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I read this line in a wonderful book, Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts. Often I find myself thinking of its meaning, and how it fits into my own life. What do others of you think?
“Every act of love is a promise to forgive”
Leaving a space open like this is a wonderful idea.
I get some of my best ideas when I am quiet and open with myself, especially if I’m also active in my life.
This post makes me want to offer a space on my own blog, where we can be open with our various versions “quiet” or “active.” I don’t know what that would do for viewers, but I imagine I’d feel hopeful and connected, and I like what that does for my own creativity.
Thank you.
I moved to a new house yesterday. I have roommates again and I hope my next place will be mine. I feel like I need to take things easy and not be so hard on myself, but as an overachiever I feel like a failure. 27 y.o. still renting a room… I asked God to take my hand and guide and and that’s how I ended up moving, something I didn’t plan for just two weeks ago. I trust in Universe and believe I’ll be okay.
Life is so different from my childhood when I played in the stream behind my home and built forts with my brother in the gully. Our access to the outside world, aside from school, was the telephone and our TV. My thoughts, my conscience, and the choices before me were pretty straightforward.
What I see as relevant today is finding a way to allow peace to surface in our souls and listen to our personal voice of conscience when we are bombarded with massive amounts of information every day.
I’m incredibly troubled for infants, children and teens who suffer from repression, forced labor, or from the emotional pain they suffer at the hands of violent, self-serving adults who act without conscience or the desire for peace. I’m not going to cite sources. There are many. This problem is one that we all know about or should. If we can not care for the least of those among us–who in this case are the children–then our civilization is poor indeed. It looks like many of you know each other here. I’m new. Hello.
Really no, I only like to talk with my felling
In response to Paulo’s “Wounded by Love Agreement” (see link in his twitter bar):
Thinking about this idea of wounds and of scars, particularly of those obtained on the “battlefields” of love: I find the prevailing attitude in today’s society rather strange in a way – when it comes to love, we tend to want to hide our wounds, disguise or cover up our scars and pretend they are not there. If someone does open up and show their scars to the world, people tend to label that person as having “too much baggage,” saying that perhaps it would be wise to avoid a relationship with such a person, as though the visible marks of those old wounds render that that individual a little more dangerous, untrustworthy, or somehow unpredictable. I contrast that with the attitudes that many traditional societies once held in respect to the scars real warriors obtained in battle.
Recently I have been reading a biography of the great Shawnee leader and warrior, Tecumseh. Of course there are no photos of Tecumseh, who lived at the turn of the nineteen century, but there are many descriptions of him, by allies as well as enemies. By the end of his career, having waged a lifelong war against the encroachment of European settlers upon his people’s lands, Tecumseh was said to have been covered in battle scars from head to foot. And yet he did not hide those scars – he wore them with honor and with dignity. And all the descriptions of Tecumseh, given on both sides, seem to be similar: everyone who encountered him was greatly impressed by his self-assurance as well as his staunch beauty. One white soldier, for example, described Tecumseh as “one of the finest looking men I ever saw.” Apparently, in the eyes of onlookers from both sides, Tecumseh’s many scars – the visible signs of old battle wounds – did not mar his beauty but only added to it.
So why is it that in our society we are expected to act as though we have never been deeply wounded in love, and if we have been wounded, we are supposed to take every measure possible to hide those scars? If love is a battlefield, I think we should wear our scars openly, as did Tecumseh and the other warriors of his day. We should not be arrogant, but, at the same time, we should not have to feel ashamed that we have sustained injuries. We don’t have to be bitter and resentful about them either, going around telling others about who did what to us and how we have the right to hate them for it. Warriors of old, those for whom war was a career, went into battle expecting to sustain at least some wounds – that, after all, is the nature of war. There was also a certain code of respect, even between enemies. This same code can be carried over into the battlefields of love – just because someone injures us does not mean that we have to despise them, or even blame them, for it. Our scars, after all, are not signs of our failures; they are, rather, symbols of the fact that we have tried, that we have been brave enough to enter the battlefield over and over again, despite the dangers. One does not get scars from sitting on the sidelines or running to hide every time the slightest threat of danger appears. One obtains scars by plunging headlong into love, even over and over again, each time with one’s whole heart and soul bared.
In Tecumseh’s final battle against the US army, in which he and his troops were outnumbered almost four to one, he was allied with a British general by the name of Proctor. When the first line of warriors on Tecumseh and Proctor’s side fell, Proctor promptly mounted his horse and ran for the hills, fleeing the battlefield. Tecumseh stayed and continued to rally and encourage the troops, both British and Native American. Tecumseh was killed in that battle, but he is honored as a hero to this day. He lost the war, and yet he won, because, unlike Proctor, he stayed and fulfilled his destiny, a destiny which he felt confident about and knew to be his own.
How many times, on the battlefields of love, have we mounted our horse, like General Proctor, and ran for the hills? How much more noble to stand and throw ourselves headlong into the endeavor, despite the odds and regardless of the dangers! And afterward, if we have scars, to wear them, neither with bitterness and resentment nor in shame, but with dignity and with honor and even a little pride at having at least loved wholly, even if we lost.
Thank you for sharing with us, Paulo, your thoughts on the wounded in love. There is so much wisdom to be found in your words.
Sincerely,
Savita
Hi Savita,
How are you? I like what you have written. Even though Pride is considered a deadly sin, it’s important to be proud… to an extent. Igor was proud, and wore his wounds proudly, although perhaps just a tad bit Too proud!
So… what’s going on in your life, how is your yoga class coming along, or did you make your move already?
love
C.
A fitting song Savita!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NEHJqxJX0bc
Sometimes we need to step back and see the bigger picture of what is happening. This is the hardest, when what we are looking at tugs at our hearts. But it is the only way to really be able to see. I am trying to step back and see the whole picture of what is happening in Iran.
Love,
Sherry
http://evolutioninconsciousness.blogspot.com/2009/06/where-do-you-play-it-small.html
Here are a few excerpts from a recent blog post:
Lately I’ve been hearing about bloggers and other public figures who dread cleaning out their inbox because of the ugliness they often find there. This is no surprise of course but it’s a lot easier to avoid negativity when you’re in the role of seeker than when you become one of the people others seek out….
I’ve always felt vulnerable inviting people to read and comment on the thoughts I’ve expressed in writing (and I have stacks of poems and journals hidden away under my bed to prove it). Sharing with the entire world via the internet is a whole new kind of exposure that has produced a new kind of anxiety about what it means to think, write and share in public spaces.
Please visit http://hyperwise.wordpress.com to read more.
This is the latest from my blog..
I was staring at the sky sitting in my balcony, suddenly a thought struck my mind.. Newton Rules My Life. Let’s not misinterpret I’m going to talk something scientific.
I presume, you too remember Newton’s third law of motion. I’ve quizzed hundreds of people and everyone was able to tell me in some form. If you can’t recollect.. you too quiz someone. You will get the answer.
Suppose you are waiting at a signal to turn it green. Parallel to your car, you see a guy looking at you from his car. .. To read full post, please visit http://chantinglake.blogspot.com
Read the rest of your post on your blog. Wonderful! Third law: for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. Yes! I very much needed to be reminded of this today. I am not pleased lately with the tone of voice that my young daughter uses with me sometimes, and I have been thinking along these same lines: I probably need to observe more closely and censor the tone of voice that I use with her when I am frustrated or angry, because, more then anything, she is probably just mirroring what she hears coming from me. I cannot expect her to change her tone of voice and be more respectful of me until I first change my own tone and become more respectful of her.
Thank you, Vivek, for reminding me of this and also offering an easy way to bring the concept to mind: Just recite to myself Newton’s third law. Or perhaps, even better yet, I should teach it to her and tell her to recite it to me any time that she feels my tone of voice is becoming disrespectful: for every action there is an equal an opposite reaction. This, I imagine, will cause me to stop and think twice about what the consequences may be.
Well
Dont know if is right.
Here I am
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_FRWvNGqIbA
Dear Alexandra I was so happy to see you talking.. Unfortunately there is something wrong with the sound.. Hopefully I will be able later to listen to you.
LOVE,
Thelma.
Hi Alexandra,
Lovely video! It’s great to see you talk and I appreciate so much to read all your comments every day. We have so much fun here.
Love,
Heart
Hello dear Alexandra,
wonderful to hear and see you! It’s great to have you share with us here on the blog.
Blessings,
C.
Yeah Alexandra!!!Great to see you!
My thoughts are with the people of Iran who are standing up and making themselves heard around the world, the students risking their own safety and putting reports and films, that the international journalists are not allowed to film,out on the net so they are heard and seen.
Mine too. Brave people.
I admire the people in Iran who are letting their voices be heard via social networking and blogging! The world watching!
Thank God for the internet!
Dear Neela,
Perhaps you should do as Paulo said on staring at a white wall. This will help to stop your thoughts. It will be hard, but it will get easier as you keep doing it.
You must be sensitive and can feel people’s despair. Just know that you are a center of creation, and you can alter things within and around you!
Love.
A light
I looked you
My eyes were fused with your eyes
My heart was light with your energy
Two seconds of your passion were for me
Your are the light of my days
Ro, you made me cry again. You are a poet.
LOVE,
Thelma.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRoUNU2RJnk
With much love
The situation in Iran is pretty bad, but good in a way. The Entire country is rebelling. All university faculty are speaking against the regime. The streets are FULL of people. There is talks of shutting down the market, which would just kill the economy. Chaos is necessary sometimes. The votes are CLEARLY manipulated.
Nika, they have cut all phone lines and cell phones in Iran. And the internet too, only a few people are able to get through. A shooting also took place, quite a few people died.