Yearning into Commitment

Sunday 31 July 2011


The feeling to read and write has intensified since my return from the Institute for Studies in Global Prosperity and my trip to Sydney, conversing with my fellow human beings on the meaning of my reality, seeking coherence and understanding. I was fascinated once again by learning. An idea Friere shares is that "education isn't for life, education is life". I realised once again at that moment the profound impact learning has on ones life as an essential requirement for advancement and growth in all areas of our existence.


Linking with this idea of life long learning was that I was thinking about how to translate a yearning for excitement into a commitment to long term action. I have come to believe that commitment to long term action implies spiritual qualities and attitudes. They draw on the sacred qualities of the soul such as steadfastness, perseverance, persistence and patience. Such commitment requires the individual to move beyond instinctual compliance to the pleasure principle, an animalistic trait that has man tied to the shackles of his material life, seeking at every moment, a superficial joy, a euphoric feeling that may sustain them at best for a day, week or maybe even a year, but definitely not a life time. To move beyond the hedonistic view of our reality that we exist for our simple momentary pleasures. To also realise the paradox we live in, to understand that we must be fully engaged in the moment not just for now but for tomorrow. To think of our present as the future in the past. If we take such a view we will not be living in the present for the pure recreation of so called beautiful feelings and experiences but will realise the enduring affect our thoughts and actions will have on the future, if we act with the intent for an enduring advancement.

It reminds me of the two lines in paragraph 5 of the December 28 Message 2010 of the Universal House of Justice where They write: "Unqualified love free from paternalism will be indispensable if they are to help turn hesitation into courage born of trust in God and transform a yearning for excitement into a commitment to long-term action. Calm determination will be vital as they strive to demonstrate how stumbling blocks can be made stepping stones for progress."

What crucial and beautiful ramifications such concepts would have on our thoughts and actions?

Posted by Posted by P.R.A.loveslife at 2:50 am
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Red Reality

The red in our reality is here, there and everywhere while at the same time nowhere. Colour as we know it, is the reflection of light transferred to our eyes and then through to our brain, when we register and recognise this particular shade or phase on the spectrum as red. The funny thing is how do we know, what is what, and how it came to be regarded in such a way. Red has so many cultural connections that in many places language has developed to cater for the variety of usage when describing something that is of the colour red. It even depends on the context in which that colour is presented.


Another interesting observation was that once red was raised from my unconscious to my conscious thoughts, as is the norm when something permeates your thoughts, it was everywhere. I may as well have had bright red glasses on, seeing everything with a red tinge. Things such as stop signs, lights, cars, clothes, and signs seemed to be in the majority. I was suddenly overcome by the redness of my reality. Even now as I look up around my room I can see a red book, red jumper, red speedos, and a red box thing that you can keep things in. The following story is based on one of those moments when red presented itself.

So the story goes....

"Hmmm" the old lady says to herself as she sits herself down on the bench waiting for her bus to come. I look at her as I ride past on my bike at a zooming pace, wondering what it is she is thinking about and where is she going, what has her life been like, is she happy, does she know what happens when she dies, I wonder if she is lonely? Suddenly I realise she is wearing a red jacket and adjusting her wide brimmed red fashion hat. I thought to myself, what occasion demands red, a colour of passion, life, beauty and emotion? I never asked her any of these questions but realised at that moment - red reality. Or was it all just my current perception, my current frame of reference?

Red reality I said to myself was my reality. It was the way in which I lived my life, filled with vigour, passion, beauty and emotion. The red stuff pumping throughout my body was red, most of my organs were a pinkish-red, I may as well have been called the red man or for that matter, maybe the whole human race should, could and will be called the red race. A race of men incomparable in character, but biologically identical - red.

How would this realisation of our redness, our oneness have on the way we perceived others? Would we come to see each other as collaborators working collectively, vigourously, and passionately for a better world for all? I saw hope. In the mean time the lady has probably got her bus, and gone wherever she had to go, wholly unaware of the impact her red coat and hat had on my life, my red reality.

Posted by Posted by P.R.A.loveslife at 2:18 am
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