Pressing words to page,Bleeding them into the white spaces In attempt to make slow pattern of kinetic chaos; To bring back a sense of control Or at least Understanding. To conjour from empty skies Dark clouds full of respite, And hammer some sense of self Into that empty mirror, That damn page.
"In an age of images and entertainment, in an age of instant emotional gratification, we do not seek or want honesty. We ask to be indulged and entertained by clichés, stereotypes and mythic narratives that tell us we can be whomever we want to be, that we live in the greatest country on Earth, that we are endowed with superior moral and physical qualities and that our glorious future is preordained, either because of our attributes as Americans or because we are blessed by God or both. " - Chris Hedges, America the Illiterate
The Juggler by Michael Parkes
In the cold morning of my imagination,With snow capping the peaks of ancient dreams, And the twin streams of hope and belief Choked with a slow, icy despair; I've been waiting all these years For the end of Demeter's sorrow, Now I will wait a bit longer.
"As the numbers of disenfranchised dramatically increase, our hope, our only hope, is to connect intimately with the daily injustices visited upon them. Out of this contact we can resurrect, from the ground up, a social ethic, a new movement. Hand out bowls of soup. Coax the homeless into a shower. Make sure those who are mentally ill, cruelly cast out on city sidewalks, take their medications. Put your muscle behind organizing service workers. Go back into America’s resegregated schools. Protest. Live simply. It is in the tangible, mundane and difficult work of forming groups and communities to care for others and defy authority that we will kindle the outrage and the moral vision to fight back." - Chris Hedges, Fueling the Fire of Real Change
One form of the ascetic Christian life is called foolishness for the sake of Christ. The fool-for-Christ set for himself the task of battling within himself the root of all sin, pride. In order to accomplish this he took on an unusual style of life, appearing as someone bereft of his mental faculties, thus bringing upon himself the ridicule of others. In addition he exposed the evil in the world through metaphorical and symbolic words and actions. He took this ascetic endeavor upon himself in order to humble himself and to also more effectively influence others, since most people respond to the usual ordinary sermon with indifference. The spiritual feat of foolishness for Christ was especially widespread in Russia. -- (Excerpted from The Law of God, Holy Trinity Monastery, Jordanville, NY: 1993)
The Peace Prayer of Saint Francis O Lord, make me an instrument of Thy Peace! Where there is hatred, let me sow love. Where there is injury, pardon. Where there is discord, harmony. Where there is doubt, faith. Where there is despair, hope. Where there is darkness, light. Where there is sorrow, joy.
Oh Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love; for it is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life.
Jennifer Knapp - Whisper My Name
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We begin where most others end. Our most important investigations occur in the people and places others cannot bear any longer to see. Hope is sometimes like nuclear fission, requiring great effort to create chain reactions that dwarf expectations.
"Not what a man is in himself as a Christian, his spirituality and piety, constitutes the basis of our community. What determines our brotherhood is what that man is by reason of Christ. Our community with one another consists solely in what Christ has done to both of us."
- Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together
