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“Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not yet come. We have only today. Let us begin.” Mother Theresa

1/17/2016

And an astronomer said, "Master, what of Time?"

And he answered:

You would measure time the measureless and the immeasurable.

You would adjust your conduct and even direct the course of your spirit according to hours and seasons.

Of time you would make a stream upon whose bank you would sit and watch its flowing.

Yet the timeless in you is aware of life's timelessness,

And knows that yesterday is but today's memory and tomorrow is today's dream.

And that which sings and contemplates in you, is still dwelling within the bounds of that first moment which scattered the stars into space.

Who among you does not feel that his power to love is boundless?

And yet who does not feel that very love, though boundless, encompassed within the center of his being, and moving not form love thought to love thought, nor from love deeds to other love deeds?

And is not time even as love is, undivided and pace less?

But if in you thought you must measure time into seasons, let each season encircle all the other seasons,

And let today embrace the past with remembrance and the future with longing.
Time Xxi
Khalil Gibran

As I read this poem, I am reminded of a wondrous dream I had at age 10.
This was before New age theories, or my knowledge of the collective memories of Aboriginal peoples, who believe we came from the stars.
I was flying through the universe at top speed. I was Mercury, and my brother and sisters were Jupiter, and other colorful planets. We were flying together in some sort of unison, communicating with the stars and flying through time and space.
Woosh! I was brought back to reality, and the whole dream had lasted less than the twenty minutes it took to perform the dental work I was having.
Call it an hallucination, or a dream, it didn’t matter. My life was changed. No longer did I look at the stars in the same way, and no longer did I think of time as finite.

“Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not yet come. We have only today. Let us begin.”
― Mother Teresa---
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“It's being here now that's important. There's no past and there's no future. Time is a very misleading thing. All there is ever, is the now. We can gain experience from the past, but we can't relive it; and we can hope for the future, but we don't know if there is one.”
― George Harrison
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In his sonnet concerning Time, William Shakespeare addresses Time as a person, and asks “him” to be kind to his lover, for Time to do “his worst” to everything, but allow his love to remain young in his poetry…..

SONNET 19
Devouring Time, blunt thou the lion's paws,
And make the earth devour her own sweet brood;
Pluck the keen teeth from the fierce tiger's jaws,
And burn the long-lived phoenix in her blood;
Make glad and sorry seasons as thou fleet'st,
And do whate'er thou wilt, swift-footed Time,
To the wide world and all her fading sweets;
But I forbid thee one most heinous crime:
O, carve not with thy hours my love's fair brow,
Nor draw no lines there with thine antique pen;
Him in thy course untainted do allow
For beauty's pattern to succeeding men.
Yet, do thy worst, old Time: despite thy wrong,
My love shall in my verse ever live young.
William Shakespeare
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To quote Albert Einstein, “Time is an illusion”, and Lao Tzu said,
“Time is a created thing. To say 'I don't have time,' is like saying, 'I don't want to.”

It is true, that I for one am notorious for saying that I don’t have time. Part of that is because my work schedule is so all-consuming that I feel robbed of my personal time, and energy. However, I have to make time for the things I really want to do. Writing poetry requires a creative flow of energy that I lack when I am drained and tired. Finding rejuvenating pursuits is the only way to refill the creative fountain; going for long walks, loving on pets, listening to great music, attending a concert can help to top up that creative battery, helping to revive the spirit, and rejuvenate the soul.

Last night, John and I went to the Meyerson Symphony hall to hear one of my most favorite pieces of music performed by the Dallas Symphony; Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis, by Vaughan Williams.
The vocal polyphonic theme was originally written in the 1500’s by Thomas Tallis, who was musician to Henry VIII and later to Elizabeth I. The theme was adapted for strings and rearranged by Vaughan Williams in 1910, and has become a much loved orchestral masterpiece. The music portrays an intimate and ethereal sound that climaxes in trembling reverence in waves of atmospheric, acoustical reverb. To listen is to become enveloped in a glimmering, magical space, where stringed instruments sing of somewhere in the distant past and future, culminating in a sacred space.

It was magical, and I wept.

I googled it this morning, and include a link to a #YouTube Video of a performance by the BBC Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Andrew Davis at Gloucester Cathedral . It is probably the most beautiful performance of this piece I have ever heard or seen, and I encourage you to take 15 minutes out of your day to meditate on this wonderful performance. It will stop TIME in its tracks.

https://youtu.be/ihx5LCF1yJY

This is such a fine example of how art/music/writing/stories can live on forever, not just in their original form, but how they can evolve with each generation, nourishing souls and feeding the human condition for time immemorial. It also brings to mind how tragic is the loss of all Art and archaeological remains in Syria and terrorist-torn countries.
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TIME
J.R.R. Tolkein
“I sit beside the fire and think
Of all that I have seen
Of meadow flowers and butterflies
In summers that have been

Of yellow leaves and gossamer
In autumns that there were
With morning mist and silver sun
And wind upon my hair

I sit beside the fire and think
Of how the world will be
When winter comes without a spring
That I shall ever see

For still there are so many things
That I have never seen
In every wood in every spring
There is a different green

I sit beside the fire and think
Of people long ago
And people that will see a world
That I shall never know

But all the while I sit and think
Of times there were before
I listen for returning feet
And voices at the door”

In his poem Time, JR Tolkein (Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit), talks of how he thinks of people in the past, and of people in the future , who will see a world that we shall never see; a world so different in time, freezing his own existence into a blink of an eye.
Tempus Fugit is a Latin phrase, essentially meaning Time flies. It comes from an expression in a series of books called Virgil’s Georgics, where it appears as ‘Fugit inreparabile tempus”, meaning “It escapes, irretrievable time. “

We cannot get time back; we cannot retrieve it. Neither should we waste time trying to change what has happened……

“Don't spend time beating on a wall, hoping to transform it into a door.”
Coco Chanel

It is also true that despite the saying “Time is the great healer”, we do not forget. Somehow, painful memories get less acute as time goes by, but they are still painful. They just become encapsulated and perhaps a little more insulated than before. But the wounds can open with little triggers and catalysts.

“It has been said, 'time heals all wounds.' I do not agree. The wounds remain. In time, the mind, protecting its sanity, covers them with scar tissue and the pain lessens. But it is never gone.”
Rose Kennedy

“No matter how much time passes, no matter what takes place in the interim, there are some things we can never assign to oblivion, memories we can never rub away.”
Haruki Murakami, Kafka on the shore.

Lastly, I am going to quote an age old verse, rewritten in the sixties as a song, a favorite poem at funerals, and also a lesson to live by every day.
To everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under the heaven:
A time to be born, and a time to die;
A time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;
A time to kill, and a time to heal;
A time to break down, and a time to build up;
A time to weep, and a time to laugh;
A time to mourn, and a time to dance;
A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
A time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
A time to get, and a time to lose;
A time to keep, and a time to cast away;
A time to rend, and a time to sew;
A time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
A time to love, and a time to hate;
A time of war, and a time of peace.
From Ecclesiastes (King James Bible version)
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There is a time for everything. We should choose our time carefully, keeping a universal balance, in order to survive as an individual and as a species.

“You never know beforehand what people are capable of, you have to wait, give it time, it's time that rules, time is our gambling partner on the other side of the table and it holds all the cards of the deck in its hand, we have to guess the winning cards of life, our lives.”
Jose Saramago, Blindness

And with that note, I will finish, so that I have time to enjoy the rest of this Sunday, and my family.
Have a great week, and may you spend your time wisely.

All artwork/photography by Womensvoice1 with a little help from #Aliensky app

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"Let's not look back in anger, or forward in fear, but around in awareness." James Thurber.

1/2/2016

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Sri Chinmoy (1931-2007) – Spiritual teacher, artist, poet and student of peace.

Fear-Doubt-Insecurity-Uncertainty
Dark fear invades my body.
Wild doubt fills my mind.

Feeble insecurity empties my heart.
Eyeless uncertainty veils my soul.

Yet my life-river cheerfully
Wants to flow
Into the stream of the Will-Supreme.

From ‘ The Wings of Light ‘ by Sri Chinmoy
© 1973 by Sri Chinmoy –

Just before Christmas, I stumbled upon a discussion between faith leaders on "moral leadership in today's political climate". It was the Diane Rehm show, (Dec 23 2015), and for those of you who are unfamiliar with her work, she is a highly respected Journalist/radio host who has dedicated her career to responsible political discussion, and thought provoking topics.
In 2014, President Obama presented Rehm with the National Humanities medal for her outstanding work that has "deepened our understanding of our culture, and ourselves ".
Her program exploring the responsibilities of religious leaders in the context of today's fear-driven political climate caught my attention, and so I bring some of the highlights of that conversation to you in the hopes that it will spark further exploration and consideration.
Essentially, the discussion embraced the idea of Pluralism, in the context of religion and cultural diversity. Pluralism embraces religious and cultural inclusion; a social organization in which diversity of racial or religious or ethnic or cultural groups is tolerated.
The discussion was between Tom Gjelten, Akbar Ahmed, Mariann Edgar Budde, Reverend Derrick Harkins, and Rabbi Gil Steinlauf.

After 9-11 a sense of shock and disbelief overwhelmed America and indeed much of the world.
Since the Charlie Hebdo massacre, and the recent Paris and San Bernardino terrorist attacks, Muslims have been scapegoated in an environment of fear and uncertainty. .Muslims are being held responsible for acts that they have not committed.
The reemergence of polarized and prejudicial ideas against Muslims has exploded, and fear has become the key element infiltrating the beliefs and behaviors of otherwise rational groups of people.

This is not a new human behavior. Jews were scapegoated in Germany; Japanese Americans were persecuted after Pearl Harbor. There is a recurring tendency to scapegoat in an atmosphere of fear and trepidation when a small group of extremists commit atrocities. Anti-Muslim sentiment has risen, causing a demographic shift as pockets of xenophobia emerge.
Fear diminishes us as humans, making us more vulnerable to negative feelings and nationalistic expression. Fear is an emotion that washes over you, and we can get caught up in that tide of hysteria, just like Nazi Germany responding to the malignant, powerful, persuasive and xenophobic rantings of Hitler.

In times like these, people turn to their faith to find a familiar, safe infrastructure on which to hang their interpretation of heinous crimes. Atheists blame "organized religion" for fundamental extremism, and otherwise devout Jews, Muslims or Christians tend to polarize, blaming the "Others" for the crimes. The tendency to "otherize" was discussed in the program as a major contributing factor in fragmenting and destroying the process of rational non-prejudiced thinking. "Otherization” capitalizes on an environment of fear.
Stereotyping tends to reduce people and cultures to the lowest common denominator.
Tarring all Muslims with the same ISIS brush is like blaming all Catholic priests for pedophilia, or all Germans for the Holocaust

Politicians like Donald Trump and others, use fear to their advantage. Rantings about immigrants from Mexico, and Syria, are common fodder for base and core emotions, to whip up enthusiasm for their political proselytization. They capitalize on the nature of fear, which distorts our perceptions, and destroys rational informed thinking. Discussion becomes one sided. Most political debate in the US has become unilateral, without the demonstration of inclusive respect for another's opinion; without the acknowledgement that it is ok to have another opinion, and live alongside each other. This ability to be inclusive and tolerant needs to be extended to other beliefs cultures and religions, including Atheism. We need to be respectful and acknowledge the existence of other beliefs without bigotry, embracing each other’s differences.

It has become evident that moral and religious leaders have an imperative part to play if we are to achieve plurality. They bear a vital responsibility to diffuse polarization and "otherization” in order to calm nerves and focus on interfaith tolerance.
Huge interfaith initiatives have already been launched by Jewish and Christian leaders reaching out with interfaith dialogue. Domestic and nationalized Muslims are beginning to take a lead in educating others about their beliefs. In New York, recently, many mosques have held open houses to welcome non-Muslim visitors, and likewise in Synagogues and churches.

Acts of sympathy towards Muslims have spearheaded the news despite the media's tendency to sensationalize negative headlines.
Communities need moral leadership to help guide them through troubled times, be they religious leaders, sages, politicians, or teachers, encouraging healthy discussion and embracing inclusive ideas, recognizing the benefits of a diverse society as opposed to homogeneity.
Finding common denominators between us is like finding the backbone to society, recognizing compassion and kindness as virtues. Even recognizing that Jews, Muslims and Christians essentially worship the same God, something that Catholics have embraced for 50 years, and Pope Francis has reinforced in his teachings.
The ancient scriptures are key to finding common veins between us.
The Quran even has the whole story of Mary and the birth of Christ within its rich tapestry.
Here is an excerpt:

“(And mention) when the angels said, ‘O Mary, indeed God gives you the good news of a word from Him, whose name will be the Messiah Jesus, the son of Mary, held in honor in this world and in the Hereafter, and of those who are near to God.’ ‘He will speak to the people in the cradle, and in old age, and he will be of the righteous.’ She said, ‘My Lord, how can I have a son when no man has touched me.’ He said, ‘So (it will be,) for God creates what He wants. When He decides something, He only says to it, ‘Be,’ and it is. And He will teach him the Book and wisdom and the Torah and the Gospel. And (will make him) a messenger to the Children of Israel (saying), ‘Indeed I have come to you with a sign from your Lord. I make for you out of clay the likeness of a bird, then breathe into it, and it becomes a bird by the permission of God. And I heal the blind and the leper, and I bring the dead to life by the permission of God. And I inform you of what you eat and what you store in your houses. Surely, there is a sign for you in that, if you are believers. And (I have come) confirming the Torah that was (revealed) before me, and to allow you some of what was forbidden to you. And I have come to you with a proof from your Lord, so fear God and obey me. Indeed, God is my Lord and your Lord, so worship Him. This is the straight path.” (Quran 3:45-51)

However, Scriptures are open to interpretation. They could hold the secret to our salvation or be the destruction of the world. if we do not encourage discussion and respectful listening.
Things have reached a crisis point.
There is wide spread uncertainty about Muslims amongst the American public, just as the majority of Muslims condemn the chaos and violence. 84% Americans have little or no understanding of Muslim faith, and yet they are the first to cast the mote in the other's eye.

How do we solve this? Some would say that religion is the problem. But I think that Humans are the problem.
Religion doesn't' kill people, humans kill people.
We need to realize that ISIS is not operating from a Muslim perspective, but from a perverted, corrupt and extremist interpretation of scriptures.
Likewise we need to be wary of fundamental interpretation of any scriptures that were written in times of very different societal norms, and were often parables meant to be a guide to moral behavior in a then lawless world.

The discussion concluded by cautioning the listener, that we have a lot of spiritual work to do. That we should constantly reach out to try to understand the "other", and embrace the existence of other points of view. We need to expand our thinking, rather than keep our beliefs narrow and rigid. in order to defeat the fear that is inherent in each of us.
Fear has become an idolatry we are worshiping, instead of recognizing.
It is time to recognize fear for what it really is.

"Fancy thinking the beast was something you could hunt and kill!” (Lord of the Flies, William Golding)

Fear is the beast within, and we need to harness it before it eats our soul.

"Let's not look back in anger, or forward in fear, but around in awareness."
James Thurber.
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I have a sin of fear, that when I have spun
My last thread, I shall perish on the shore;
But swear by thyself, that at my death thy Son
Shall shine as he shines now, and heretofore;
And, having done that, thou hast done;
I fear no more.

- John Donne
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Song: “Fear no more the heat o’ the sun”
BY WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE
(from Cymbeline)

Fear no more the heat o’ the sun,
Nor the furious winter’s rages;
Thou thy worldly task hast done,
Home art gone, and ta’en thy wages:
Golden lads and girls all must,
As chimney-sweepers, come to dust.

Fear no more the frown o’ the great;
Thou art past the tyrant’s stroke;
Care no more to clothe and eat;
To thee the reed is as the oak:
The scepter, learning, physic, must
All follow this, and come to dust.

Fear no more the lightning flash,
Nor the all-dreaded thunder stone;
Fear not slander, censure rash;
Thou hast finished joy and moan:
All lovers young, all lovers must
Consign to thee, and come to dust.

No exorciser harm thee!
Nor no witchcraft charm thee!
Ghost unlaid forbear thee!
Nothing ill come near thee!
Quiet consummation have;
And renownèd be thy grave!
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When I have Fears That Cease To Be
by J.Keats

When I have fears that I may cease to be
Before my pen has glean’d my teeming brain,
Before high – piled books, in charact’ry,
Hold like rich garners the full-ripen’d grain;
When I behold, upon the night’s starr’d face,
Huge cloudy symbols of a high romance,
And feel that I may never live to trace
Their shadows, with the magic hand of chance;
And when I feel, fair creature of an hour!
That I shall never look upon thee more,
Never have relish in the faery power
Of unreflecting love;’then on the shore
Of the wide world I stand alone, and think,
Till Love and Fame to nothingness do sink

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Happy New Year Everyone! And may you tread fearlessly in your 2016 pursuits.

Pluralism by Womensvoice1

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A free woman's voice opens as a flower to the sun.

“Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not yet come. We have only today. Let us begin.” Mother Theresa

"Let's not look back in anger, or forward in fear, but around in awareness." James Thurber.

Susan Golden

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