freire then states a truth that is the utmost importance and, for the campaigning activist, the greatest challenge. He says:
This then, is the great humanistic and historical task of the oppressed: to liberate themselves and their oppressors as well. The oppressors, who oppress, exploit, and rape by virtue of their power, cannot find in this power the strength to liberate either the oppressed or themselves. Only power that springs from the weakness of the oppressed will be sufficiently strong to free both.
'All life entails violence', says Gandhi. We cannot walk across a field of grass without causing hurt to the creatures that live there. However, he concludes, our duty is to minimise the violence we personally exert. And to forgive and ask forgiveness: for as William Blake says, 'The cut worm forgives the plough.' Mutual continual forgiveness liberates the ongoing expression of life.
Hearing truth spoken inevitably troubles the chrome-plated peace of the oppressor. Stirring things up like this, however, is a duty, even an act of love. If done right, which is so hard to acheive as to be rare, it will speak to the oppressor's own deep self as well as on behalf of those who they oppress. A social activist cannot expect to be loved by the ego of the oppressor. But if they fail to speak to and remember the soul, then that activist will fail in the greater work that liberation is about."
Alistair McIntosh, Soil and Soul, Autum Press, 2002, p.277
Tuesday 5 June 2007
What matters?
In the 'Secret Life of Bees' Sue Monk Kidd writes, "You know, some things don't matter that much, Lily. Like the colour of a house. How big is that in the overall scheme of life? But lifting a person's heart - now, that matters. The whole problem with people is they know what matters, but they don't choose it. You know how hard that is, Lily? The hardest thing on earth is choosing what matters."
"You have to find a mother inside yourself. We all do. Even if we already have a mother, we still have to find this part of ourselves inside."
"When you're unsure of yourself, when you start pulling back into doubt and small living, she's the one inside saying, 'Get up from there and live like the glorious girl you are.' She's the power inside of you. And whatever it is that keeps widening your heart, that's her too, not only the power inside you but the love. And when you get down to it, Lily, that's the only purpose grand enough for a human life. Not just to love - but to persist in love."
"You have to find a mother inside yourself. We all do. Even if we already have a mother, we still have to find this part of ourselves inside."
"When you're unsure of yourself, when you start pulling back into doubt and small living, she's the one inside saying, 'Get up from there and live like the glorious girl you are.' She's the power inside of you. And whatever it is that keeps widening your heart, that's her too, not only the power inside you but the love. And when you get down to it, Lily, that's the only purpose grand enough for a human life. Not just to love - but to persist in love."
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