These are confusing times. Anything is possible. Anything.
Yesterday, I went downtown early in the morning with my ally, Brian, who has been commissioned to film the process of two murals being painted. Brian flies drones and sells his aerial photography services to anyone who needs them. I went with him to scope out the site, meet the muralist and film the boom lift being set up.
Downtown Greensboro is nice in the early morning before all of the hullabaloo of the day begins. I guess almost any place is nice during that time, when the world has not yet swung into full motion. It is conducive to a peaceful, contemplative state of mind. I wandered about taking photos of emptiness and quiet.
A car pulled up and three people emerged. I looked for the muralist. Brian had the impression, for some reason, that the muralist is from China. I observed a white man, a black man and a brown girl. There was no overtly Chinese-looking person. The young girl approached me with a large smile and introduced herself. She was the most exotic looking of the three and I looked for indications that she might be from China. I decided looks cannot be trusted and she must be the muralist. The fact that she looked no older than 12 made me doubt this belief and I considered simply saying, "Are you the muralist," but thought that would be rude. Instead, I waited for the information to present itself as information often will.
Let us focus on this state for a moment. For a second, I believed that a girl, age12, had been commissioned to paint two gigantic and prominently located murals in Greensboro. That reality existed in my brain. This experience can be attributed to a state of magical thinking: a moment in which anything is possible. There are no fixed definitions of anything. There are no imposed boundaries or beliefs. In the world of magical thinking, there is absolute freedom and expansiveness.
To experience such freedom even for a second is such a blissful thing. This passes quickly, for the constraints of the world are quickly imposed upon us. There isn't much room for magical thinking in the hullabaloo.
As such, it was determined that the white man is the muralist. The information regarding the muralist being from China did not reveal itself. Nor did I seek clarification.
The importance of this missive is to define that moment in which all possibilities are equally viable. A clown can be president. A boddhisatva can be a dishwasher. Friends can become enemies. Enemies can become friends. Truth can overcome lies. Justice can be delivered. People can have enough to eat. Healthcare can be available to everyone. The power that was put into the hands of the wealthy can be taken from them. We can live in solidarity with one another. We can care for each other. There is such freedom, such expansion in these thoughts. Let us focus our attention there. We must silence the inner editor and actively put our attention into that space of any and all possibilities. And someday, a 12-year-old girl with exotic eyes and brown skin will paint a gigantic mural in a prominent location in your town.
Showing posts with label politics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label politics. Show all posts
Friday, August 4, 2017
Thursday, March 3, 2016
My Plea, My Yawp
The time of making is upon us all. There is no more reason to tear things down, to divide each other and pit ourselves against our brothers and sisters. We all want the same things: to be healthy, to be happy, to have a job that pays us enough money to buy housing, transportation, food, healthcare, clothing, heat and air conditioning. At the very least, most of us want these things. We want to take care of our families. Some of us want to help our neighbors in need. But fundamentally, we want to survive and live a decent life filled with opportunities.
Beyond that, every human being has blood that runs through their veins. We all piss and poop. We eat and sleep. At the end of our lives, our bodies die and over time are reduced to a pile of dust. No one escapes this fate. This is our reality. We are here temporarily.
What then will we choose to do with our few years on this planet? Will we deny our brothers and sisters the same wishes that we have for ourselves? Will we force an image upon our brothers and sisters that makes them seem somehow different from ourselves? We might choose to focus on our common humanity and all our similarities instead. We might hold compassion in our hearts rather than contempt for "others."
If we are to focus on the commonalities between us, then we must fix that focus on the reprehensible characters that we revile. Hillary Clinton. Donald Trump. Muslims. Native Americans. Women. Wall Street executives. The poor. It becomes challenging.
Yet I know in my heart of hearts that we are capable of doing this. We can be unified in our common humanity. We can rejoice in the creative spirit that resides in each of us. We must look beyond the illusion that some would try and create: the illusion that there exists a more deserving group of people, a more privileged group. We are all privileged. It is a privilege to be alive in this moment. And the next. And the next. Every breath we take is a miracle. Because at any second, something beyond our control could take that ability away from us. And we would soon be a pile of dust.
So let us celebrate this moment of breathing. This next moment of eating. This next moment of pooping. Let us celebrate this moment of hugging, of crying, of leaping. We are all the same.
Beyond that, every human being has blood that runs through their veins. We all piss and poop. We eat and sleep. At the end of our lives, our bodies die and over time are reduced to a pile of dust. No one escapes this fate. This is our reality. We are here temporarily.
What then will we choose to do with our few years on this planet? Will we deny our brothers and sisters the same wishes that we have for ourselves? Will we force an image upon our brothers and sisters that makes them seem somehow different from ourselves? We might choose to focus on our common humanity and all our similarities instead. We might hold compassion in our hearts rather than contempt for "others."
If we are to focus on the commonalities between us, then we must fix that focus on the reprehensible characters that we revile. Hillary Clinton. Donald Trump. Muslims. Native Americans. Women. Wall Street executives. The poor. It becomes challenging.
Yet I know in my heart of hearts that we are capable of doing this. We can be unified in our common humanity. We can rejoice in the creative spirit that resides in each of us. We must look beyond the illusion that some would try and create: the illusion that there exists a more deserving group of people, a more privileged group. We are all privileged. It is a privilege to be alive in this moment. And the next. And the next. Every breath we take is a miracle. Because at any second, something beyond our control could take that ability away from us. And we would soon be a pile of dust.
So let us celebrate this moment of breathing. This next moment of eating. This next moment of pooping. Let us celebrate this moment of hugging, of crying, of leaping. We are all the same.
Wednesday, September 9, 2015
Brain Drain #1: Making the World a Better Place In the Tiniest Possible Ways
It is difficult for me to embrace the changing of the seasons. Particularly this year, as I have enjoyed a good deal of sunshine this summer. Spending time in the sun has, in fact, become part of my daily routine. I will miss it when the days grow short.
September is much different for me this year. I left my job at Planet Care and have been doing odd jobs to make ends meet: jobs such as weeding gardens, cleaning out gutters, pet-sitting, interior house-painting. I've been using my muscles, sweating, getting dehydrated, re-hydrating, but especially spending time in the sun. This sort of hard, physical work, this being outdoors and next to the sun, has helped me to feel my Self - an unadulterated sense of who I am, how to take care of myself, and how to begin to peaceably co-exist with others.
I was walking my dog, Soupy Sales, this morning when I noticed a student walking to the Higher Education Area Transit (HEAT) stop. She seemingly wanted to avoid any interaction. But I spoke a greeting and wished her a good day. She smiled in a genuine manner and seemed grateful for this small kindness. And I wondered about that.
Do today's youth feel it is necessary to be prepared for bad things at all times? Do most of us feel this is necessary?
I have a lot of compassion for today's youth because in my opinion they have lost a connection to their source: the earth. Not all of them. But it occurs to me that people who grow up in cities without easy access to nature are cheated. They are exposed to a denser concentration of culture. And maybe that serves as a means of connecting to the earth. I may not know what I'm talking about. It just seems to me that there is a fundamental urge in us all to feel connected to the land. And this may not be immediately apparent to people who have never had access to nature.
Maybe I'm projecting.
But the youth of today have extremely challenging conditions in which to grow up. There are not many decent role models in positions of leadership, for example. The current state of the economy creates significant financial obstacles. Prejudice comes in many varieties and manifests in extreme forms. The environment needs tender loving care, yet power possessing beings who are controlled by greed and power lust will continue to do things to the environment to further hurt it. I don't know how I would feel growing up in such a world as this. When I was 18, I was aware of the bullshit in the world but felt a sense of hope, a sense that obstacles could be overcome.
I continue to experience this hope, though it has taken on a different form from that of my 18 year-old self. When I was 18, for example, there seemed to be breathing room, a sense of expansiveness left on the planet. This was in 1979. Today, there is less breathing room, less space left in which to create something new. Maybe this is just a perspective of my advancing age. But it seems that as compared with 1979, there are many more obstacles to overcome in this world.
Far from making me discouraged, I believe in the resilience and the intelligence of human beings. I know that we are smart. I know we can create a better set of conditions in which our youth may grow and carry hope in their hearts. I feel a deep responsibility to future generations to work like hell for the duration of my life to address all the issues I mentioned above.
I have a request to make of you at this point, gentle reader: I ask that you consider every action, every word spoken, with great care. Consider how it will help. And I would ask that if you see there is no use in contributing an action or a word to our planetary zeitgeist, if it would be harmful rather than helpful, would you please refrain from executing this action or this speech?
Be mindful that every small word and deed affects the greater whole.
In a similar vein, rather than focus on each other's differences, can we please focus on our similarities? For example, I feel relatively secure in making the following statement: all of us wants to be healthy and happy. In order for us to be healthy and happy, all of us needs a means of providing ourselves and our families with the resources to make these concepts a reality. We all need healthy food, clean water, shelter, clothing, access to healthcare, We all need these things. Can we focus on this for just one moment a day? Then stretch that moment to the next moment. Until soon, we can accept this truth with all of our being.
I believe we can learn to love others and have compassion for their journey to achieve health and happiness. But each of us needs to work very hard to attain this love. We need to cease being judgmental and begin to stretch our imaginations to consider the circumstances in which others speak or act out. I direct these comments to my liberal friends as well as my conservative ones. Because we all are guilty of making reactionary judgments.
All I am asking is take a moment to think before speaking, before acting. Just stop and think for a moment: how will this statement or this action help put the world in a better place?
Thank-you for reading.
Love,
kathyclark
September is much different for me this year. I left my job at Planet Care and have been doing odd jobs to make ends meet: jobs such as weeding gardens, cleaning out gutters, pet-sitting, interior house-painting. I've been using my muscles, sweating, getting dehydrated, re-hydrating, but especially spending time in the sun. This sort of hard, physical work, this being outdoors and next to the sun, has helped me to feel my Self - an unadulterated sense of who I am, how to take care of myself, and how to begin to peaceably co-exist with others.
I was walking my dog, Soupy Sales, this morning when I noticed a student walking to the Higher Education Area Transit (HEAT) stop. She seemingly wanted to avoid any interaction. But I spoke a greeting and wished her a good day. She smiled in a genuine manner and seemed grateful for this small kindness. And I wondered about that.
Do today's youth feel it is necessary to be prepared for bad things at all times? Do most of us feel this is necessary?
I have a lot of compassion for today's youth because in my opinion they have lost a connection to their source: the earth. Not all of them. But it occurs to me that people who grow up in cities without easy access to nature are cheated. They are exposed to a denser concentration of culture. And maybe that serves as a means of connecting to the earth. I may not know what I'm talking about. It just seems to me that there is a fundamental urge in us all to feel connected to the land. And this may not be immediately apparent to people who have never had access to nature.
Maybe I'm projecting.
But the youth of today have extremely challenging conditions in which to grow up. There are not many decent role models in positions of leadership, for example. The current state of the economy creates significant financial obstacles. Prejudice comes in many varieties and manifests in extreme forms. The environment needs tender loving care, yet power possessing beings who are controlled by greed and power lust will continue to do things to the environment to further hurt it. I don't know how I would feel growing up in such a world as this. When I was 18, I was aware of the bullshit in the world but felt a sense of hope, a sense that obstacles could be overcome.
I continue to experience this hope, though it has taken on a different form from that of my 18 year-old self. When I was 18, for example, there seemed to be breathing room, a sense of expansiveness left on the planet. This was in 1979. Today, there is less breathing room, less space left in which to create something new. Maybe this is just a perspective of my advancing age. But it seems that as compared with 1979, there are many more obstacles to overcome in this world.
Far from making me discouraged, I believe in the resilience and the intelligence of human beings. I know that we are smart. I know we can create a better set of conditions in which our youth may grow and carry hope in their hearts. I feel a deep responsibility to future generations to work like hell for the duration of my life to address all the issues I mentioned above.
I have a request to make of you at this point, gentle reader: I ask that you consider every action, every word spoken, with great care. Consider how it will help. And I would ask that if you see there is no use in contributing an action or a word to our planetary zeitgeist, if it would be harmful rather than helpful, would you please refrain from executing this action or this speech?
Be mindful that every small word and deed affects the greater whole.
In a similar vein, rather than focus on each other's differences, can we please focus on our similarities? For example, I feel relatively secure in making the following statement: all of us wants to be healthy and happy. In order for us to be healthy and happy, all of us needs a means of providing ourselves and our families with the resources to make these concepts a reality. We all need healthy food, clean water, shelter, clothing, access to healthcare, We all need these things. Can we focus on this for just one moment a day? Then stretch that moment to the next moment. Until soon, we can accept this truth with all of our being.
I believe we can learn to love others and have compassion for their journey to achieve health and happiness. But each of us needs to work very hard to attain this love. We need to cease being judgmental and begin to stretch our imaginations to consider the circumstances in which others speak or act out. I direct these comments to my liberal friends as well as my conservative ones. Because we all are guilty of making reactionary judgments.
All I am asking is take a moment to think before speaking, before acting. Just stop and think for a moment: how will this statement or this action help put the world in a better place?
Thank-you for reading.
Love,
kathyclark
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