Hope, Not the Bob kind

There’s an interesting discussion at The Arch Druid Report about hope and optimism and pessimism and whether wishing on a star is a good thing or a bad one. I touched upon this subject a while back, but it deserves another go-round. These are words that are used daily and yet there seems to be no universal understanding of the concepts they represent.

John Michael Greer offers one definition of hope:
“ . . . hope doesn’t depend on a sense of entitlement that insists the universe is obligated to provide us with whatever happy ending we think we want, and in any real sense, it’s incompatible with notions of that kind. Hope is the quality of character and the act of will that finds some good that can be achieved, no matter what the circumstances, and then strives to achieve it.”

On the first part, we are agreed. “Hope” has nothing to do with a sense of entitlement, nor with the kind of wishful thinking around which we have built a cult of Positivity. But neither is hope a quality of character that works to make the best of a bad situation. I’m not sure what the term for that quality would be -- courageous, perhaps . . . resilient, or resourceful, or some combination of the three. We are arguing semantics here, but it does seem that semantics matters.

Hope can be a verb or a noun, but not an adjective. As a verb, ‘to hope’ is to recognize that there is more than one outcome possible and that some of those outcomes are more desirable than others. ‘To hope’ is to focus one’s imaginative power on the more positive outcomes. ‘Hope’ as a noun refers to the belief that a positive outcome is still possible even when it is unlikely.

It seems to me that hope is most appropriate for those events in life that are beyond our power to effect -- we hope that a friend who has cancer may be cured; we hope that the Saints will make it to the Super Bowl; we hope that the lost child in the news will be found whole and happy. Hope is a wish for the best and yet a recognition that our wishes are not always fulfilled. Hope implies the possibility of an undesirable outcome and is an attempt to ward it off with the power of positive thinking. Hope, at best, is weak and ineffectual, but it can keep a light burning where otherwise there would be darkness. It can also prevent one from accepting and dealing with reality. On the one hand is a person who boards up the house, evacuates, and hopes that the hurricane loses strength before it makes landfall, and on the other is a person who sits stubbornly at home while the waves come crashing ashore and yet entertains the weird notion that hope will suffice.

Hope, to me, is not one of the great virtues. Courage is, as are resourcefulness and resilience. But hope . . . I’d rather have a clear-eyed reality check any day. After I’ve prepared for the worst, then, and only then, will I hope for the best. And if the worst comes anyway, I hope that I may have the courage, resourcefulness and resilience to make the best of a bad situation and to inspire others to do the same.

Language is funny, isn’t it?

It Works for Me

Rather than dig around in an over-cluttered brain for something true and wise to write as 2012 dawns, I’ll just share a few wise words that others have written.

“ . . . my wish for all of us for 2012: that we may each find our way of living from the very centre of who & what we are; that we find a deeper level of freedom to be who we are without concern for others' opinions or life-limiting beliefs we were taught or constructed around a fantasy of inner or outer "safety." I smile as I write this. Life is not safe- it is unpredictable & short, a messy mix of joy & sorrow, a glorious plethora of endings and beginnings.

. . . seeing the new year through the lens of heart, mindful of the gift of being in this breath-takingly beautiful world. My New Year's resolution? To savour each moment, every taste & texture, sound & scent, shape & colour; to hear the music & dance when I can; to allow the divine light embedded in the centre of every cell of my being to guide & direct me.” Oriah Mountain Dreamer

"The cave you fear to enter holds the treasure you seek." Joseph Campbell

My personal resolution for 2012 is to wear more feathers in my hair. Not as profound as Oriah's, but it works for me.

West Meets East

A sobering article by Patricia Williams in The Nation raises concerns about new threats to our civil liberties:

“You know these are interesting times when Glenn Beck, Dianne Feinstein, Rand Paul and the ACLU all stand on the same side of an issue. The issue in question is Subtitle D of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), particularly Sections 1031–1033, being discussed by the House and Senate as I write and headed to the president’s desk any day now. These hastily added, under-the-radar provisions, co-sponsored by Senators John McCain and Carl Levin, would allow for the indefinite military detention of any person alleged to be a member of Al Qaeda, the Taliban or “associated forces.” The provisions also apply to any person who supports or aids “belligerent” acts against the United States, whether the person is apprehended beyond our borders or on domestic soil. . . . Under this law, if the Defense Department thinks you’re a terrorist, there would be no presumption of innocence; you would be presumed a detainee of the military unless the executive decides otherwise. . . . You will be an “unprivileged enemy belligerent,” with limited rights to appeal that status, no rights to due process, or to a jury, or to a speedy trial guided by the rules of evidence.”

I have always considered myself to be a liberal and proud of it. “Bleeding heart liberal,” that’s me. But these days, I sometimes find myself agreeing with Libertarians and true conservatives and people of various political persuasions. Perhaps the political spectrum is not a line but a circle. Perhaps if one goes far enough west, it becomes east. Perhaps the erosion of freedom in America is becoming so egregious that we will find our common ground and the 99% will speak with one voice.

Speak out, America, while you still can.

As we go into 2012

I’m back. We’re going into a new year and I’m finding that I have new soap box material that needs an outlet.

I’ve been reading some of Peter Sinclair’s stuff on Facebook -- all that high-tech-will-save-us stuff -- and wondering why I’m so put off by that type of article. Then it dawned on me -- part of it is that science seems to be promising a solution that does not exist -- that the problems of oil depletion and climate change can be cured by some miraculous new invention and business as usual is still in the cards. As long as science keeps dangling this elusive miracle in front of us, we are not going to make the real changes that need to be made. This false hope allows us to continue sleep-walking through the destruction of our planet while dreaming sweet dreams of a delusional Star Trekish future.

But the real problem is that we are trying to treat the symptoms while ignoring the underlying cause and that is like taking antacid to combat stomach cancer. The problem is not a lower energy future, and even climate change is only symptomatic. The problem is that the world is over-populated with human beings who are living unsustainably and destroying Mother Earth and her children in the process. As in the Canadian tar sands. As in mountain top removal. As in deforestation of the Amazon. As in global warming that is melting the ice caps and the methane rich tundra and heating the oceans to the point where currents may change course. As in over-fishing and over-mining and over-paving and over-building and over-producing and having no ‘away’ where we can rid ourselves of our flood of toxic wastes. So solar bubble wrap ain’t gonna cure nothing, Peter. Sorry!

The best thing that could happen right now is the collapse of the world’s economies wherein the bottom falls out of the demand for fossils, wherein people realize that if they are to survive, they are going to have to grow as much of their own food as possible and make do with much less, wherein the ideas of permaculture spread like wildfire across a parched prairie and wherein the status symbols of old become the new social stigmas. Who knows, maybe 2012 will be the watermark year . . .

Ah, 2012. The year has a mythical hold over our imaginations. Over at The Archdruid Report, John Michael Greer states with absolute confidence that December 21, 2012 will go down in history as The Day Nothing Happened. I disagree . . . and go on record as stating, with absolute confidence, that December 21, 2012 will be a day worth remembering. There are no days when nothing happens -- every day is memorable for the moments stacked one upon another that make up our lives.

But of course, that is not the kind of happening which JMG addresses. He is referring to all the prophecies based on a misunderstanding of the Mayan calendar -- events ranging from cataclysmic events to The Rapture to mass enlightenment to alien intervention. He discusses why prophecies have such attraction for us -- and it basically comes down to an aversion to personal responsibility. It is much easier and much more pleasant to sit back and let events unfold than to take responsibility for the trajectory of our lives -- even if we don’t expect major events but just a steady influx of scientific miracles that make tomorrow easier and more golden than today.

I am hoping that JMG is wrong. Granted, the Mayan calendar does not predict the end of the world, but it does indicate the end of a cycle. I don’t know this to be true, but I am hoping that it is -- I am hoping that, as with the winter solstice, the tide of darkness will have reached its apex and begin to give way to the light. As with the solstice, one will not awaken on Dec 22 and notice a difference -- but as time progresses the change becomes evident. How much time? Not likely in months, but in years, decades, maybe even centuries.

Whether or not 2012 is a watermark year, the human tendency to avoid personal responsibility is still a valid observation. So, what about me? I could be the poster child for responsibility avoidance. I sit and dream about other places, other circumstances, other friends, other life-styles. I need to make it work here, with what I have. Not as a forever thing, but as a ‘for now’ thing.

Hmm, easier said than done.

Pitchforks

I haven’t been posting for some time now -- I had really said everything I had to say, and what I still wanted to share with the world, I’ve been sharing on Facebook. But today I turned on my computer and was hit with a tsunami of bad news that has left me literally shaking.

First of all, there is the devastating earthquake and tsunami that have devoured parts of Japan and sent ripples all across the Pacific, some ripples big enough to swamp entire islands. That in itself is bad news, very bad news. But it is a natural disaster, and natural disasters do happen, though they seem to be happening more often of late -- beginning with the Indonesian tsunami in 2004. 2010 brought us killer earthquakes in places like Haiti and Chile, a volcanic eruption in Iceland from a volcano that had been dormant for 200 years, and in October, a deadly trio of earthquake, tsunami and volcanic eruption that rocked Indonesia over a 24 hour period. I’m not talking now about weather related disasters that might be attributed, at least in part, to anthropological global climate weirding -- such as Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar back in 2008, or more recently, the deadly flooding of Pakistan, the wild fires in Russia and Australia, or the blizzards and flooding here in our own U S of A. Nor am I referring to man-made disasters such as the BP oil spill. I'm talking about geological disasters, those that can only be attributed to a restless Mother Gaia. These disasters do happen. Unfortunate, and while tragic, not in our power to prevent. No paradigm shift.

Until . . . a chance remark on Facebook sent me back into research mode. It turns out that we cannot blame Mother Gaia for all the seismic activity after all. It seems there is a link between anthropogenic climate weirding and geological disasters. As glaciers melt and sea levels rise, the pressure points on our earth change -- which may contribute to shifts in tectonic plates and the rise of magma to the surface. The bottom line -- generations yet unborn are likely to endure more natural disasters of all kinds and human activity is more to blame than I ever imagined possible.

But the bad news tsunami was not over. A bill has just passed both houses of legislature in Michigan.

In an outrageous power grab, Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder and the Republican-dominated state Senate passed, and sent back to the House, legislation today that allows Snyder to declare a local city to be in a financial emergency and appoint an emergency manager. That manager can, without anyone else’s approval, cancel contracts, including collective bargaining agreements, force consolidation of schools, townships, cities and counties and, unbelievably, unilaterally remove local elected officials.

. . . Unbelievably, the bill even allows Snyder to appoint a corporation as the emergency manager. . . Even more outrageous is the fact that Snyder’s budget creates the crisis by eliminating most of the state financial aid from local schools and local governments that many of them will be in dire straits. So, then, as [Rachel] Maddow points out, the governor who created the crisis can declare an emergency and decide what’s best for an entire town. No one can question it because the emergency manager can suspend the elected officials and even remove the town’s incorporation all together.

The state Senate passed the bill by a 26-12 margin today. The legislation now returns to the House, which already had passed it, to approve minor changes made by the Senate.

To recap, the governor has the power to withdraw state funds from town budgets, leaving towns in financial crisis. The governor may then declare the town in financial emergency and single-handedly appoint a crisis manager for the town. The crisis manager, be it person or firm, will be given the power to cancel existing contracts and agreements, award new contracts in any way he sees fit, and dismiss duly elected officials.

Are we still living in America, or have we traveled through some warped time machine to pre-WWII Germany with Hitler rising? Is there any bigger threat to democracy than the power to dismiss duly elected officials??

As global warming, peak everything, and financial melt-down begin to affect our lives in direct and measurable ways, we will face one crisis after another. It is how we face these crises that will determine whether we live out our lives in honor and grace or whether we descend into some kind of nightmarish replay of history's worst moments. So I ask myself, is this how America is going to meet the challenges that are now inevitable??? My only hope is that this move in Michigan is sooooo egregious that these new American fascists will be seen for what they are.

And if there is anyone out there who still thinks we are not going to be challenged again and again by the changes that have already been set in motion, try spending a few hours researching it yourself -- this site contains a wealth of information -- factual, real stuff, not the 'stay positive' wishful thinking that ignores reality. Then go buy yourself a pitch fork. You might want to try your hand at growing your own food . . . and you might need it when the zombies come.

The Mythos of Sophia

a Pagan tale of how things came to be

There was great rejoicing in the Pleroma, home to the high Gods and Goddesses, for Christos, the shining God of Light, had taken Sophia, the lovely Goddess of Wisdom, as his bride and partner for all eternity.

As the newly-wed couple lay side by side amongst the stars, they began to dream, and what they dreamed became manifest. Christos dreamed he was a star forming out of the gases of the galaxy, and he named his star-self Sol. In his dreaming, he invited his closest friends to join him, and gathered about himself Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. But none was as lovely as his bride, Sophia, who dreamed the planet, Gaia, and who placed at her planetary heart a piece of Sol himself, a molten core of fire and light.

As the newly dreamt Gaia took the dust of stars and molded it about her blood red heart, forming her planetary body, she was visited by each of the orbiting deities, all of whom paid their respects to the beautiful bride and bestowed upon her the most precious gifts they had to offer.

Neptune was the first to visit; he filled the deepest parts of the Goddess with salty seas, a primordial soup seething with the potential for life. From these seas, Sol lifted clouds to rain out the sweet waters of lake and stream and flow in rivers back to the oceans from which they came. Next was Uranus; he presented Gaia with the gift of air that she might bear living, breathing children. He charged the air with blue and called it Sky, stirring in the shifting shapes of cloud, the glorious pinks, purples and oranges of sunrise and sunset, the moody grays of rain and storm, the winter whites of snow and ice, and the electric streaks and booming voice of lightning and thunder. Luna, Sophia’s little sister, took it upon herself to reflect the light of Sol in Gaia’s nighttime skies, and to remain in close orbit about her beloved sister. And Venus, Sophia’s dearest friend, gifted Gaia with great beauty and the incomparable ability to love.

Christos saw that it was good. And so he planted his seed of life on the emerging planet, and it took root and began to grow in a myriad of fantastic shapes and forms, each more miraculous than the last. Sophia dreamed on and her dreams became the many children of Gaia, creatures of sea and land and sky. For his gift, Saturn clothed the dreaming Sophia with a cloak of living green that her animal children might have food and shelter, and Mercury brought flight to the creatures of air that her sky children might soar above it all.

Enthralled with the many wondrous children they had conceived, Christos formed an image of his god-self, naming the image Mesotes. He sent Mesotes to walk the surface of Gaia and to breathe spirit into each of her children, ensuring that none should ever die. And to them he whispered the Way to Be, each according to its kind.

For many eons, Sophia lay dreaming, content in the manifestations of Gaia. She dreamed colossal creatures whose footsteps were like thunder, and enormous plants that blanketed Gaia with astonishing forms. She took the energy of Sol, squeezed it into pure carbon, and stashed it in secret places deep within her. She formed new mountains from the depths of her heart, and broke apart continents to suit her whims. But there was in her a kernel of discontent, and this kernel began to grow. Gaia was lonely. Her children were magnificent, but they knew Her not. She longed for a child to share Her dreaming, a child who would know Her love and return it. And so She began a new dream, a dream of Anthropos. Of all Gaia’s children, Anthropos was unique, for he alone was gifted with nous, the divine knowing, the ability to imagine and create.

With the birth of Anthropos, Christos celebrated His newest child, sending Mesotes to give not only everlasting spirit, but to implant in each an immortal seed of light. And to Anthropos alone was the Way to Be left untold, for this newest child was gifted with free will and an inner compass to find his own Way.

The deities of the solar system likewise rejoiced in this birth and came with gifts of tribute. To Anthropos they pledged celestial guidance and promised to mark each birth with favors of their influence. Moreover, Mars gifted Anthropos with the ability to defend himself against the more fierce of the animal people. When the gift of Mars spiraled from defense to offense and from offense to war, Jupiter tempered it with gifts of his own -- a sense of justice that Gaia and her children might find their way back to harmony when conflicts arose, and the gift of laughter that all things might be kept in perspective.

In the beginning, all was well. Anthropos shared the earth with the plant and animal people and walked in harmony with Gaia, loving and being loved in return. But as Anthropos grew, he became rebellious and disdained the wisdom of his Mother. Alienated from his Mother and frightened by his own growing power, Anthropos began to dream dreams that bound him and made him feel secure. In this way, the Archons were born.

The Archons Anthropos created existed outside the harmony of Gaia and they were jealous. They envied Anthropos his nous, and they envied Gaia her dreams. And so they determined to destroy that which they could not share. They whispered in the ears of Anthropos and led him to believe great falsehoods. They told him that Yahweh, the Arch Deceiver, was the one Creator of All and that He demanded blind faith and absolute obedience. They told Anthropos that Yahweh had given him dominion over all creation and that Gaia belonged to him, not he to her. They admonished Anthropos that he was to be fruitful and multiply and at the same time warned him that mankind had been tainted with the sin of knowing and that only by grace could he be saved from his own corrupt nature.

Christos saw the troubled dreams of Anthropos and sent Mesotes to awaken his beloved child. Mesotes warned Anthropos against the false teachings of the Archons and admonished that 'by their fruits you shall know them.' He told Anthropos that the kingdom of heaven was within him and that life everlasting was his birthright. He reminded him of the brotherhood of Man and that what he did for the least of Gaia's children, he did for Gaia herself. But the Archons were clever and they distorted the words of Mesotes. These distorted words turned Anthropos from all the beauty and pleasures of Gaia and promised him an afterlife wherein his self-sacrifice would be vindicated. Then they taught him to be both victim and perpetrator and assured him that through suffering would he be redeemed.

Anthropos listened to the Archons and followed their teachings, which led him to commit unspeakable atrocities and which caused himself unbearable pain and sorrow. Estranged from his true relationship to the Mother, Anthropos ravaged his own home, murdering, plundering, and befouling all that which was pure. He was fruitful and multiplied until his numbers overran Gaia, annihilating many of the plant and animal tribes that shared Gaia’s dreaming. With the hubris of his adolescent rebellion inflamed by the false teachings of the Archons, Anthropos came close to destroying not only the abundance and beauty of Gaia, but his own existence as well. Yet never did Gaia stop loving him, and never did She turn away.

The ending of this story has yet to be told. Mother Gaia is getting restless and sends Her rumblings to warn Anthropos, for we are sleep-walking toward the edge of an unfathomable abyss. She calls to us all to leave off our adolescent rebellion and grow into the full power and wisdom of our adulthood.

Awake and rejoice, for you are a child of Gaia, gifted with nous and a seed of light. Awake and know your Mother -- know Her beauty, Her abundance, Her magnificent diversity of form, and the love with which She sustains all life incarnate. Awake and know the web which is life and recognize that what happens to one happens to all. Awake to live in reverence and gratitude, evolving with our planetary Mother to our proper place amongst the stars.

The Way to Be

It's been a while . . . I ran out of things to say and so I've let it ride. But about a year and a half ago, I became a first-time grandparent, and that has changed my perspective on things. Which is good. New perspective is always good.

I started thinking the other day about what I've learned over the past 60 years. If my granddaughter were to do something totally atypical of granddaughters and ask, "Gramma, tell me something true," what would I say? What advice would I offer? I decided to come up with a list of ten . . . er . . . not commandments . . . but suggestions . . . for the Way to Be.

Well, I've made my list. It is a lot longer than ten . . . and it keeps growing. None of these suggestions are original, but I like having them together in one place so that I can read through them on occasion; it is clear that these are lessons I have yet to learn myself. Maybe I should start by following my own advice. Or trying to.

The Way to Be
or the lessons I’m still trying to learn

• Be yourself fully and completely. This sounds easy, but it is not. It takes great strength, great courage, a sense of adventure, and awareness of the choices you are making. And never be less than you are -- especially not for the sake of others. Diminishing yourself does no one a favor.

• Pay attention. This one is especially difficult. It requires that you live a duality -- focusing on what is at hand while being aware of what is going on around you. First of all, pay attention to your senses -- what do you see? What do you smell? What do you hear? When you eat, focus on the taste and texture of your food. As for feeling, it seems to me that there are three levels. The first level is external -- what sensations is your skin registering? The second is internal and has to do with pressure, pain, temperature, comfort and discomfort. The third level is emotional. As observer, it is your task just to appreciate all three levels leaving aside any judgments. Then go beyond your senses and pay attention to the feelings and reactions of others. Pay attention to the choices you are making. Pay attention to your self-talk. And at the same time, pay attention to what you are doing, how you are doing it, and the possible consequences. I told you it was especially difficult!

• Be considerate. There are times when kindness is more important than truth. And there are times when truth is kindness. There are times when the needs of others will be more important than your own, and times when your own needs are more important than those of others. It will not always be easy to know the difference. So take time to consider. Be considerate.

• Be respectful. To respect is to see clearly and acknowledge true nature. To respect, one must not underestimate nor overestimate nor ascribe false characteristics. To respect a bear is to know the strengths, the weaknesses, and the wildness of bear, and to act accordingly. To respect another human is to know his strengths, weaknesses, and intentions, and to act accordingly.

• Be happy. The key to happiness is a loving, grateful heart. So be open to love -- not just human love and animal love, but love all the little things that make life a pleasure. Love the feel of wind on your cheek, the coo of the dove, the exhilaration of jumping into cold water, the taste of the first summer peach, the strength of your body. Love Mother Earth, and be grateful every day for the glorious gifts of life incarnate.

• Be the change you want in this world. I didn’t say this, Ghandi did. And it bears repeating. If you want a kinder, gentler world, then start by being kinder and gentler. If you want a more beautiful world, then start by creating and preserving beauty. Whatever you want for the future, begin by living it today.

• Do the right thing, not the easy thing. You will sleep better at night.

• Both give and receive with grace whether it be praise or help or gifts of the heart. Don’t be stingy with words of love and don’t be afraid to ask for help when you need it.

• Let yourself be wild and crazy. Be serious when serious is called for, but dance, laugh, sing and act silly every chance you get.

• Don’t worry. Worry poisons today with fears about tomorrow. Do what you need to do and let the future unfurl as it will. Have confidence that whatever happens, you will find a way to deal with it.

• Focus on the solution, not the problem. Don’t spend time banging your head against a wall -- it’s not only painful, it’s stupid. Find a way to live with the wall, or go over the wall, or around it, or under it, or turn and go in a whole different direction.

• Don’t take it personally. Life can be hard. People can be difficult. Circumstances can be challenging. For all of us. And remember that other people are going through their own stuff even though you might not see it.

• Do the best you can with what you have, right here, right now. Wishing things were different than they are is a recipe for unhappiness.

• Take responsibility. You are the star of your own life and responsible for the choices you make.

• Reserve the right to change your mind. Changing your mind is good. It means you have grown or seen things through new eyes or gotten new information or just . . . changed your mind.

• Know that life is both an adventure and an experiment. Don’t be afraid to try new things, and don’t be discouraged if you fail. Failure and mistakes are golden opportunities to learn something new, and learning new things is critical to the adventure.

• Know that nothing is easy. And nothing is more satisfying than a challenge well met or work well done.

• Know that everything is relative. Try thinking of ‘old-age,’ ‘hunger,’ ‘health,’ ‘poverty,’ or ‘a bad day’ from someone less fortunate’s perspective and you’ll see what I mean.

• Know when to fight, when to cede, when to walk away, and when to run. Don’t fight unless you have to, but if you must fight, fight to win.

• Know that change is inevitable. So be prepared and be flexible, and remember that this, too, shall pass.

• Know that nothing is 100% true, not even this. Question everything, including what is written here. Ask yourself, "Is this true? What are the underlying assumptions and are they true? Is there a better way of doing this or a different way of seeing this?" Learn to recognize wishful thinking for what it is. And take the time to separate the true things from the seemingly true. Remember that reality is not Tinker Bell; it does not require your belief.

• Know that death is inevitable. Life is not about preventing death, it is about living fully while you have the chance. And that chance is now. Go for it!