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In addition I had these thoughts just to add.
If you ever have had a brother, you understand that love is something that in the long-term respects and holds to their own heart, that which you reach for in honesty and truthfully.
At work I found it hard to maintain that ‘plight’at first because of the entourage of negative thinking in the office environment. It seemed so competitative rather than supportive and inter-dependent.
I was a very inter-dependent sibling I have to say – it was all about mutual support et al.
Whilst drinking coffee and watching the growing hen chicks in the garden I watched alarmed at how two weeks on they are turning from little angels into little devils: pecking each other, chasing away from food, the males dominating food time. It was only when they come together to drink from the same water bowl that it seems something more natural and mutually recognising/respectful is noticeable.
I won’t go into water rights/access right now….
but i just felt it poignant to mention in addition to my reply.
best wishes -
In response Katerina –
I would say that if you were at the end of the day to weigh up having been accountable and honest with your work versus the reverse: what would you personally feel better about for being -
there are yes, everyday conflictions for trying to live a good life – infuriating at times… making you even wonder if good aint so wonderful or worthwhile as it is hyped to be.
but a life full of the ‘reverse’ is NOTHING compared to a minutes worth of honest accountability.
Its like choosing to live in light, not darkness.
Perhaps one has to feel less vulnerable and more confident when the call to stand in the light comes, bringing you out of the dark.
and as a believer in a higher power – I would say that i answer to Him alone and not the criticisms or might of the worker community.
If you have a passion or goal to meet in an interest, then the journey through that ‘barrier’ is one of joy and not struggle… for light is always more giving and life assuring than darkness.But sometimes we hope to share maybe the passion, and can feel let down if others do not respond even mildly!! So again, use that time when you are following your dream to grow in confidence so that little by little the ‘reverse’ situation becomes something more conceptual and less defeating.
I feel the torrent today – but enjoying the work i do, and have always planned to do since age 7, is just enough to keep me moving on and through the difficult tides and currents. I also feel that with time and as the human matures, we all strive ideally for honesty and transparency. It is maybe only pain and rejection that has led us to the place of feeling a sense of loss of hope in the first place anyway. So I reverberate your concern and reply: live for light and from the heart. xx
Santosh, you are right, but from that pain we grow and become lighter, and soon the pain will not touch us and only then can we REALLY love, love life, love our fellow spirits, love nature, love the universe. Escape from the cage of conventional ideas about love and relationships; allow youself to give love to those that can accept it, and use it wisely.
Mi accorgo che nel piccolo giardino che è davanti a casa, si è formato un grande cuore sotto l’abete, la neve sotto l’albero non ci è arrivata e quindi ha creato questa bellissima forma. Mi è sembrato bello, l’ho guardato per un pò e ho voluto pensare che era un messaggio verso l’amore, mi faceva piacere, godevo proprio.
Ultimamente nel mio blog ho parlato molto di modi di vivere, di cose che colpiscono dentro, ho cercato di parlare all’anima, un pò direttamente, e, mi rendo conto che sono i blog più spesso commentati.
C’è bisogno d’amore, tanto. La gente è stanca di correre e basta, di guardare accadere sempre lo stesso schifo, di vedere che non cambia mai niente. Eppure sono certa che qualcosa stia cambiando, anche se non si vede,dentro di noi, si, perchè c’è bisogno d’amore, d’illuminazione.
Ognuno di noi fin dalla nascita inizia il proprio viaggio, con eventi che spesso non comprendiamo, perchè la negatività e il dolore non si comprendono. Talvolta si vivono vite altrui, ci rendiamo conto che non ci appartengono.
Invece di trascorrere un giorno dopo l’altro a caso, facendoci trascinare dagli eventi, dovremmo scegliere noi cosa fare, il cibo che vogliamo mangiare, passo dopo passo nel nostro viaggio.
Alcuni prendono sentieri tortuosi che li fanno procedere a fatica e lentamente, altri scelgono più consciamente e li portano più vicino alla vera essenza del viaggio.
Per me l’illuminazione è mollare tutte le cose che non vanno bene, che sono diventate inutili e dannose, quelle cose che formano una barriera contro le cose positive. Bisogna lasciare che tutto ciò in cui non crediamo più vadano via una dopo l’altra e pensare seriamente ‘ io non ho bisogno di questo, non ci credo più!’ chiedersi davvero se ci si crede ancora, quindi fare una scelta conscia e sincera. Ma è difficile essere sempre sinceri con sè stessi, si è diventati ipocriti.
Ma se ci si riesce, allora capiremo che ogni singola cosa in cui crediamo è stata una scelta e può essere vera o no, oppure vera per me ma non per un altro, perchè alla fine ognuno ha il proprio sistema di credenze. Dovremmo essere governati dalla nostra coscienza, dal cuore, dalla verità. Questo è il mio viaggio, più siamo consapevoli e più scelte consce si fanno, e più facilmente e velocemente andrà il nostro viaggio e più cose positive arriveranno nella nostra vita, una salute migliore, una vita migliore. Ogni cosa cambierà.
Questo significa essere illuminati, dare ascolto al cuore e non ciò che abbiamo attorno.
Buon viaggio a tutti.
Tomorrow will be having a fore-interview through the phone. I don’t know why I decided to go into this page to write all this.It’s certainly not the 1st time for me to go for interview,and it’s only a tele-interview.then why is my heart are not listening to me?why?……
“And this too,shall pass away.”
Cool~
who are listening to me?
“If you want something,all the universe conspire to help you to achive it.”-The Alchemist
Send a four-leaves clover to myself,and wish myself some luck.
Is it possible to thrive in today’s world by always striving to do your best with each task (regardless of whether you like the task or not) and to be honest and transparent with your actions? I ask this because I feel that honesty is not appreciated or even welcomed and accountability seems to be something out of a fiction novel. Just curious to see whether more people out there think similarly. And I’m even more interested to see comments from those of you who feel these attributes of honesty and accountability are alive and well in our society today.
Thank you, dear[est] Paul from Austria, for the information. Her work for the respect of Human Rights has placed her amongst Heroes.
Dear Butterfly65, the answer is: It is not necessary to have everybody love us .. They are free to do what … they want! You, I think, the only thing you can do is … love them but, most of all, love yourself. You deserve it,
LOVE,
Thelma
The Story of Music & Dance
by
Demetrius Andre
Once upon a time, there was a girl named Music and a boy named Dance.
They did not know each other. In fact, they lived a long ways away from one another.
One day, Music was in her family’s garden tending to one of her favorite flowers – a gardenia. Music was very sad. She thought this was peculiar because anytime she felt sad, pruning and watering in the garden would always make her feel better.
She stared at Gardenia and said, “Gardy, why do I feel so melancholy?”
“Because you’re missing something important in your life,” said Gardy.
“What am I missing?”
“That’s your responsibility to find out. I’m a gardenia. I know what I’m supposed to do with my life.”
“How do I find what I’m missing?” asked Music.
“You’ve already taken the first step on your journey – you’ve wondered.”
“What is the next step I should take?” asked Music.
“You should consider going on an adventure.”
“An adventure?!”
“Yes. An adventure. It’s something that all you humans want and need, but few of you ever muster up the courage to go on one. You’re a rather cowardly bunch.”
“Well, thanks,” said Music sarcastically.
Music decided that she would go on that adventure, as suggested by Gardenia. She asked her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Inspiration, for some traveling money. They gave her what she needed for the journey, hugged and kissed her for a long time (as was their custom, because you can never have too many hugs and kisses), and watched as she faded into the distance between the trees and mountains.
Music’s journey was very long and she encountered many dangerous people and situations that tested her faith. There were people that stole her money, bullies that called her really mean names, and others that told her she was wasting her time. There were also others who tried to discourage Music.
“You will never find what you’re looking for,” said a man named Pessimism.
“Yes, I will,” said Music.
“No you won’t. And this is why – You are all alone, no one understands you, you’re different, and you’ve been on this journey for a long time and you haven’t found what you’re missing in your life yet. Why keep going? Just stop now, turn around and go home. Don’t you miss your parents?”
“I-I do,” said Music hesitantly.
“Then do what’s best for you – Go home.”
Music thought about this. She was very tired, lonely, and she missed Mr. and Mrs. Inspiration very much. She missed the good food her parents used to make for her every night. She missed the family garden. She missed Gardenia.
At that precise moment, she remembered what Gardenia said about humans.
“An adventure. It’s something that all you humans want and need, but few of you ever muster up the courage to go on one. You’re a rather cowardly bunch.”
It was then that Music clenched her fists, looked Pessimism square in his eyes with a fire from inside her that she never felt before. She gritted her teeth. Then relaxed. She unclenched her fists.
“Get out of my way Pessimism. Leave me.”
“But…”
“I said GO,” said Music with a calm intensity.
Pessimism looked at her.
“I’ll be back,” he said.
“I’ll be ready,” said Music. Then, just as fast as he arrived, he vanished.
Music inhaled and exhaled deeply. She did this for about five minutes and felt better. She was relaxed. Confident. She was ready to continue her journey. She then realized that Pessimism appeared at the moment she was considering giving up. I can be so silly, sometimes, she said to herself.
Then, something miraculous happened.
She had been walking for awhile when she saw a silhouette down the road. She squinted trying to get a better look at the figure that was approaching her. She stopped walking. And she waited. She waited to see if the distant shape would continue getting closer. It did. It got closer…and closer…and closer. She had waited for what seemed to be an eternity. She was perspiring relentlessly. The figure stopped right in front of her. It was a boy.
“Hello,” he said.
“Um, hi,” said Music.
“Hot day, isn’t it?”
“Yeah, I guess,” Music said with a tone of indifference. She wondered why people always talked about the weather as an icebreaker in conversation. There are so many more interesting things that two people could converse about, she thought.
She felt odd in this strangers presence. Odd, but immensely calm, and pleased. Pleased? Does anyone ever feel pleased around someone they don’t know? She was afraid due to the pleasure she felt in this boys’ presence.
“Who are you, and what do you want?! I’ve been a pilgrim on a long journey and have had my share of altercations with people who want to steal my belongings, call me rude names, and discourage me to no end! So I repeat, fair sir, what do you want?!”
The boy looked at her with delight in his eyes. He felt a glow in his heart that was very foreign to him. Music did not know it yet, but this boy had been looking for her – and she had been hoping for him.
“My name is Dance,” said Dance. “And I too have been on a long journey. I’ve encountered many dangers on my mission – many vagabonds who have also stolen from me and tested my faith while on this path. I miss my family and friends and have often felt like giving up. But every time I wanted to quit I remembered something that my father told me. He said, ‘Dance. You’re missing something in your life and you need to find out what that is. You are respected in your community for your physical fitness, prowess, and athletic ability towards movement. But you are empty because you rely too much on your own ability and you have not yet realized that all creation needs companions. Find what you’re missing and you will be whole.’”
“Your father sounds like a wise man,” said Music. Dance noticed the tenderness in her voice.
“He is,” said Dance with equal tenderness.
“This may sound weird, but I feel like I know you,” Music said – and she surprised herself because Music usually isn’t so deliberate and to-the-point. Music tends to be metaphoric.
“I knew who you were as soon as I saw you in the distance,” said Dance.
“And who am I? You don’t even know my name.”
Dance took a deep breath and said, “You are the woman who I expected to find. You are the companion that has haunted my dreams since childhood. And I know we only met a few moments ago, but…I love you.”
“I…love you,” Music said with a smile.
“What is your name?” asked Dance, returning the smile.
“Music,” replied Music.
~
And so it was – Music and Dance became best friends forever. They continued their journey together and met many amazing and peculiar people along the way. The difference is, when they encountered problems, dilemmas, unexpected deaths in their families, hard financial times, and things of that sort, they had each other to help deal and cope with the difficult circumstances.
They loved each other unconditionally – and they were inseparable.
Paul from Austria-
Thank you for that comment from the staff of Human Rights Watch.About fifty people were killed in that crash as well. Human Rights Watch can add my voice as well.
Watching a crow delicately walk along the roof tiles next door. Love nature. Need gun. Glossy-feathered interloper! Dog food stealer!
Crystal Ship, a beautiful poem, I hope to see more, inspiring.
xxxx
Today’s Quote-
“Life is Pain so is Love.”
Have a good day ! :)
The placement of this comment was inspired by Laurent, who informed us of this tragic loss…
Human Rights Watch Mourns Loss of Alison Des Forges
Leading Rwanda Expert Killed in Plane Crash
FEBRUARY 13, 2009
Alison’s loss is a devastating blow not only to Human Rights Watch but also to the people of Rwanda and the Great Lakes region.
It is with enormous sadness that Human Rights Watch announces the death of our beloved colleague Dr. Alison Des Forges, who was killed in the crash of Flight 3407 from Newark to Buffalo on February 12, 2009. Des Forges, senior adviser to Human Rights Watch’s Africa division for almost two decades, dedicated her life to working on Rwanda and was the world’s leading expert on the 1994 Rwanda genocide and its aftermath.
“Alison’s loss is a devastating blow not only to Human Rights Watch but also to the people of Rwanda and the Great Lakes region,” said Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch. “She was truly wonderful, the epitome of the human rights activist – principled, dispassionate, committed to the truth and to using that truth to protect ordinary people. She was among the first to highlight the ethnic tensions that led to the genocide, and when it happened and the world stood by and watched, Alison did everything humanly possible to save people. Then she wrote the definitive account. There was no one who knew more and did more to document the genocide and to help bring the perpetrators to justice.”
Des Forges, born in Schenectady, New York, in 1942, began working on Rwanda as a student and dedicated her life and work to understanding the country, to exposing the serial abuses suffered by its people and helping to bring about change. She was best known for her award-winning account of the genocide, “Leave None to Tell the Story,” and won a MacArthur Award (the “Genius Grant”) in 1999. She appeared as an expert witness in 11 trials for genocide at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, three trials in Belgium, and at trials in Switzerland, the Netherlands, and Canada. She also provided documents and other assistance in judicial proceedings involving genocide in four other national jurisdictions, including the United States.
Clear-eyed and even-handed, Des Forges made herself unpopular in Rwanda by insisting that the rebel Rwandan Patriotic Front forces, which defeated the genocidal regime, should also be held to account for their crimes, including the murder of 30,000 people during and just after the genocide. The Rwandan government banned her from the country in 2008 after Human Rights Watch published an extensive analysis of judicial reform there, drawing attention to problems of inappropriate prosecution and external influence on the judiciary that resulted in trials and verdicts that in several cases failed to conform to facts of the cases.
“She never forgot about the crimes committed by the Rwandan government’s forces, and that was unpopular, especially in the United States and in Britain,” said Roth. “She was really a thorn in everyone’s side, and that’s a testament to her integrity and sense of principle and commitment to the truth.”
Des Forges was not only admired but loved by her colleagues, for her extraordinary commitment to human rights principles and her tremendous generosity as a mentor and friend.
“Alison was the rock within the Africa team, a fount of knowledge, but also a tremendous source of guidance and support to all of us,” said Georgette Gagnon, Africa director at Human Rights Watch. “She was almost a mother to us all, unfailingly wise and reasonable, absolutely honest yet diplomatic. She never seemed to get stressed out, in spite of the extreme violence and horror she had to deal with daily. Alison felt the best way to make things better was to be relentlessly professional and scrupulously fair. She didn’t sensationalize; her style was to let the victims speak for themselves.”
Corinne Dufka, another colleague who worked closely with Des Forges, wrote: “She always found the time to listen and helped me see outside the box. Alison inspired me to be a better researcher, a better colleague, a more giving mentor and a more balanced human being. She was also funny – her sardonic sense of humor, usually accompanied with that sparkle in her eye, lightened our burden.”
An historian by training, Des Forges wrote her PhD thesis on Rwanda and spent most of her adult life working on the Great Lakes region, despite an early stint in China with her husband, Roger, a professor of history and China expert at the University of Buffalo.
Des Forges graduated from Radcliffe College in 1964 and received her PhD from Yale in 1972. She began as a volunteer at Human Rights Watch, but was soon working full-time on Rwanda, trying to draw attention to the genocide she feared was looming. Eventually, Roth had to insist she take a salary. She co-chaired an international commission looking at the rise of ethnic violence in the region and published a report on the findings several months before the genocide. Once the violence began, Des Forges managed to convince diplomats in Kigali to move several Rwandans to safety, including the leading human rights activist Monique Mujawamariya.
As senior adviser to the Africa division at Human Rights Watch since the early 1990s, Des Forges oversaw all research work on the Great Lakes region, but also provided counsel to colleagues across the region and beyond. She also worked very closely with the International Justice Program because of all her involvement with the Rwanda tribunal.
“The office of the prosecutor relied on Alison as an expert witness to bring context and background and detailed knowledge of the genocide,” Roth said. “Her expertise was sought again and again and again by national authorities on cases unfolding in their courts of individuals facing deportation, or on trial for alleged involvement in the genocide.”
Most recently, Des Forges was working on a Human Rights Watch report about killings in eastern Congo.
Des Forges leaves a husband, a daughter, and a son, three grandchildren, a brother and a sister-in-law. The staff of Human Rights Watch expressed their deepest condolences to her family and friends.
Today I am having a bad day, I am trying hard to be good and to be the human I want to be, but today I am failing, I feel I have been struggling to get up the hill for so many years, I feel I have been sucked dry of my energies, I know I will pull myself together again and tomorrow will be another day, but right now everything sucks and it is my own fault as I am too nice, I trust other people too much and believe in the good in others too much. I think it is too obvious to people and they use it. Each time I get used and hurt and I know it is all my own fault because I have to be less nice and start thinking more of my path my road to follow. And while I write this I wonder am I too selfish, do I want the impossible, am I too hard on myself? Sometimes I just do not know. I think I am just lost again for a bit and soon I will be on my way again. I just had to get that of my chest, thanks for reading my gobbledegook. And for giving me the opportunity to write here Paulo, so I can stay sane.
Hoy leí la edición N° 192 del guerrero de la luz (the second chance). Sólo quería agradecer tan hermoso relato, que llega (causalmente) en una etapa de mi vida en la que reviso las segundas y muchas más oportunidades que como persona y habitante de mi país (Venezuela) aparecen con frecuencia en mi camino.
Gracias por compartir estas experiencias edificantes, pues siempre hacen bien para el alma
Just a moment ago, I picked up Anthony de Mello’s “One Minute Wisdom” and randomly decided to look on the back. Perhaps it wasn’t so random, as I’d like to share what it says:
“Is there anything I can do to make myself enlightened?”
“As little as you can do to make the sun rise in the morning.”
“Then of what use are the spiritual exercises you prescribe?”
“To make sure you are not asleep when the sun begins to rise.”
The work we present, Utilitarianism was written by the English philosopher John Stuart Mill in his maturity, in 1863.
As a good utilitarian, Mill defines this trend as that would ensure the greatest possible happiness to human beings, avoiding punishment or pain. The search for happiness is common, then, to form the cornerstone of the philosophical.
John Stuart Mill was attracted to the utilitarian, nothing more and nothing less than Jeremy Bentham, the founder of the doctrine itself philosophical, who was a close friend of John’s father, Mr James Mill In writing this book, intended to overcome both his teacher to try to fill some gaps as he noted in this stream. Particularly excels in its approach, its view that the pursuit of happiness is not in itself a purely individual but, rather, in every sense of the word. By this interpretation of the utilitarian doctrine of Bentham, Stuart Mill is just wandered off into paths, which, curiously, were then analyzed by flow amplitude kropotkiana and anarchist theory of mutual support.
Both the work and the work of a writer, teacher and politician John Stuart Mill is huge. As the writer are numerous articles and essays published in magazines such as Westminster Review, founded by Jeremy Bentham, and the London and Westminster. In his essays, we can make reference to his essays on some unresolved issues in political economy, its system of logic, his Principles of Political Economy, his immortal On Liberty, his thoughts on parliamentary reform, his account of the parliamentary government ; consideration of the philosophy of Sir William Hamilton, his Auguste Comte and Positivism, its analysis of the problem of relations between England and Ireland, its enslavement of women as well as his autobiography.
His political work was evident when elected in 1865, Member of the House of Commons, and when one expresses concern about the issue of Ireland.
His academic work would be apparent when in 1866 he was appointed Rector of the University of St. Andrews.
John Stuart Mill died on May 8, 1873 leaving a vast legacy of humanity philosophical approaches useful for those seeking the establishment of a more fair and balanced.
Something quick coming from my head..
Thank you
White feathers and wounded souls,
Princes of ancient times.
Kings of the night,
Moon priestess and angels of light.
Gods and goddesses.
Oracles and miracles.
Timeless pictures of a growing love.
Wildness and passion,
Tortures and reason.
And even the goblins from your garden.
Silence can inspire as much as words.
And your eyes are just the one of the rising bird.
Dear you,I will never thank you enough,
To have given me confidence and well…maybe Love?
And the goblins are saying…
Shhhhut!
Oh…well.
:)
here is one delicate poem of Baudelaire.I like it a lot,speaks about symbols.
Charles Baudelaire
Correspondences
Nature is a temple in which living pillars
Sometimes give voice to confused words;
Man passes there through forests of symbols
Which look at him with understanding eyes.
Like prolonged echoes mingling in the distance
In a deep and tenebrous unity,
Vast as the dark of night and as the light of day,
Perfumes, sounds, and colors correspond.
There are perfumes as cool as the flesh of children,
Sweet as oboes, green as meadows
— And others are corrupt, and rich, triumphant,
With power to expand into infinity,
Like amber and incense, musk, benzoin,
That sing the ecstasy of the soul and senses.
Today, after so many emotional encounters, while I was sitting in a library, in Tartu, I had a feeling that told me to go and find a book. It was a book of Paulo Coelho. It was the first book that connected me with his work, and the so called ‘coincidence’ that led me to it at the first place.
It was a time when I started to open my eyes and heart to the world and this book encouraged me to do it. It encouraged me to go whenever I need to go, how ever I need to do it, and to always, always believe in Yourself.
I looked up the code for the book, I went to look for it, in the library… I walked pass the shelves and finally found the right one. There was the book that helped me to open my heart and mind to another world, to a world that at that time of my life I didn’t know yet existed. Very intense, and may seem silly, but it helped to change my life and it was an enormous inspiration for me. I remember reading it in one night and one night only, because I couldn’t just stop and close the book. I read it to the morning light, and I remember, that when I got to the last paragraph, I had a smile on my face and felt deep thankfulness that this book just happened to fall in my hands.
Back to this book I was holding in my hands now, yet again. As we say in Estonia, sometimes, that ‘a book has been read to a cabbage’. It symbolises basically two things. The first one is that it directly shows that this book has been read so many times. For this book, in the library, it meant it has been in so many hands, it has spoken to so many different persons… and probably in different ways. Secondly, it hints, that there is something in this book, that You can never get enough of, You can never get bored by it or forget it. And for me, both of these views are true.
Because it gave me a boost of getting the final courage to step fully in life and follow my dreams, have an open heart towards life, and open eyes to see things that I normally wouldn’t see.
So, again, I thank You for this “coincidence”.
And I thank Paulo Coelho for writing this book at that time he did.
Some quotes from the book that I’m holding in my hands once again, the book from the library of Tartu:
1. Every day, God gives us, including with the sun, a moment, when we have the ability of changing everything that makes us unhappy…
2. Who turns their attention fully to their daily life, will find the magical moment…
3. Pathetic is the person, who is afraid to risk. They won’t live though disappointments, collapses of illusions and sufferings, as those, who have a dream to follow…
4. There are many ways to kill yourself. Those, who are trying to kill the body, are going against the law of the Lord. Those, who try to kill the soul, are also going against the law of the Lord, although their way of fault is not so perceptive in humans eyes…
5. I know, that love is similar to a dam: if You let a little crack to evolve, through where the little rivulet can pass through, it will bring down the whole construction little by little – and at one moment no one will be able to control this strong current.
I translated this from the Estonian version that was given out in estonian language, and in Estonia in 2003 and translated from Portugese to Estonian by Kai Aareleid. Hopefully I captured the right thoughts in the right ways, with right words, by doing so.
Love,
L.L.
I discovered a few things yesterday: the difference between the two types of dreaming(REM and non REM dreaming) by experiencing how I feel after either.
I also discovered that I need to be ill before I can let myself rest during the day or I feel guilty for doing it.
I also learned that resting when you are ill brings insights you miss when well.