Thu Mar 23, 2006
Challenge and Hope - a message for youth
This was an opening manifesto for a youth forum/community site that I developed, that didn't quite get the support it should have, principally from me. I saw myself starting to work hard on developing this - at the potential expense of my own children.
However, the mission is still a passion of mine, and geopolitical events in the past year have re-emphasized for me personally this project's importance and worth. I see it extending beyond a simple gathering place to include internet - based collaborative projects, live festivals, cross-disciplinary multimedia artistic training camps, etc.
My experience in online journalism is also showing me the power of participatory and e-journalism techniques, and this I think should be a component. While there certainly is a need to develop and activate youth in an artistic component, the scope truly is much larger - to develop a strong presence to combat the isolation and fear perpetrated by conglomerate media and self-serving government. A large network of youth collaborating on projects and sharing the process and views that feed into it could have a powerful positive effect on the current climate in this country.
I hope to develop a new, more robust site and forum for this projct some time this year or early next., or else help support an existing project that is already underway. I feel its a worthy endeavour and mission, and its time it should manifest in a more dedicated , concentrated manner. MSD, March 06
I thought of the title because I think there are are a lot of challenges in these times and particularly for those a bit younger than I - and I worry about the state of things because once you have children one becomes outside of oneself and I think, what will this place be like when Im gone? what will my son and daughter inherit?
So its up to the interim generation - anywhere from 12 - 25 years old, that I devised this for. And in looking at that age group, I see the challenges are tremendous. But we transform others and the world around us through our art or whatever work we do. If more people meet each other, share their work, their views, and through that process hone the capacity for activating hearts - our own, and that of peers, and leaders - (so for example, when you get to a voting age you can all pull influence on vital issues, via sheer numbers and strong eloquence in oyur work) - then perhaps some true change can be affected.
I also mean for this to offer hope and support to all of you currently - by and from each other, through the development of mentor programmes, shared resources, collaborative projects, etc. I want to combat the isolation that the System is creating more and more, every day - we need to not feel so alone, and isolated, like no one gives a damn, or no one listens. We listen to each other, then make the world listen, as a block, as a community.
I want your voices to be heard, I want you to be empowered to make a difference, I want teachers who dont squash individuality and creativity, I want a responsive media and government that wont lie and coverup and underestimate the power and intelligence and needs of todays youth, I want through art or whatever work each of you do to end social/race/class/school clique divisions - (Littleton shouldnt happen anymore), I want by means of mutual suport on this forum for kindness to be cultivated and extended and anger and isolation to be revealed, exorcised and cured, I want my bones to rest in a happier grave than they would be tomorrow, I want you all to be the shining children of God that you are and to take over in time from the jaded hearts in power now, I want a liveable planet, I want peace, I want you to relax and enjoy this time, develop youselves and each other (if that happens all the rest will follow in its own due time), - and its all possible because it starts small, in numbers, and grows, and we offer each other our own heart , we share and offer hope, and thus hope is created, in itself of itself, and it grows on; - and then, things may truly start happening...
[0] comments (1008 views) | Permalink | [0] Trackbacks [0] Pingbacks
Love
If you cant believe in anything else, then at least,
Believe in Love.
Bad days, good days, - how much love did we carry in us that day?
God's love for us manifested in our love for Him, for each other, the planet, etc, - it is a prime guide for all faiths.
If we had a bad day, if we are completely psycho, if we arent forgiving enough, its because we
arent carrying enough of (God's) LOVE within us, we are not remembering Him or what He gives,
because someone or something took that capacity away from us for a time.
I have to search deeper, find it again.
And only by resuming that remembrance of Allah (SWT) and His loving gift of ALL creation/createdness for us, do i find it.
How much love can we carry in our hearts?
Our anger, our rage, is a function of how much love we carry, (or can hold on to) at any given time - and, if you lose it, how much you love yourself (not in the vain sense but as a living compassionate creature) to seek a state of forgiveness and re-access that love.
It is the essence of life in this realm and what we are here to do.
It is the only quality on this planet that keeps it going, that keeps us going, because it is the DIRECT reverberating manifestation of God.
And by remembering Love and thanking and loving its Source,the Creator, Allah (SWT), for it, ingesting it to reach those around you, we also remember Him (dhikr).
Believe in Love.
[0] comments (918 views) | Permalink | [0] Trackbacks [0] Pingbacks
Towards an interfaith dialogue - Golden Threads
What is it about human nature that causes us to look for differences rather than commonalities? There are so many common tenets in most religions- love, compassion, service, the desire to respect and honour the Divine ( however any particular religion defines that divine energy).
Personally, I resonate most with Islamic Sufism -and in it lies a tolerance and inclusivity that is remarkable; it is a faith that honours all the prophets that came before Mohammed (pbuh) - Adam, Abraham, Noah, Moses, Jesus - and recognizes the Torah and the Bible as Revelation. And while I believe there is no god but God (Allah SWT), and Mohammed (pbuh) is His Messenger, I notice messages of Divine love in other faiths, and that is a common point for me to understand and respect my neighbour.
It is an altogether too human trait - is it ego? social need? - to defend ourselves and our community, our belief systems, rather than to search for elements in common and build bridges based on that.We seek out differences and the need to defend them perhaps not out of divine devotion, but out of the stem of pride - which is a human trait (and how many belief systems warn against pride? several,... and we cant even see that)- , instead of seeking out commonalities from the stem of love (which may or may not be a strictly human component, but is also held as a main component of the Divine by many faiths; and if not directly expressed as a manifestation of the Divine, then most faiths certainly, at least, give high credence to it, regardless of how they identify its source).
Look for the Golden Threads in all faiths that bind us together, that are common. If you have a quarrrel of belief with your neighbour, ask him: does his Divine believe in love? compassion? service to the needy? etc? so many commonalities are possible. Then ask yourself these same questions about your own faith. What then are the common points with your neighbour? from there, tolerance and respect begins, united in some common atrributes towards the Divine.
These common Golden Threads are so important, because the fact that they are manifested in so many faiths tells us that they are the Divine's most sacred, most important aspects - why else would they be manifested all over the globe? The differences, then, are in a sense, secondary in this context of building bridges when compared against the glory, majesty, awesome nature of the Divine Energy Itself (Allah SWT) , and so these differences should be allowed their respect (is this perhaps one possible meaning of 109:6?) - and we can do that more comfortably when the Golden Threads of the Divine are recognized.
[0] comments (1081 views) | Permalink | [0] Trackbacks [0] Pingbacks
