Be The Change

 

Recently while driving home from work I saw a very large sign hung on the back of a pickup truck that had written in large letters, "Patriot in Exile." In exploring what this appeared to mean, I came upon a Facebook page with this name that has some deeply disturbing posts with an equally disturbing and sad intention rooted in fear, distortion, separation, vast misinformation, us against them, and violent projections di

rected at those who they perceive as "Other". I would be included in the "Others", as would those I love. And I found myself filled with gratitude that I don't hate today and that my circle of caring grows and grows. It comes to me to add these quotes by James O'Dea, which is such a soothing balm to my heart, spirit, soul. May it be for yours also.....

 

Be the Change

Think of the Dalai Lama, a great force for peace, constantly 
smiling and chuckling even as he faces enormous challenges 
on behalf of his people. See how his sweetness is a flowering 
of nonviolence, and you will understand what a contrast such 
a man of peace is to oppressive seriousness.

How else can we “be the change” we seek in the world 
if we have not yet mastered our own triggers that 
lead us away from peace?

I have witnessed the most profound healing occur between 
former enemies when they gained true insight into the way 
their situation arose because they were blinded by rigid 
beliefs and conditioned to deny the reality of 
their experience.

Recognizing shadow projections is a fourth area of inner work
that is vital to understand for peace work. The shadow so 
dangerously projected onto others in the form of name-calling, 
and hate speech is a reflection of our own unresolved and 
repressed issues. In the psychology of peace work, we see the 
relationship between freeing ourselves and freeing others from 
projections that are often so damaging. As we do so, our 
conscience becomes luminous and our humanity more expansive. 
Imagine a world where everyone has reached the capacity 
to freely embrace difference without judgment!

Freeing our own inner lives and freeing the societies we live 
in have never so clearly interconnected. Science, spirituality, 
and activist engagement affirm that embodying and living a 
peace practice is what sets you free, which in turns allows 
you to help free those around you. But that is where the 
real zinger is: you have to be what you believe.

If we really align our inner and outer, we will be 
courage and not just admirers of it.

My friends, are you ready to be the change?

~ James O’Dea

from Cultivating Peace:
Becoming 21st-Century Peace Ambassadors

Let Us Not Forget Beauty

 

In the midst of the stormy darkness of turbulence, uncertainty,

fear, polarizing projections, poverty, war, resource depletion,

global warming, the great harming of our Sacred Earth, and more....

let us not forget beauty.

In darkness, so much is awaiting illumination.

Birthing This New World

Prior to the election I saw a picture someone had posted with a drawing of a muscular, shirt sleeves rolled up, top buttons undone and hat off, fists clenched, and obviously testosterone driven Uncle Sam with the caption, "Time to Take Our Country Back!" And I so agreed - with the words. The essence of what that means to me is, however, very different and this other heartfelt image is with me tod

ay. Rather than the angry, aggressive white male image with the strong sense of Me against a Them, the image I see is inclusive. There would be a photograph or drawing of a wonderful diversity of people - from all political parties, both genders, all ages. The image would include a beautiful mosaic of ethnicities and cultures and races and religions. And perhaps the image would include some of our animal friends and other beings with whom we humans share this beautiful Earth. And there would be a strong sense of the Feminine and Masculine intertwined and equally valued and strong - authentically strong in a heart-centered and deeply interconnected and conscious way rather than any pretense of false and destructive strength which implies power over, domination, oppression, us versus them. And we would all be there together in a place with images which reflect beauty and collapse, dying and rebirth. And we would know that there much work to be done to take this country back - and truly to reclaim the territory of so much of our planet and so much of our hearts - from those forces which would have us all stay polarized, colluding in destruction, drowning in the illusion of separation, asleep. And we would know that we are all in this together, living in these extraordinary times, rooting into the Sacred role each and every one of us is here to play in the work of birthing this new world. One which cares for all. This is the image I see. We are all in this together, and together we are one. Namaste. ♥

We Are All From New Orleans Now: Climate Change, Hurricanes and the Fate of America's Coastal Cities by Mike Tidwell

I heard an excellent interview on Democracy NOW! by Amy Goodman with this author and am moved to share this important article. The silence on climate change is hard to bear, so I was so relieved to hear someone actually talking 

about the bigger picture.

 

"Oceans worldwide are projected to rise as much as three more feet this century—much higher if the Greenland ice sheet melts away. Intense storms are already becoming much more common. These two factors together will in essence export the plight of New Orleans, bringing the Big Easy 'bowl' effect here to New York City and Washington, as well as to Charleston, Miami, New York and other coastal cities. Assuming we want to keep living in these cities, we’ll have to build dikes and learn to exist beneath the surface of surrounding tidal bays, rivers and open seas—just like New Orleans." ~ Mike Tidwell

 

For the full article, please go here: http://www.thenation.com/article/170894/we-are-all-new-orleans-now-climate-change-hurricanes-and-fate-americas-coastal-cities#.UI_2Qb4cDj8.facebook

Against the Destruction of the World and the Climate by Greed by Rebecca Solnit

This is a very powerful article, which I highlight here:

Calling lies “lies” and theft “theft” and violence “violence,” loudly, clearly and consistently, until truth becomes more than a bump in the road, is a powerful aspect of political activism. Much of the work around human rights begins with accurately and aggressively reframing the status quo as an outrage, whether it’s misogyny or racism or poisoning the environment. What protects an outrage are disguises, circumlocutions, and euphemisms—“enhanced interrogation techniques” for torture, “collateral damage” for killing civilians, “the war on terror” for the war against you and me and our Bill of Rights...
Where this matters most is climate change. Why have we done almost nothing over the past twenty-five years about what was then a terrifying threat and is now a present catastrophe? Because it was bad for quarterly returns and fossil-fuel portfolios. When posterity indicts our era, this will be the feeble answer for why we did so little—that the rich and powerful with ties to the carbon-emitting industries have done everything in their power to prevent action on, or even recognition of, the problem. In this country in particular, they spent a fortune sowing doubt about the science of climate change and punishing politicians who brought the subject up. In this way have we gone through four “debates” and nearly a full election cycle with climate change unmentioned and unmentionable.
These three decades of refusing to respond have wasted crucial time. It’s as though you were prevented from putting out a fire until it was raging: now the tundra is thawing and Greenland’s ice shield is melting and nearly every natural system is disrupted, from the acidifying oceans to the erratic seasons to droughts, floods, heat waves and wildfires, and the failure of crops. We can still respond, but the climate is changed; the damage we all spoke of, only a few years ago, as being in the future is here, now...
Really, there’s more than enough to feed every child well, to treat every sick person, to educate everyone well without saddling them with hideous debt, to support the arts, to protect the environment—to produce, in short, a glorious society. The obstacle is greed. We could still make the sorts of changes climate change requires of us and become a very different nation without overwhelming pain. We would then lead somewhat different lives—richer, not poorer, for most of us (in meaning, community, power and hope). Because this culture of greed impoverishes all of us, it is, to call it by its true name, destruction...   --------------------------------------   For more, please go here: http://www.thenation.com/article/170885/against-destruction-world-and-climate-greed#.UJAeryagSgI.facebook