1. NEVER MENTION A BULLY
2. SKIP THE LIES AND FOCUS ON THE TRUTH,
3. REPEAT THE TRUTH OFTEN, SIMPLY, IN PLAIN ENGLISH,
4. COMPLIMENT YOUR FRIENDS, THOSE YOU ADMIRE, EVEN YOUR OPPONENTS WHEN THEY MAKE VALID POINTS,
5. WHEN SOMEONE BULLIES YOU, SHOWER THEM WITH CARE AT FIRST, AND SEE WHAT HAPPENS ,
6. IF THEY PERSIST, CUT THEM OFF, SILENCE THEM, ELIMINATE THEM FROM YOUR PRESENCE, BUT DO NOT BECOME THEM OR STOOP TO THEIR LEVEL,
7. STOP CURSING, IT IS NOT DOING ANYONE ANY GOOD,
8. MAKE YOUR EVERY WORD EDUCATIONAL, INSTRUCTIONAL, FIND THE WORDS TO RISE BEYOND THIS TIME AND SPACE, SOMETHING LASTING, SOMETHING YOU WOULD LIKE TO HEAR FROM A HERO,
9. BE HEROIC, FOR THIS IS YOUR TIME IN HISTORY, AND THE OLD HEROES HAVE PASSED FROM THE SCENE,
10. OFFER HOPE, NOT FOOLISH DREAMS, BUT REALISTIC STEPS TOWARD SOMETHING, ANYTHING, BETTER.
…
Every human being,
Is a walking encyclopedia,
Infinite indigenous knowledge,
Of local realities,
That no one,
Will ever,
Fully know.
Why do we walk past?
We are discoverers,
Above all else,
We wander,
To the farthest reaches,
Of the earth.
Why do we walk past?
Melville, Conrad,
Escaped to the high seas,
To discover the world.
But the boat,
It contained infinite depths,
Even deeper than the sea,
That anyone dared ever discover.
The journey to the strange other,
The darkest, most dangerous,
Most joyous,
Adventure.
…
I wrote this during the Gaza war. I think the theme of dance is very important, post-quantum physics way to understand the complex interaction of enemies, how they build on each other, and what it must teach us in reverse. I am amazed at how much of a dance enemies have, how much they depend on each other’s worst behaviors. We know this scientifically but it is hard to internalize as a definition of fluid reality. All our debates are as if enemies are fixed entities not evolving with each other. We warriors for peace still do not know how to really counteract that. We have tried the arts, we have tried tourism, we have tried commerce, but the dance of death is more frightening and compelling to the masses. Why did the young generation succeed in the 1960’s to create a real alternative that attracted the masses, but …
It is a special agony leaving loved ones behind who go back to war. It is a special guilt that tears at the soul.
…
It is a law:
Violence begets nonviolence,
Like a tulip in winter,
In all places,
In all cultures.
But only those
With eyes wide open
Can see it,
In the middle of
Winter storms.
The most important turning point
for any civilization passing from darkness into light
is every moment
that a weapon passes
from someone who has no self control
and no compassion
to someone who does.…
Reason and compassion are lovers
That give birth to our humanity,
but only when they engage
Daily, with intensity.
The more one’s mind
is drawn daily to compassion
For all sentient life,
the more it is drawn daily to develop
universal principles of behavior
that apply to all beings
Without exception,
Even very imperfect beings.
The more that reason is developed daily
the more it becomes empirically clear
that we are all the same,
in 99% of our being,
the more it becomes empirically self evident
That where we are different
it is an advantage,
Our diversity is our strength.
compassion and reason are lovers,
So that we can be.
(Photo: Cultivating Leadership)…
GOD
An atheist leader
who is rational,
Can be more a messenger,
of God’s mercy for the powerless,
than a leader,
who bows down to God,
over the dead bodies,
of his victims.
‘Less suffering’
Is the tortured scream
of God.
An authentic smile
Is the fleeting face of God,
A single act of kindness,
The touch of Her finger.
Only when you accept death,
Can you become committed
To the renewal of life.
Only when you see democracy die,
Can you plan its rebirth.…
Every day in every region I meet young warriors who know not what they do, and aging warriors who regret everything they have done. I can do nothing before their folly except bear witness to humanity.
The stoics, the Epicureans, Taoists, the Sufis, the Buddhists, all feel that the real prison is the human mind. I am still thinking.
(Photo: Tom Lynn/AP)…
SHADES OF HEAVEN
When a theologian of another religion says what you were thinking the moment before it comes out of your mouth #syria, with the Bosnian hero Father Ivo.
BIRTH
The warrior is born at 15000 feet,
With the press of a thumb.
The anti-warrior is born underneath cement,
With the press of a shovel,
Eyeing,
The first,
Grey,
Thumb.
(Photo: Now Media)…
