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Happiness doesn't come from romantic relationships...happiness comes from cats!
This is kind of a funny saying, especially coming from a person who has been happily married since just before turning 20 but around Valentine's Day, I get a little sick of all the materialism and consumerism and showy nature of the whole thing. Empty symbolism does nothing for me and I also don't think you should need a designated day to show someone you care about them (if you do, your relationship is in trouble!) It's kind of like you shouldn't need a designated day to celebrate a year of your life.
I don't know...maybe it's just me. But I hope you have a great day today no matter what you do.
**All photos are copyrighted**
Silver & Gold
Here Are My Christmas Presents for You my Flickr Friends ...
I love making people laugh ... Do you ?
♥ I Will soon Send You my Real Real Gifts ... Love & Peace ♥
~ Pervasive Materialism & Consumerism ~
Matter & Mind
Is Matter the only Reality in the World ?
In the Platonic Academy in Athens it was taught that Divine Simplicity is identical to the "attributes" of God. Goodness,Truth,Eternity,Graciousness,Holiness,Righteousness,
Simplicity,Truthfulness,Veracity,Oneness,Mission,Love ...
Matter & Mind ...
♥ Soon with You with Peace & Love ... ♥
♥ I so much Thank You for your Visits,Invites & Comments ♥
""Near the teahouse you find a famous and unique stone water basin, with water continually flowing for ritual purification. This is the Ryōan-ji Tsukubai, which translates as "crouch"; because of the low height of the basin, the user must bend over to use it, in a sign of reverence and humility.
The shape mimics an ancient Chinese coin, the sentiment is the opposite of materialism.
Tsukubai are usually of stone, and are often provided with a small ladle, ready for use. A supply of water may be provided via a bamboo pipe, called a kakei.
The famous tsukubai shown here stands in the grounds of the Ryoanji Temple (龍安寺 or 竜安寺, Ryōanji), Kyoto, Japan in Kyoto, and was donated by the feudal lord Tokugawa Mitsukuni.
The kanji written on the surface of the stone are without significance when read alone. If each is read in combination with 口 (kuchi) - the shape of the central bowl - then the characters become 吾, 唯, 足, 知 which translates literally as "I only know plenty" (吾 = ware = I, 唯 = tada = only, 足 = taru = plenty, 知 = shiru = know).
The underlying meaning, variously translated as "what one has is all one needs", or "learn only to be content" reflects the basic anti-materialistic teachings of Buddhism."""
Information - WiKi
""Tsukubai has an unique inscription; if it is not raining, you see four Chinese characters on each side of it and it means: "I only learn to be content" or “I am content with what I am”.
He who learns only to be contented is spiritually rich, while the one who doesn't learn to be contented is spiritually poor even if he is materially wealthy. This concept is important in the Zen spirit.""
Information - from the brochure
The temple and its gardens are listed as one of the Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto, and as an UNESCO World Heritage.
In the forest alongside the little Liffey River in Tasmania - so different from its namesake in Dublin - the gentle flow of the water over this tessellated platform, catches the golden glow of sunlight. Birds can be heard singing in the trees. If you want a place to calm the soul, I can't think of many better than right here.
People who grew up in harmony with the land - people indigenous to it - speak of places like this as having spirit. The spirit of place is not just a catchy phrase, I believe it is the truth of our relationship to the world.
Modernity (and its intellectual motor of rationalism) is really a state of Forgetfulness. We forget because we can't forgive ourselves for losing the Garden of Eden (I'm speaking in the language of mythology here because it has a deep psychological truth). Modernity is a flight from everything that reminds us of this horrible detachment between "the world we have made" and Spirit.
So we spend our lives running from things. We run from God, from Spirit, from real emotions, from Nature itself. Occasionally in places like this we catch a glimpse of what life could have been like, but then we quickly remind ourselves that we are really rational beings and there is nothing at all here to see except material "reality".
But that's the fatal flaw in Materialism, because it cuts us off from the River of Life. Science can tell us approximately how old the world is, and even our universe. But it cannot measure Eternity or even tell us why we are here.
But dangle your feet in this cool water. Literally chill out. Turn off and tune in (and you don't need Timothy Leary's drugs for that). Tune in to the "vibrations" of Spirit. Find yourself in Nature again.
Here Are My Christmas Presents for You my Flickr Friends ...
I love making people laugh ... Do you ?
♥ I Will soon Send You my Real Real Gifts ... Love & Peace ♥
~ Pervasive Materialism & Consumerism ~
Matter & Mind ...
Is Matter the only Reality in the World ?
In the Platonic Academy in Athens it was taught that Divine Simplicity is identical to the "attributes" of God. Goodness, Truth,Eternity,Graciousness,Holiness,Righteousness,Simplicity,
Truthfulness,Veracity,Oneness,Mission,Love ... Matter & Mind ...
♥ Soon with You with Peace & Love ... ♥
♥ I so much Thank You for your Visits,Invites & Comments ♥
Earth provides enough to satisfy every man's needs, but not every man's greed.
Mahatma Gandhi
The world says: "You have needs -- satisfy them. You have as much right as the rich and the mighty. Don't hesitate to satisfy your needs; indeed, expand your needs and demand more." This is the worldly doctrine of today. And they believe that this is freedom. The result for the rich is isolation and suicide, for the poor, envy and murder.
Fyodor Dostoyevsky, The Brothers Karamazov
He who is not contented with what he has, would not be contented with what he would like to have.
Socrates
When morality comes up against profit, it is seldom that profit loses.
Shirley Chisholm
Thank you for your kind visit. Have a wonderful and beautiful day! ❤️❤️❤️
*Working Towards a Better World
SALON.COM
www.salon.com/2015/08/06/donald_trump_is_america_why_the_...
Thank you for your kind visit. Have a wonderful and beautiful day! xo❤️
Antonio Francesco Gramsci (22 January 1891 – 27 April 1937) was an Italian Marxist philosopher, journalist, linguist, writer and politician. He wrote on philosophy, political theory, sociology, history and linguistics. He was a founding member and one-time leader of the Communist Party of Italy and was imprisoned by Benito Mussolini's Fascist regime.
Gramsci wrote more than 30 notebooks and 3,000 pages of history and analysis during his imprisonment. His Prison Notebooks are considered a highly original contribution to 20th-century political theory. Gramsci drew insights from varying sources – not only other Marxists but also thinkers such as Niccolò Machiavelli, Vilfredo Pareto, Georges Sorel and Benedetto Croce. The notebooks cover a wide range of topics, including Italian history and nationalism, the French Revolution, fascism, Taylorism and Fordism, civil society, folklore, religion and high and popular culture.
Gramsci is best known for his theory of cultural hegemony, which describes how the state and ruling capitalist class – the bourgeoisie – use cultural institutions to maintain power in capitalist societies. The bourgeoisie, in Gramsci's view, develops a hegemonic culture using ideology rather than violence, economic force, or coercion. Hegemonic culture propagates its own values and norms so that they become the "common sense" values of all and thus maintain the status quo. Cultural hegemony is therefore used to maintain consent to the capitalist order, rather than the use of force to maintain order. This cultural hegemony is produced and reproduced by the dominant class through the institutions that form the superstructure.
Gramsci also attempted to break from the economic determinism of traditional Marxist thought, and so is sometimes described as a neo-Marxist. He held a humanistic understanding of Marxism, seeing it as a "philosophy of praxis" and an "absolute historicism" that transcends traditional materialism and traditional idealism.
"Never bend your head. Always hold it high. Look the world straight in the eye."
Quote - Helen Keller
I saw these showcases during an exhibition and I got distracted by the light, the shadow and the reflection. I flipped this original picture btw and converted it to blue., As it is Sliders Sunday.
They were part of "Materialism" , which is an ongoing research project and series of installations by DRIFT, that confronts viewers with the raw materials needed to make everyday objects. You can see them hanging now at the ceiling. The work invites reflection on how we use the raw materials at our disposal and whether things can be done differently.
I have to go back and make more photos, this time of the real subject(s).
"I conclude that the relationship between brain and consciousness is like that between two dancers who always move together, but sometimes with one and sometimes the other taking the lead." John Hick, the New Frontier of Religion and Science (2006). Fuji X-Pro3 plus Samyang tele lens at F5.6, contre-jour, reflector.
And, perhaps more importantly, why should you think of me?
Symbolic Spiral Meaning
Perhaps it's most prolific appearance is in Celtic symbology where we see the spirals decorating a myriad of their ancient artifacts. In Celtic art and symbolism, we can intuit a few meanings from the forcefully present spiral...
In terms of spirituality, the spiral symbol can represent the path leading from outer consciousness (materialism, external awareness, ego, outward perception) to the inner soul (enlightenment, unseen essence, nirvana, cosmic awareness). Movements between the inner (intuitive, intangible) world and the outer (matter, manifested) world are mapped by the spiraling of archetypal rings; marking the evolution of humankind on both an individual and collective scale.
Moreover, in terms of rebirth or growth, the spiral symbol can represent the consciousness of nature beginning from the core or center and thus expanding outwardly. This is the way of all things, as recognized by most mystics.
Single Spiral
The single spiral is fairly common and may represent growth, birth or an expansion of consciousness.
Antonio Francesco Gramsci (22 January 1891 – 27 April 1937) was an Italian Marxist philosopher, journalist, linguist, writer and politician. He wrote on philosophy, political theory, sociology, history and linguistics. He was a founding member and one-time leader of the Communist Party of Italy and was imprisoned by Benito Mussolini's Fascist regime.
Gramsci wrote more than 30 notebooks and 3,000 pages of history and analysis during his imprisonment. His Prison Notebooks are considered a highly original contribution to 20th-century political theory. Gramsci drew insights from varying sources – not only other Marxists but also thinkers such as Niccolò Machiavelli, Vilfredo Pareto, Georges Sorel and Benedetto Croce. The notebooks cover a wide range of topics, including Italian history and nationalism, the French Revolution, fascism, Taylorism and Fordism, civil society, folklore, religion and high and popular culture.
Gramsci is best known for his theory of cultural hegemony, which describes how the state and ruling capitalist class – the bourgeoisie – use cultural institutions to maintain power in capitalist societies. The bourgeoisie, in Gramsci's view, develops a hegemonic culture using ideology rather than violence, economic force, or coercion. Hegemonic culture propagates its own values and norms so that they become the "common sense" values of all and thus maintain the status quo. Cultural hegemony is therefore used to maintain consent to the capitalist order, rather than the use of force to maintain order. This cultural hegemony is produced and reproduced by the dominant class through the institutions that form the superstructure.
Gramsci also attempted to break from the economic determinism of traditional Marxist thought, and so is sometimes described as a neo-Marxist. He held a humanistic understanding of Marxism, seeing it as a "philosophy of praxis" and an "absolute historicism" that transcends traditional materialism and traditional idealism.
Selma, AL | March 04, 2007
"Here today, I must begin because at the Unity breakfast this morning I was saving for last and the list was so long I left him out after that introduction. So I'm going to start by saying how much I appreciate the friendship and the support and the outstanding work that he does each and every day, not just in Capitol Hill but also back here in the district. Please give a warm round of applause for your Congressman Artur Davis.
It is a great honor to be here. Reverend Jackson, thank you so much. To the family of Brown A.M.E, to the good Bishop Kirkland, thank you for your wonderful message and your leadership.
I want to acknowledge one of the great heroes of American history and American life, somebody who captures the essence of decency and courage, somebody who I have admired all my life and were it not for him, I'm not sure I'd be here today, Congressman John Lewis.
I'm thankful to him. To all the distinguished guests and clergy, I'm not sure I'm going to thank Reverend Lowery because he stole the show. I was mentioning earlier, I know we've got C.T. Vivian in the audience, and when you have to speak in front of somebody who Martin Luther King said was the greatest preacher he ever heard, then you've got some problems.
And I'm a little nervous about following so many great preachers. But I'm hoping that the spirit moves me and to all my colleagues who have given me such a warm welcome, thank you very much for allowing me to speak to you here today.
You know, several weeks ago, after I had announced that I was running for the Presidency of the United States, I stood in front of the Old State Capitol in Springfield, Illinois; where Abraham Lincoln delivered his speech declaring, drawing in scripture, that a house divided against itself could not stand.
And I stood and I announced that I was running for the presidency. And there were a lot of commentators, as they are prone to do, who questioned the audacity of a young man like myself, haven't been in Washington too long.
And I acknowledge that there is a certain presumptuousness about this.
But I got a letter from a friend of some of yours named Reverend Otis Moss Jr. in Cleveland, and his son, Otis Moss III is the Pastor at my church and I must send greetings from Dr. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr. but I got a letter giving me encouragement and saying how proud he was that I had announced and encouraging me to stay true to my ideals and my values and not to be fearful.
And he said, if there's some folks out there who are questioning whether or not you should run, just tell them to look at the story of Joshua because you're part of the Joshua generation.
So I just want to talk a little about Moses and Aaron and Joshua, because we are in the presence today of a lot of Moseses. We're in the presence today of giants whose shoulders we stand on, people who battled, not just on behalf of African Americans but on behalf of all of America; that battled for America's soul, that shed blood , that endured taunts and formant and in some cases gave -- torment and in some cases gave the full measure of their devotion.
Like Moses, they challenged Pharaoh, the princes, powers who said that some are atop and others are at the bottom, and that's how it's always going to be.
There were people like Anna Cooper and Marie Foster and Jimmy Lee Jackson and Maurice Olette, C.T. Vivian, Reverend Lowery, John Lewis, who said we can imagine something different and we know there is something out there for us, too.
Thank God, He's made us in His image and we reject the notion that we will for the rest of our lives be confined to a station of inferiority, that we can't aspire to the highest of heights, that our talents can't be expressed to their fullest. And so because of what they endured, because of what they marched; they led a people out of bondage.
They took them across the sea that folks thought could not be parted. They wandered through a desert but always knowing that God was with them and that, if they maintained that trust in God, that they would be all right. And it's because they marched that the next generation hasn't been bloodied so much.
It's because they marched that we elected councilmen, congressmen. It is because they marched that we have Artur Davis and Keith Ellison. It is because they marched that I got the kind of education I got, a law degree, a seat in the Illinois senate and ultimately in the United States senate.
It is because they marched that I stand before you here today. I was mentioning at the Unity Breakfast this morning, my -- at the Unity Breakfast this morning that my debt is even greater than that because not only is my career the result of the work of the men and women who we honor here today. My very existence might not have been possible had it not been for some of the folks here today. I mentioned at the Unity Breakfast that a lot of people been asking, well, you know, your father was from Africa, your mother, she's a white woman from Kansas. I'm not sure that you have the same experience.
And I tried to explain, you don't understand. You see, my Grandfather was a cook to the British in Kenya. Grew up in a small village and all his life, that's all he was -- a cook and a house boy. And that's what they called him, even when he was 60 years old. They called him a house boy. They wouldn't call him by his last name.
Sound familiar?
He had to carry a passbook around because Africans in their own land, in their own country, at that time, because it was a British colony, could not move about freely. They could only go where they were told to go. They could only work where they were told to work.
Yet something happened back here in Selma, Alabama. Something happened in Birmingham that sent out what Bobby Kennedy called, 'Ripples of hope all around the world.' Something happened when a bunch of women decided they were going to walk instead of ride the bus after a long day of doing somebody else's laundry, looking after somebody else's children. When men who had PhD's decided that's enough and we're going to stand up for our dignity.
That sent a shout across oceans so that my grandfather began to imagine something different for his son. His son, who grew up herding goats in a small village in Africa could suddenly set his sights a little higher and believe that maybe a black man in this world had a chance.
What happened in Selma, Alabama and Birmingham also stirred the conscience of the nation. It worried folks in the White House who said, “You know, we're battling Communism. How are we going to win hearts and minds all across the world? If right here in our own country, John, we're not observing the ideals set fort in our Constitution, we might be accused of being hypocrites. So the Kennedy's decided we're going to do an air lift. We're going to go to Africa and start bringing young Africans over to this country and give them scholarships to study so they can learn what a wonderful country America is.
This young man named Barack Obama got one of those tickets and came over to this country. He met this woman whose great great-great-great-grandfather had owned slaves; but she had a good idea there was some craziness going on because they looked at each other and they decided that we know that the world as it has been it might not be possible for us to get together and have a child. There was something stirring across the country because of what happened in Selma, Alabama, because some folks are willing to march across a bridge. So they got together and Barack Obama Jr. was born. So don't tell me I don't have a claim on Selma, Alabama. Don't tell me I'm not coming home to Selma, Alabama.
I'm here because somebody marched. I'm here because you all sacrificed for me. I stand on the shoulders of giants. I thank the Moses generation; but we've got to remember, now, that Joshua still had a job to do. As great as Moses was, despite all that he did, leading a people out of bondage, he didn't cross over the river to see the Promised Land. God told him your job is done. You'll see it. You'll be at the mountain top and you can see what I've promised. What I've promised to Abraham and Isaac and Jacob. You will see that I've fulfilled that promise but you won't go there.
We're going to leave it to the Joshua generation to make sure it happens. There are still battles that need to be fought; some rivers that need to be crossed. Like Moses, the task was passed on to those who might not have been as deserving, might not have been as courageous, find themselves in front of the risks that their parents and grandparents and great grandparents had taken. That doesn't mean that they don't still have a burden to shoulder, that they don't have some responsibilities. The previous generation, the Moses generation, pointed the way. They took us 90% of the way there. We still got that 10% in order to cross over to the other side. So the question, I guess, that I have today is what's called of us in this Joshua generation? What do we do in order to fulfill that legacy; to fulfill the obligations and the debt that we owe to those who allowed us to be here today?
Now, I don't think we could ever fully repay that debt. I think that we're always going to be looking back; but, there are at least a few suggestions that I would have in terms of how we might fulfill that enormous legacy. The first is to recognize our history. John Lewis talked about why we're here today. But I worry sometimes -- we've got black history month, we come down and march every year, once a year, we occasionally celebrate the various events of the civil rights movement, we celebrate Dr. Kings birthday but it strikes me that understanding our history and knowing what it means is an everyday activity.
Now, I don't think we could ever fully repay that debt. I think that we're always going to be looking back, but there are at least a few suggestions that I would have in terms of how we might fulfill that enormous legacy. The first is to recognize our history. John Lewis talked about why we're here today. But I worry sometimes -- we've got black history month, we come down and march every year, once a year. We occasionally celebrate the various events of the Civil Rights Movement, we celebrate Dr. King's birthday, but it strikes me that understanding our history and knowing what it means, is an everyday activity.
Moses told the Joshua generation; don't forget where you came from. I worry sometimes, that the Joshua generation in its success forgets where it came from. Thinks it doesn't have to make as many sacrifices. Thinks that the very height of ambition is to make as much money as you can, to drive the biggest car and have the biggest house and wear a Rolex watch and get your own private jet, get some of that Oprah money. And I think that's a good thing. There's nothing wrong with making money, but if you know your history, then you know that there is a certain poverty of ambition involved in simply striving just for money. Materialism alone will not fulfill the possibilities of your existence. You have to fill that with something else. You have to fill it with the golden rule. You've got to fill it with thinking about others. And if we know our history, then we will understand that that is the highest mark of service.
Second thing that the Joshua generation needs to understand is that the principles of equality that were set fort and were battled for have to be fought each and every day. It is not a one-time thing. I was remarking at the unity breakfast on the fact that the single most significant concern that this justice department under this administration has had with respect to discrimination has to do with affirmative action. That they have basically spent all their time worrying about colleges and universities around the country that are given a little break to young African Americans and Hispanics to make sure that they can go to college, too.
I had a school in southern Illinois that set up a program for PhD's in math and science for African Americans. And the reason they had set it up is because we only had less than 1% of the PhD's in science and math go to African Americans. At a time when we are competing in a global economy, when we're not competing just against folks in North Carolina or Florida or California, we're competing against folks in China and India and we need math and science majors, this university thought this might be a nice thing to do. And the justice department wrote them a letter saying we are going to threaten to sue you for reverse discrimination unless you cease this program.
And it reminds us that we still got a lot of work to do, and that the basic enforcement of anti-discrimination laws, the injustice that still exists within our criminal justice system, the disparity in terms of how people are treated in this country continues. It has gotten better. And we should never deny that it's gotten better. But we shouldn't forget that better is not good enough. That until we have absolute equality in this country in terms of people being treated on the basis of their color or their gender, that that is something that we've got to continue to work on and the Joshua generation has a significant task in making that happen.
Third thing -- we've got to recognize that we fought for civil rights, but we've still got a lot of economic rights that have to be dealt with. We've got 46 million people uninsured in this country despite spending more money on health care than any nation on earth. It makes no sense. As a consequence, we've got what's known as a health care disparity in this nation because many of the uninsured are African American or Latino. Life expectancy is lower. Almost every disease is higher within minority communities. The health care gap.
Blacks are less likely in their schools to have adequate funding. We have less-qualified teachers in those schools. We have fewer textbooks in those schools. We got in some schools rats outnumbering computers. That's called the achievement gap. You've got a health care gap and you've got an achievement gap. You've got Katrina still undone. I went down to New Orleans three weeks ago. It still looks bombed out. Still not rebuilt. When 9/11 happened, the federal government had a special program of grants to help rebuild. They waived any requirement that Manhattan would have to pay 10% of the cost of rebuilding. When Hurricane Andrew happened in Florida, 10% requirement, they waived it because they understood that some disasters are so devastating that we can't expect a community to rebuild. New Orleans -- the largest national catastrophe in our history, the federal government says where's your 10%?
There is an empathy gap. There is a gap in terms of sympathizing for the folks in New Orleans. It's not a gap that the American people felt because we saw how they responded. But somehow our government didn't respond with that same sense of compassion, with that same sense of kindness. And here is the worst part, the tragedy in New Orleans happened well before the hurricane struck because many of those communities, there were so many young men in prison, so many kids dropping out, so little hope.
A hope gap. A hope gap that still pervades too many communities all across the country and right here in Alabama. So the question is, then, what are we, the Joshua generation, doing to close those gaps? Are we doing every single thing that we can do in Congress in order to make sure that early education is adequately funded and making sure that we are raising the minimum wage so people can have dignity and respect?
Are we ensuring that, if somebody loses a job, that they're getting retrained? And that, if they've lost their health care and pension, somebody is there to help them get back on their feet? Are we making sure we're giving a second chance to those who have strayed and gone to prison but want to start a new life? Government alone can't solve all those problems, but government can help. It's the responsibility of the Joshua generation to make sure that we have a government that is as responsive as the need that exists all across America. That brings me to one other point, about the Joshua generation, and that is this -- that it's not enough just to ask what the government can do for us-- it's important for us to ask what we can do for ourselves.
One of the signature aspects of the civil rights movement was the degree of discipline and fortitude that was instilled in all the people who participated. Imagine young people, 16, 17, 20, 21, backs straight, eyes clear, suit and tie, sitting down at a lunch counter knowing somebody is going to spill milk on you but you have the discipline to understand that you are not going to retaliate because in showing the world how disciplined we were as a people, we were able to win over the conscience of the nation. I can't say for certain that we have instilled that same sense of moral clarity and purpose in this generation. Bishop, sometimes I feel like we've lost it a little bit.
I'm fighting to make sure that our schools are adequately funded all across the country. With the inequities of relying on property taxes and people who are born in wealthy districts getting better schools than folks born in poor districts and that's now how it's supposed to be. That's not the American way. but I'll tell you what -- even as I fight on behalf of more education funding, more equity, I have to also say that , if parents don't turn off the television set when the child comes home from school and make sure they sit down and do their homework and go talk to the teachers and find out how they're doing, and if we don't start instilling a sense in our young children that there is nothing to be ashamed about in educational achievement, I don't know who taught them that reading and writing and conjugating your verbs was something white.
We've got to get over that mentality. That is part of what the Moses generation teaches us, not saying to ourselves we can't do something, but telling ourselves that we can achieve. We can do that. We got power in our hands. Folks are complaining about the quality of our government, I understand there's something to be complaining about. I'm in Washington. I see what's going on. I see those powers and principalities have snuck back in there, that they're writing the energy bills and the drug laws.
We understand that, but I'll tell you what. I also know that, if cousin Pookie would vote, get off the couch and register some folks and go to the polls, we might have a different kind of politics. That's what the Moses generation teaches us. Take off your bedroom slippers. Put on your marching shoes. Go do some politics. Change this country! That's what we need. We have too many children in poverty in this country and everybody should be ashamed, but don't tell me it doesn't have a little to do with the fact that we got too many daddies not acting like daddies. Don't think that fatherhood ends at conception. I know something about that because my father wasn't around when I was young and I struggled.
Those of you who read my book know. I went through some difficult times. I know what it means when you don't have a strong male figure in the house, which is why the hardest thing about me being in politics sometimes is not being home as much as I'd like and I'm just blessed that I've got such a wonderful wife at home to hold things together. Don't tell me that we can't do better by our children, that we can't take more responsibility for making sure we're instilling in them the values and the ideals that the Moses generation taught us about sacrifice and dignity and honesty and hard work and discipline and self-sacrifice. That comes from us. We've got to transmit that to the next generation and I guess the point that I'm making is that the civil rights movement wasn't just a fight against the oppressor; it was also a fight against the oppressor in each of us.
Sometimes it's easy to just point at somebody else and say it's their fault, but oppression has a way of creeping into it. Reverend, it has a way of stunting yourself. You start telling yourself, Bishop, I can't do something. I can't read. I can't go to college. I can't start a business. I can't run for Congress. I can't run for the presidency. People start telling you-- you can't do something, after a while, you start believing it and part of what the civil rights movement was about was recognizing that we have to transform ourselves in order to transform the world. Mahatma Gandhi, great hero of Dr. King and the person who helped create the nonviolent movement around the world; he once said that you can't change the world if you haven't changed.
If you want to change the world, the change has to happen with you first and that is something that the greatest and most honorable of generations has taught us, but the final thing that I think the Moses generation teaches us is to remind ourselves that we do what we do because God is with us. You know, when Moses was first called to lead people out of the Promised Land, he said I don't think I can do it, Lord. I don't speak like Reverend Lowery. I don't feel brave and courageous and the Lord said I will be with you. Throw down that rod. Pick it back up. I'll show you what to do. The same thing happened with the Joshua generation.
Joshua said, you know, I'm scared. I'm not sure that I am up to the challenge, the Lord said to him, every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon, I have given you. Be strong and have courage, for I am with you wherever you go. Be strong and have courage. It's a prayer for a journey. A prayer that kept a woman in her seat when the bus driver told her to get up, a prayer that led nine children through the doors of the little rock school, a prayer that carried our brothers and sisters over a bridge right here in Selma, Alabama. Be strong and have courage.
When you see row and row of state trooper facing you, the horses and the tear gas, how else can you walk? Towards them, unarmed, unafraid. When they come start beating your friends and neighbors, how else can you simply kneel down, bow your head and ask the Lord for salvation? When you see heads gashed open and eyes burning and children lying hurt on the side of the road, when you are John Lewis and you've been beaten within an inch of your life on Sunday, how do you wake up Monday and keep on marching?
Be strong and have courage, for I am with you wherever you go. We've come a long way in this journey, but we still have a long way to travel. We traveled because God was with us. It's not how far we've come. That bridge outside was crossed by blacks and whites, northerners and southerners, teenagers and children, the beloved community of God's children, they wanted to take those steps together, but it was left to the Joshua's to finish the journey Moses had begun and today we're called to be the Joshua's of our time, to be the generation that finds our way across this river.
There will be days when the water seems wide and the journey too far, but in those moments, we must remember that throughout our history, there has been a running thread of ideals that have guided our travels and pushed us forward, even when they're just beyond our reach, liberty in the face of tyranny, opportunity where there was none and hope over the most crushing despair. Those ideals and values beckon us still and when we have our doubts and our fears, just like Joshua did, when the road looks too long and it seems like we may lose our way, remember what these people did on that bridge.
Keep in your heart the prayer of that journey, the prayer that God gave to Joshua. Be strong and have courage in the face of injustice. Be strong and have courage in the face of prejudice and hatred, in the face of joblessness and helplessness and hopelessness. Be strong and have courage, brothers and sisters, those who are gathered here today, in the face of our doubts and fears, in the face of skepticism, in the face of cynicism, in the face of a mighty river.
Be strong and have courage and let us cross over that Promised Land together. Thank you so much everybody.
God bless you."
De Bijenkorf met regen is fantastisch.
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Thank you for group-invitations. I do appreciate.
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In de voetgangerstunnel "Verboden te fietsen"
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To be seen in Flickr-group "Creative Composition" and others
"No PERFECT CAMERA? No PERFECT GEAR?....do not let materialism kill your creativity. Show the whole world your creativity through your photos and let us change the way others see things."
Proud to see Ikaria included in the “The Blue Zone” ...
*The Etched Volcanic Rocks Painted with Pelagic Sediments had so many stories to share with me.
*Ikaria,the island where people forget to Die.What’s their secret? I had read so many articles about that,but I wanted to find out myself.There must be something behind “The Blue Zone” ...
*Ikaria has been inhabited since at least 7000 BC by the Neolithic pre-Hellenic race of Pelasgians.
*According to mythology Icarus, ignoring his father’s Daedalus advice, after escaping their imprisonment in Crete, flew very high, resulting in melting his wax feathers, falling and drawing in the sea somewhere around the island. His father buried his body on this island,which was named Ikaria to commemorate the daring youngster*
*Ikarians are open, relaxed, friendly people who greet you with a genuine smile.They seem to laugh in the face of modern life- the greedy rush through time,the loss of identity through globalization and homogenous life styles, consumerism, and materialism.
They have always been self-sufficient people,mainly shepards,farmers,fisherman, shop owners and craftsmen.They farm their own land with most households growing their own supply of organic fruit and vegetables.
"in the “The Blue Zone” :
*The Italian island of Sardinia
*Okinawa, Japan
*Loma Linda, California
*Costa Rica’s isolated Nicoya Peninsula
*Ikaria, an isolated Greek island
♥ If you Want to Live Longer,Come with Me my Flickr Friends,but don't Fly very High ~ Always Thankful for your visits & comments ♥
www.rd.com/health/conditions/island-people-forget-to-die/
www.island-ikaria.com/culture/ikarians.asp
www.theguardian.com/world/2013/may/31/ikaria-greece-longe...
When I was scouting some locations a little while back I came across a beautiful little pastoral valley barely 15 minutes from where we live in Launceston. That's the wonder of living in a regional town, you are never far from reconnecting with nature - and how we all need to recharge our weary batteries.
Living in a big city you need to be like the "Energizer Bunny", all go, go go. But unless you take some time out, a burn out is almost inevitable. And I'm not talking about a physical burnout (although that happens), it's something more spiritual I think. It's why large cities around the world have become the bastions of materialism and prescription drugs (let's not even use that oxymoronic term, "recreational drugs" here). Human beings need to recharge their batteries in Nature. And so I planned to get some early morning shots at Turners Marsh.
Last week we had a full moon, but skies haven't been all that clear recently (good early Spring rains). But when I arrived just before dawn at one of my locations, there was the full moon in all its glory as it was setting just as the sun was coming over the hills in the east.
The most famous piece of music about moonlight was composed in 1890 by Claude Debussy (1862-1918), but not published for another 15 years. Inspired by a poem of the same name by Paul Verlaine, it "depicts the soul as somewhere full of music ‘in a minor key’ where birds are inspired to sing by the ‘sad and beautiful’ light of the moon.
If you'd like to understand the effect this music has on the brain, then take a few minutes to read this informative article. The right kind of music also has the power to tap into nature and recharge our weary cells.
thenotesofscience.wordpress.com/2014/07/10/how-debussys-c...
Christmastree in the straat. the Last days of 2022.
"No PERFECT CAMERA? No PERFECT GEAR?....do not let materialism kill your creativity. Show the whole world your creativity through your photos and let us change the way others see things."
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Please feel free to use my images any way you like.I do not feel the need to "own" them. its only a picture.
Well my tree is up with its lights and baubles. I have to say I am reluctant to put up the decorations especially before 8th December - anytime after that, preferably the week before Christmas. I know, I know I sound like the Grinch but that story had a very important message to tell. A reminder to find the true reason why we celebrate Christmas amidst all the cacophony of materialism and “happy family” expectations.
*Working Towards a Better World
Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonathan_Livingston_Seagull
Jonathan Livingston Seagull, written by Richard Bach, is a fable in novella form about a seagull learning about life and flight, and a homily about self-perfection. It was first published in 1970 as "Jonathan Livingston Seagull — a story." By the end of 1972, over a million copies were in print, Reader's Digest had published a condensed version, and the book had reached the top of the New York Times Best Seller list, where it remained for 38 weeks. In 1972 and 1973, the book topped the Publishers Weekly list of bestselling novels in the United States. In 2014 the book was reissued as Jonathan Livingston Seagull: The Complete Edition, which added a 17-page fourth part to the story.
Plot
The book tells the story of Jonathan Livingston Seagull, a seagull who is bored with daily squabbles over food. Seized by a passion for flight, he pushes himself, learning everything he can about flying, until finally his unwillingness to conform results in his expulsion. An outcast, he continues to learn, becoming increasingly pleased with his abilities as he leads a peaceful and happy life.
One day, Jonathan is met by two gulls who take him to a "higher plane of existence" in which there is no heaven but a better world found through perfection of knowledge. There he meets other gulls who love to fly. He discovers that his sheer tenacity and desire to learn make him "pretty well a one-in-a-million bird." In this new place, Jonathan befriends the wisest gull, Chiang, who takes him beyond his previous learning, teaching him how to move instantaneously to anywhere else in the Universe. The secret, Chiang says, is to "begin by knowing that you have already arrived." Not satisfied with his new life, Jonathan returns to Earth to find others like him, to bring them his learning and to spread his love for flight. His mission is successful, gathering around him others who have been outlawed for not conforming. Ultimately, the very first of his students, Fletcher Lynd Seagull, becomes a teacher in his own right, and Jonathan leaves to teach other flocks.
Part one
Part One of the book finds young Jonathan Livingston frustrated with the meaningless materialism, conformity, and limitation of the seagull life. He is seized with a passion for flight of all kinds, and his soul soars as he experiments with exhilarating challenges of daring aerial feats. Eventually, his lack of conformity to the limited seagull life leads him into conflict with his flock, and they turn their backs on him, casting him out of their society and exiling him. Not deterred by this, Jonathan continues his efforts to reach higher and higher flight goals, finding he is often successful but eventually he can fly no higher. He is then met by two radiant, loving seagulls who explain to him that he has learned much, and that they are there now to teach him more.
Part two
Jonathan transcends into a society where all the gulls enjoy flying. He is only capable of this after practicing hard alone for a long time and the first learning process of linking the highly experienced teacher and the diligent student is raised into almost sacred levels. They, regardless of the all immense difference, are sharing something of great importance that can bind them together: "You've got to understand that a seagull is an unlimited idea of freedom, an image of the Great Gull." He realizes that you have to be true to yourself: "You have the freedom to be yourself, your true self, here and now, and nothing can stand in your way."
Part three
In the third part of the book are the last words of Jonathan's teacher: "Keep working on love." Through his teachings, Jonathan understands that the spirit cannot be really free without the ability to forgive, and that the way to progress leads—for him, at least—through becoming a teacher, not just through working hard as a student. Jonathan returns to the Breakfast Flock to share his newly discovered ideals and the recent tremendous experience, ready for the difficult fight against the current rules of that society. The ability to forgive seems to be a mandatory "passing condition."
"Do you want to fly so much that you will forgive the Flock, and learn, and go back to them one day and work to help them know?" Jonathan asks his first student, Fletcher Lynd Seagull, before getting into any further talks. The idea that the stronger can reach more by leaving the weaker friends behind seems totally rejected.
Hence, love, deserved respect, and forgiveness all seem to be equally important to the freedom from the pressure to obey the rules just because they are commonly accepted.
Part four
In 2013 Richard Bach took up a non-published fourth part of the book which he had written contemporaneously with the original. He edited and polished it and then sent the result to a publisher. Bach reported that it was a near-death experience which had occurred in relation to a nearly fatal plane crash in August 2012, that had inspired him to finish the fourth part of his novella.[1] In February 2014, the 138-page Bach work Illusions II was published as a booklet by Kindle Direct Publishing. It also contains allusions to and insights regarding the same near-death experience. In October 2014, Jonathan Livingston Seagull: The Complete Edition, was reissued and includes part four of the story.
Thank you for your kind visit. Have a wonderful and beautiful day! xo💜💜
2019 oct 24
abstract optical materialism macropaintograph with household materials
Camera: Pentax K-50 16 Mpixel Digital SLR + Carl Zeiss Jenna 2.8/ 50mm via extension tube
“We do not have to be ashamed of what we are. As sentient beings we have wonderful backgrounds. These backgrounds may not be particularly enlightened or peaceful or intelligent. Nevertheless, we have soil good enough to cultivate; we can plant anything in it.”
― Chögyam Trungpa, Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism
Picture made with Leonardo.AI of Second Beach
Pano-Sabotage with some bump-ups in colour saturation. So this is 99% straight out of the camera.
This is as close as I get to creating a "Christmas" or "Holiday" image. Being in retail and NOT supportive of the rampant materialism of what the Season has become, I tend to let this time of year go by without so much as a peep. But things are changing around this holiday. This is the first year in my entire life that I've seen stores putting their Christmas wares on sale to get people into stores. They're just not doing it.
Some have pointed to unprecedented sales via .com services - people chosing NOT to shop in actual stores, but to simply just order their gifts and have them delivered. Convenient, yes, but utterly impersonal. Finding that gift, the one that surprises you, rewarding yourself for all your shopping with a little something for yourself and jostling with the crowds, as stressful as it is at the time, all of that is taken away in simple efficiency.
Large corporations reap the profits of .com shopping and all the small merchants lose their shirts and their businesses as we march lemming-like more and more each year to a totally "corporate" society. All difference, individuality and uniqueness of invention is quietly euthanized in the smarm of artificial delights, such as this window, concocted by corporate merchandizers and market analysts. Electric, Plastic, Distraction. A glittering daze to blind the sight from seeing what monstrous 'machines' are doing behind the scene.
Some have also suggested an unspoken unease in the market place as we enter the final stretch to January 20, 2017. We'll find out soon enough .....
I don't wish to splash cold water on anyone's enjoyment of the Season, no matter how we each celebrate it, or not. My family and I, for the first time in a while, are going to have a very traditional Christmas dinner as we realize that we won't always have each other. Being together is what's MOST important for us. We've dropped everything else around the Season and just want to relish in each others' company. I wish you all the best of the spirit of the season, in whatever way makes you the happiest !!!!!
That serious analysis aside, this window was artistically too much to resist. I Pano-Sabotaged it with my iPhone, "pumped up the volume" of the colour and spiced it up a bit with some processing. The super indulgence of the image seemed to call out for it. Good to "go BANG" again.
Click on Image to Enlarge !
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Music Link: "Pump up the Volume", M/A/R/R/S. Thanks to MichaeLynn Borich for their comment below that lead me to choose this piece of music to very appropriately connect with this image. :-)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=w9gOQgfPW4Y
___________________________________________________
© Richard S Warner ( Visionheart ) - 2016. All Rights Reserved. This image is not for use in any form without explicit, express, written permission.
My Website: visionheartblog.wordpress.com
........an enucleated mother probably purposely blinded begging with her child.
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A billion people on this planet live way below the poverty level
and live in horrendous conditions.
The West is to be congratulated for its prosperity and high standard of living thought and technology
However we all live on this planet, together
for materialism is certianly no panacea for happiness, success and inner tyranny.
"If you can't feed a hundred people, then feed just one."
M Theresa
Siem Reap
We are not rich by what we possess but by what we can do without.” Immanuel Kant
Hunger is not an issue of charity. It is an issue of justice.
-Jacques Diouf
Photography’s new conscience
Every great Culture begins with a mighty theme that rises out of the pre-urban countryside, is carried through in the cities of art and intellect, and closes with a finale of materialism in the world cities.
- Oswald Spengler, Decline of The West (1926)
Proud to see Ikaria included in the “The Blue Zone” ...
[ Explored ] 13 Mar.2015 # 201
*The Etched Volcanic Rocks Painted with Pelagic Sediments had so many stories to share with me.
*Ikaria,the island where people forget to Die.What’s their secret? I had read so many articles about that,but I wanted to find out myself.There must be something behind “The Blue Zone” ...
*Ikaria has been inhabited since at least 7000 BC by the Neolithic pre-Hellenic race of Pelasgians.
*According to mythology Icarus, ignoring his father’s Daedalus advice, after escaping their imprisonment in Crete, flew very high, resulting in melting his wax feathers, falling and drawing in the sea somewhere around the island. His father buried his body on this island,which was named Ikaria to commemorate the daring youngster*
*Ikarians are open, relaxed, friendly people who greet you with a genuine smile.They seem to laugh in the face of modern life- the greedy rush through time,the loss of identity through globalization and homogenous life styles, consumerism, and materialism.
They have always been self-sufficient people,mainly shepards,farmers,fisherman, shop owners and craftsmen.They farm their own land with most households growing their own supply of organic fruit and vegetables.
"in the “The Blue Zone” :
*The Italian island of Sardinia
*Okinawa, Japan
*Loma Linda, California
*Costa Rica’s isolated Nicoya Peninsula
*Ikaria, an isolated Greek island
♥ If you Want to Live Longer,Come with Me my Flickr Friends,but don't Fly very High ~ Always Thankful for your visits & comments ♥
www.rd.com/health/conditions/island-people-forget-to-die/
www.island-ikaria.com/culture/ikarians.asp
www.theguardian.com/world/2013/may/31/ikaria-greece-longe...
2019 nov 19
abstract optical materialism macropaintograph with household materials
Camera: Pentax K-50 16 Mpixel Digital SLR + Carl Zeiss Jenna 2.8/ 50mm via extension tube
Catchy and vivid colors of this organge flower made me to take this macro shot. Orange is often described as an energetic color, attenton gettng, spiritual (Buddhist monks wear orange robes that symbolize simplicity and letting go of materialism). It may call to mind feelings of enthusiasm and excitement. Orange is seen as a high-energy color and that`s why I called this image New Morning.
2019 oct 31
abstract optical materialism macropaintograph with household materials
Camera: Pentax K-50 16 Mpixel Digital SLR + Carl Zeiss Jenna 2.8/ 50mm via extension tube
2019 nov 16
abstract optical materialism macropaintograph with household materials
Camera: Pentax K-50 16 Mpixel Digital SLR + Carl Zeiss Jenna 2.8/ 50mm via extension tube
2018
abstract optical materialism macropaintograph with household materials
Camera: Pentax K-50 16 Mpixel Digital SLR + Supermulticoated Takumar 1.4/ 50mm via extension tube
Look at dancing in the first comment & the music is here: : youtu.be/7BKObqw3xq0
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"Please feel free to use my images any way you like.I do not feel the need to "own" them. It is only a picture.
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>>To be seen in Flickr-group "Creative Composition" and others<<
"No PERFECT CAMERA? No PERFECT GEAR?....do not let materialism kill your creativity. Show the whole world your creativity through your photos and let us change the way others see things."
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"Please feel free to use my images any way you like.I do not feel the need to "own" them. It is only a picture.
---------------------------
>>To be seen in Flickr-group "Creative Composition" and others<<
"No PERFECT CAMERA? No PERFECT GEAR?....do not let materialism kill your creativity. Show the whole world your creativity through your photos and let us change the way others see things."
ONE WORLD
ONE PLANET
TWO NEIGHBORHOODS:
1000's of miles apart
the world of the
impoverished
downtrodden
disenfranchised
surrounding a world of
materialism, things, facade, snobbery, arrogance, haughtiness, cosmetic and self indulgence.
humans caught at times in a vicious cycle they cannot escape...............
both share a lot in common
Welcome to NYC
Photography’s new conscience
One of my favorite shop-windows in The Hague.
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"Please feel free to use my images any way you like.I do not feel the need to "own" them. It is only a picture.
---------------------------
>>To be seen in Flickr-group "Creative Composition" and others<<
"No PERFECT CAMERA? No PERFECT GEAR?....do not let materialism kill your creativity. Show the whole world your creativity through your photos and let us change the way others see things."
Meisje in "blauw"
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"Please feel free to use my images any way you like.I do not feel the need to "own" them. It is only a picture.
-------------------------
>>To be seen in Flickr-group "Creative Composition" and others<<
"No PERFECT CAMERA? No PERFECT GEAR?....do not let materialism kill your creativity. Show the whole world your creativity through your photos and let us change the way others see things."
The lotus (Sanskrit and Tibetan padma) is one of the Eight Auspicious Symbols and one of the most poignant representations of Buddhist teaching.
The roots of a lotus are in the mud, the stem grows up through the water, and the heavily scented flower lies pristinely above the water, basking in the sunlight. This pattern of growth signifies the progress of the soul from the primeval mud of materialism, through the waters of experience, and into the bright sunshine of enlightenment.
Though there are other water plants that bloom above the water, it is only the lotus which, owing to the strength of its stem, regularly rises eight to twelve inches above the surface.
According to the Lalitavistara, "the spirit of the best of men is spotless, like the lotus in the muddy water which does not adhere to it."
According to another scholar, "in esoteric Buddhism, the heart of the beings is like an unopened lotus: when the virtues of the Buddha develop therein, the lotus blossoms; that is why the Buddha sits on a lotus bloom."
The lotus is one of Buddhism's best recognized motifs and appears in all kinds of Buddhist art across all Buddhist cultures. Scrolling lotuses often embellish Buddhist textiles, ceramics and architecture.
Every important Buddhist deity is associated in some manner with the lotus, either being seated upon a lotus in full bloom or holding one in their hands. In some images of standing Buddhas, each foot rests on a separate lotus.
The lotus does not grow in Tibet and so Tibetan art has only stylized versions of it, yet it appears frequently with Tibetan deities and among the Eight Auspicious Symbols.
The color of the lotus has an important bearing on the symbology associated with it:
White Lotus (Skt. pundarika; Tib. pad ma dkar po): This represents the state of spiritual perfection and total mental purity (bodhi). It is associated with the White Tara and proclaims her perfect nature, a quality which is reinforced by the color of her body.
Pink Lotus (Skt. padma; Tib. pad ma dmar po): This the supreme lotus, generally reserved for the highest deity. Thus naturally it is associated with the Great Buddha himself.
Red Lotus (Skt. kamala; Tib: pad ma chu skyes): This signifies the original nature and purity of the heart (hrdya). It is the lotus of love, compassion, passion and all other qualities of the heart. It is the flower of Avalokiteshvara, the bodhisattva of compassion.
Blue Lotus (Skt. utpala; Tib. ut pa la): This is a symbol of the victory of the spirit over the senses, and signifies the wisdom of knowledge. Not surprisingly, it is the preferred flower of Manjushri, the bodhisattva of wisdom.
2019 sept 25
abstract optical materialism macropaintograph with household materials
Camera: Pentax K-50 16 Mpixel Digital SLR + Carl Zeiss Tessar 2.8/50mm via extension tube
Louwman - museum The Hague, The Netherlands
permanent collection and mural
louwmanmuseum.nl/en/about-the-museum/
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>>To be seen in Flickr-group "Creative Composition" and others<<
"No PERFECT CAMERA? No PERFECT GEAR?....do not let materialism kill your creativity. Show the whole world your creativity through your photos and let us change the way others see things."