My online journal where I share my interests in photography, nature, journaling, fountain pens, bicycling, coffee life, spirituality and the mystery of it all.
If we want to turn over a new leaf and really set a new humanity afoot, we must begin to turn humankind away from the long and desolate night of violence. May it not be that the new humanity the world needs is the nonviolent human?… This not only will make us new people but will give us a new kind of power…. It will be power infused with love and justice, that will change dark yesterday’s into bright tomorrows, and lift us from the fatigue of despair to the buoyancy of hope.
Martin Luther King
I recently read where Martin Luther King defined agape love as the willingness to serve without the desire for reciprocation, willingness to suffer without the desire for retaliation, and willingness to reconcile without the desire for domination. There are people in this country, and the world, who won’t agree with his definition. Many cling to the ideologies of supremacy and the delusion that violence is a solution. Those are not in alignment with his definition, nor have they ever brought peace. I also noticed he uses the phrase without the desire three times in his definition. After contemplating his definition I am in agreement with him. But until I can live his definition of agape love and nonviolence in my life, the words written in this blog post are just fluff. Many will doubt there can be such a change in people’s beliefs and thinking? However, I’ve seen such changes in people’s lives. And, then what would our world be like it people lived a life of agape love?💙 Going to post this and ride to the coffee shop. Enjoy your Monday!!
I took this image on my ride through the CSU Oval for coffee this morning. I have noticed this scene before but this is the first time I stopped to accept the photo. I did enjoy the BBQ yesterday, ate too much, loved time with family and so very grateful for my grandson-in-law’s safe return from his deployment in the Middle East.
Tao Te Ching
Find contentment within.
Be aware of how you affect your surroundings.
Allow freedom to flourish around you.
Do not impose or dominate.
This is what it means to be sustainable.
I am processing my feelings about this country’s actions taken yesterday. Finding many unanswerable questions running through my mind. How much escalation of hatred have we against Americans? How many more casualties of war have we just brought on? Anyway, there seems to be an extreme attachment to power, control, hatred, and inflated egos. We have proven for centuries that violence against someone (a country or nation) will not cause them to succumb to our will but only harden hearts. I’ve said enough. Still processing and thanks for listening to my ramblings! It has been another hot day here.
Warning: Here comes a rant. Just over 22 years ago a terrorist attack on the World Trade Center began a devastating war, and I use the word war loosely here. This two decade long conflict has had a huge cost in money and lives. In this post I will set aside the money numbers with my rant focused on the human costs. In terms of human costs the numbers are staggering and these numbers are estimates. One report states the total number of deaths is 167,000 people killed by direct war violence in Afghanistan. I find that to be 167,000 too many. Which brings up my focus of this post: violence does not bring peace.
I read from the Save the Children website that almost 33,000 children have been killed and maimed in Afghanistan over the past 20 years, an average of one child every five hours. Even if that number was half as many it’s shockingly too high. Again: violence does not bring peace.
September is National Suicide Prevention Month so I thought I’d mention a few numbers on suicides of veterans. Since Sept. 11, 2001, just over 30,000 veterans have died by suicide — four times more than the number of U.S. military personnel who died in combat in Iraq and Afghanistan. That also comes out close to one veteran every five hours. I find it dumbfounding that we can support the idea of putting a uniform on a young person then training them to kill, placing them in combat situations and not expect them to have psychological trauma. Once again: violence does not bring peace.
Even if the numbers presented here are incorrect by 90% they are way too high. They affect me at a deep level. Not sure it was a good idea to write this post but searching for these numbers has reinforced my conviction that: violence does not bring peace. Let’s try something else!
While violence may be effective in temporarily keeping us safe from harm, it can never create relationships. Violence can never heal the harm that has been done. Violence can never bring about reconciliation. Violence can never create Beloved Community. Only love can do that.
Kazu Haga
If any order is to be brought into the chaos of the modern world, if anything is to be salvaged from the wreckage and made the foundation of a better world in the future, this can only be done by those who have attained what Eckhart attained – loss of self and surrender to God in the Soul’s Ground. It is that, and that alone, which can produce real change, because in the last analysis the world can only be changed by changing the people who live in it.
Cyprian Smith, The Way of Paradox
Well, Emma said I was 37 minutes late for coffee this morning. I’ll not do that again!!! All kidding aside, I did sleep in late and arrived later than usual. And, her mocha tasted just just fine. I meet some friends at noon today and then been invited to a spring equinox celebration of Storytelling/Song/Poetry. I’ve never been to anything like this. I know three of the poets today so I will go see what it’s like.
“Like my father, I believe that nonviolence is the antidote to what he called ‘the triple evils of racism, poverty and militarism.’ These three evils were consuming our hopes for community in 1964, and, fifty years later, we remain divided because of their festering effects.”
Bernice King
A troubling time for me. Awoke around 3:00 am with distressing thoughts and images running through my head. I have never felt such anxiety in our society, and the world, as I do now. We have those who seem focused on using violence as a solution to quell the voice of people. Haven’t we proven violence is not the solution. Let’s focus on the welfare of people rather than warfare on people.