Archive
Monday’s Poem: “Two Wars?” – And More…
And first, the “And More…” I’ve been reviewing 2012 and all that’s happened during this year of transformation. Not an unusual thing to do! I want to share this as it leads into my Monday Poem this week.
2012 was a momentous year in so many respects. It was a watershed year for us, for our business (we actually turned a profit this year!), for our big move, for the family and our community, for the Nation and the World. Great changes have been initiated. President Obama’s election to his second term is incredible as I look back on it, considering the odds and the money against him. But here he stands as the continuing 44th (there’s magic in this number!) President of this country. Will he be able to accomplish anything? He has already accomplished much as the first black President. There are powerful monied forces arrayed against him. But the power of the people is yet to be truly felt in this country. It is coming.
My biggest concern is the war machine. Yes, there may be big power linked in with the oligarchs and their huge trough of money. But the real power is tied to the defense industry and this worries me. Clearly the spending on weaponry and war is out of control. And the only reason for more is to spend the stockpile of what has already been built. War is necessary to keep the flow of funding and materiel moving; expend it by using it and selling it, arming the entire world with enough arms to blow us all to hell.
And then there is the other war, on Mother Earth herself. When she strikes back perhaps she will win both wars with one blow. I almost wish the day would come soon to put an end to the madness of both wars!
The will of the Mother is her own. She will keep her own counsel, throw out hints of her power as reminders that we need to pay attention and pull back from our war on her. Will we take in such action? Will events like Hurricane Sandy that devastated parts of New Jersey and New York spur action or recede in our fickle and short-term memories as a passing storm, record or no record? The victims will remember but they are the least powerful to accomplish any turning away.
And the gun violence? Will it turn minds? Yes, a few; the senseless murder of children may actually break through some hearts of stone. Will there be enough votes to pass even the weakest of responses, or will the perpetrators of violence win again through their bold threats to unseat those who could do something about the gun epidemic? But even the strongest responses won’t stop the violence. The root cause is too deep; it is mired in the sickness and darkness at the very heart of this country. It was founded through genocide and violence. That core disease is very much alive today and is the base for both wars we wage – the war on ourselves and the war on nature. In the end they can be seen as one war. We are, from the beginning, All One. When we look in the mirror of our neighbor’s face and pull the trigger we kill ourselves. The genocide is suicide. The ecocide is suicide.
If they only knew!
And now for the Monday Poem:
Two Wars?
The Defense Industry is out of control.
Is there no stopping it?
The arms must be expended:
Sell them, arm the world;
Against?
Shoot them, kill the terrorists;
Enemies?
Humanity is out of control.
Is there no stopping us?
The Earth must be plundered:
Dig for her bones, pump her blood;
Survive?
Burn it, consume everything;
Locusts?
These wars are one war.
The genocide is suicide;
The ecocide is suicide.
We look in the mirror of our
Neighbor’s face, point, pull, shoot
Ourselves.
We look in the mirror of our
Planet’s face, drill, pump, burn
Ourselves.
The Human Race is in a race
Away from itself.
It can only lose.
When the Mother turns her face
Away from us
We can only lose.
This one war cannot be won
By us.
©2012 Richard W. Bredeson. All rights reserved.
Monday’s Poem: “Will We Survive?”
We made it through the Solstice! And now we are heading into Christmas 2012. We have come through another circle, another year. And as we wind 2012 to a close I do consider where we are going. My “team” from the future, my “Floating Heads” – QRS – are whispering in my ear. It’s time! It’s about survival! And I think they must have dictated this poem to me. Happy Chirstmas Eve!
Will We Survive?
The great wheel turns
Through the black cosmos
Always returning to the
Beginning,
Surviving another ending.
The cycles repeat
Monotonously consistent;
Yet each repetition
Carries change,
Signaling adjustment.
We return again
To a place of origin;
One more karmic turn,
Wondering.
Have we changed enough?
Will we survive?
©2012 Richard W. Bredeson. All rights reserved.
Monday Poem: “Shadow Echoes”
If you listened to the message I posted on Friday you know that it takes on the subject of time in a very deep way. When I studied with Martín Prechtel he spoke often about the Mayan view of time, especially within the context of their language which does not have the verb form of “to be.” So they have a very different way of speaking and thinking about the past and future as they relate to the present. He told stories which never had a beginning nor ending; they “always begin in the middle.” We are in the middle and both the past and future are like echoes reverberating off the walls of time.
With Martín’s teaching and the message from Rosemary we have a lot to discuss about time. It will be fun week to create this blog. Stay tuned!
And to begin the week, this Winter Solstice week, 2012, I offer you a Monday Poem:
Shadow Echoes
We can’t know what they might
Look like
So far out there;
Too far to travel in this life.
We can’t guess what they might
Tell us
Across the gulf;
Too far to hear their story.
We can only sense them,
Feel them
In deep moments,
As shadow echoes in the heart.
©2012 Richard W. Bredeson. All rights reserved.
A Poem for Monday: “Shells”
Shells
The heart does not expand
From an empty shell.
The seed is there inside
Waiting for the moment.
It takes a special love
To break through that shell.
The germ hovers in bonds
Trembling in dark potential.
The light waits calmly
Just outside the shell.
The sprout presses its power
Seeking a weakness and release.
Suddenly love explodes
Through that hard shell.
The tender life wiggles free
Reaching toward the light.
The heart embraces all life
To escape that empty shell.
The community grows
Filling the world with love.
©2012 Richard W. Bredeson. All rights reserved.
PS: Join Rosemary and me for a special meditation on Wednesday at noon: 12/12/12 at 12:00 PM Eastern/9:00 AM Pacific. Just dial 1-218-862-1300, and the code to enter is: 143201. We will be holding the space and welcoming in the energy of this special time.
A Poem about Time: “Echoes”
The theme of the blog last week was “Writing.” And I wrote about the ways I write. Over the years with Rosemary I have attended many Conversations with The Other Side with her. And I always get interesting visitors from my lineage, my guides and teachers, people from the past, the future; and my messages are always encouraging, especially for me to write poetry. I have written a few over the years; and with their encouragement I wrote this last week:
Echoes
The echoes of ancestor voices
Ring with empty expressions
Devoid of real meaning
This side of time.
“Back up Jack; me sheg is in the canvas!”
Can you hear your father
In your head?
Do his words, his voice
Leap from your lips?
“Well, diddly-dee!”
The wall of time seems fixed,
The chamber is only so large.
Our words, their words
Mingle, interfere, amplify, echo.
“Johnny at the rat hole.”
Across the gulf of time
The gods laugh with us.
And they cry our tears
Feeling through us our losses.
©2012 Richard W. Bredeson. All rights reserved.
PS: If you are curious about the guidance you may receiver from a Conversation with The Other Side, the next one is scheduled! It’s to be held December 7. Go here for details
Men and The Goddess 