‘We will grow like the flame that fuels us and spread like the love that guides us.’ What in god’s green earth is this kind of love? A love that guilds people to kill/hurt people they disagree with? This is the mother of all Big lies. Black is white if I say so and if you disagree with me you have no value at all. You are disposable. Fat…
‘We will grow like the flame that fuels us and spread like the love that guides us.’ What in god’s green earth is this kind of love? A love that guilds people to kill/hurt people they disagree with? This is the mother of all Big lies. Black is white if I say so and if you disagree with me you have no value at all. You are disposable. Father knows best, I am hitting you because I ‘love’ you. Children, women, all people of colour or a different sexual orientation than the one I feel comfortable with should be seen and used for my own profit but not heard or have equal human rights. This attitude is fuelled by fear and acted out with a fragile veneer of bravado that is trying to hide a yawning pit of insecurity and hate. There is no real Love in it at all. We all know what real Love feels like. It is not some sentimental hallmark card. It is both kind, courageous and fearless. It is open not closed. Inclusive not xenophobic. It cannot be put in the service of anything that degrades, hurts or makes less any sentient being. It created and continues to create every good thing. That some deluded, immature thug thinks he has Love on a leash like a pet to be trotted out to lull the masses with this phoney proclamation is tragically ridiculous. Fortunately Love cannot be domesticated for any cause. It enlightens, comforts, defends, and banishes darkness indiscriminately. Love endures.
Robin, thank you for this. I’m not religious, but to me, what you describe is beautiful, the high point of what we strive for in our family and public life, and finally, God. Imagine a world where those things are ascendant. How hopeful.
I had fundamentalist parents who would say "I'm doing this because I love you" as they beat us with peach tree branches or leather belts, or whatever was available.
"Spare the rod, spoil the child" was oft-repeated. "Children should be seen, not heard" was another gem.
Guns were endemic. Sending the kids out to get dinner (taking out the 410 to shoot rabbits, going fishing, deer hunting, etc) was a common errand.
No little wonder these boys grow up to become uneducated but bloviating tyrants; they have been repressed and knocked around and unheard. And, often enough, sexual abuse can be added to the list of acts committed upon their minds and bodies. So, when they get to be the Father, they are in charge of all the chattel. It doesn't typically bode well.
This kind of childhood environment leads to distrust of the 'other' including the teacher. but the potential for a spark, for some glimmer of understanding beyond that oppressed grind...well, therein lies hope.
Hi Kim, Seattle born here. Living in the Uk Wales now. Yes, it does not bode well at all. The resilience of folks that had an unfortunate childhood constantly amazes me. Many of my women friends had incest, rape, harassment and other brutalities in their past and yet they healed and now they thrive. I had an idilic childhood...I was so lucky. When faced by evangelicals later at a girlfriends church 15 YO I laughed at them when they threatened me for not adhering to their abhorrent doctrine. My parents said, good for you, dump them. Later in my 20’s when bad stuff happened, my shrink said, well, your good childhood gave you ballast to survive these events. Well Ok, but everyone has some sort of ballast. For some it is a sane relative that provides comfort. For others, they find a community to help them heal. Some find a benevolent source to connect to. Evangelical tyrants are so tragic to me. They are so close to something really cool and then they side step into the void of stupid. Why? One wonders. Sigh. A mystery.
for me, it was Ma, maternal grandmother, who loved me unconditionally, gave me resilience (and quite possibly stubbornness) and the notion that I could be an agent in my own life. I don't like myself when I say it, but really, there is no cure for stupid.
In grad school, a mentor spoke about the need to reach the lowest common denominator to educate for health. I think that may be the case for other outreach efforts as well. At the time (mid 80s), that level was 4th grade comprehension.
This is the answer. I feel like the best way to defeat racism is meeting and knowing people of other races, ethnicities, cultures. How can you walk a mile in their shoes if you really don’t know anyone in other shoes? Education is the answer.
Beautiful. Thank You Robin. Today, snow all melted, I was outside when my neighbor rode up on her horse - I needed to tell someone that because it sounds so cool. But what she said was even more amazing and energizing and uplifting and comforting. "With the pandemic I haven't seen you this winter and I've been thinking about you, and hoping you are okay. I'm glad to see you look great." That is LOVE. We call it "neighboring."
Ah, so well said, but the kind of love you're talking about requires effort and contemplation. So many humans choose to take the easy way out and just follow the rules laid down for them by the so called leaders of their church, family, regional culture. Don't question, just follow. So easy.
Thanks for your reply Beth. Each person has their own path to follow and is at a place in their journey where they have their own choices to make. I find it hard to judge what is easy or hard for someone else. Effort and contemplation are virtues for sure, but for me, having sampled most religions both east and west it has come down to just learning to exercise my moral conscience muscle at every crossroad and byway of life. And that learning does not involve much effort. It is just staying alert and asking for help when I need it. I can’t believe anyone’s worthiness of love or their ability to show it is established by effort....by somehow getting it right. We would all be doomed. Each persons worth is extrinsic. No matter how hopeless they may appear at the moment they have a lifetime of opportunities, who knows, maybe more, to choose love over fear. A person could contemplate forever but if their eyes are closed perhaps they will not see that the person next to them just needs a hug. All of us fall short of being able to embody unconditional love. I have experienced a source of it that helps me see my way when I need it. To me that experience means that if I look to love first then my service to everything else falls into place. This does not feel religious in the institutional sense but just a connection to a helpful benevolent source. So I bumble along and things are not perfect but they are closer to heaven everyday. If Hell is the place where Love does not exist I think that someday, at the end of space and time, everyone will get the help they need and then no one will want to live there anymore.
Wonderful. As I read this I can feel myself turning back to the source, reminded, as it were, not to be distracted from this central ideal. An ideal that must be nurtured and lived each day. Thank you Robin
Robin, you began with the importance of LOVE and Beth joined in. Love is the supreme experience. Do some of us suffer from a lack of LOVE because it was never given? Was LOVE taken from us very early in our lives, so we don't believe in it or think it isn't lasting? Can LOVE be perverted from the outside? May other qualities or wants super-seed it. Might some people give and feel love intermittently? Are people who love their mothers, fathers, children, sisters, or brothers...necessarily good people; naturally support others; good members of the community? After all the questions, I agree that LOVE matters.
‘We will grow like the flame that fuels us and spread like the love that guides us.’ What in god’s green earth is this kind of love? A love that guilds people to kill/hurt people they disagree with? This is the mother of all Big lies. Black is white if I say so and if you disagree with me you have no value at all. You are disposable. Father knows best, I am hitting you because I ‘love’ you. Children, women, all people of colour or a different sexual orientation than the one I feel comfortable with should be seen and used for my own profit but not heard or have equal human rights. This attitude is fuelled by fear and acted out with a fragile veneer of bravado that is trying to hide a yawning pit of insecurity and hate. There is no real Love in it at all. We all know what real Love feels like. It is not some sentimental hallmark card. It is both kind, courageous and fearless. It is open not closed. Inclusive not xenophobic. It cannot be put in the service of anything that degrades, hurts or makes less any sentient being. It created and continues to create every good thing. That some deluded, immature thug thinks he has Love on a leash like a pet to be trotted out to lull the masses with this phoney proclamation is tragically ridiculous. Fortunately Love cannot be domesticated for any cause. It enlightens, comforts, defends, and banishes darkness indiscriminately. Love endures.
Robin, thank you for this. I’m not religious, but to me, what you describe is beautiful, the high point of what we strive for in our family and public life, and finally, God. Imagine a world where those things are ascendant. How hopeful.
Robin, this is beautiful.
Thanks D.😻
I had fundamentalist parents who would say "I'm doing this because I love you" as they beat us with peach tree branches or leather belts, or whatever was available.
"Spare the rod, spoil the child" was oft-repeated. "Children should be seen, not heard" was another gem.
Guns were endemic. Sending the kids out to get dinner (taking out the 410 to shoot rabbits, going fishing, deer hunting, etc) was a common errand.
No little wonder these boys grow up to become uneducated but bloviating tyrants; they have been repressed and knocked around and unheard. And, often enough, sexual abuse can be added to the list of acts committed upon their minds and bodies. So, when they get to be the Father, they are in charge of all the chattel. It doesn't typically bode well.
This kind of childhood environment leads to distrust of the 'other' including the teacher. but the potential for a spark, for some glimmer of understanding beyond that oppressed grind...well, therein lies hope.
Hi Kim, Seattle born here. Living in the Uk Wales now. Yes, it does not bode well at all. The resilience of folks that had an unfortunate childhood constantly amazes me. Many of my women friends had incest, rape, harassment and other brutalities in their past and yet they healed and now they thrive. I had an idilic childhood...I was so lucky. When faced by evangelicals later at a girlfriends church 15 YO I laughed at them when they threatened me for not adhering to their abhorrent doctrine. My parents said, good for you, dump them. Later in my 20’s when bad stuff happened, my shrink said, well, your good childhood gave you ballast to survive these events. Well Ok, but everyone has some sort of ballast. For some it is a sane relative that provides comfort. For others, they find a community to help them heal. Some find a benevolent source to connect to. Evangelical tyrants are so tragic to me. They are so close to something really cool and then they side step into the void of stupid. Why? One wonders. Sigh. A mystery.
What a narrative. You really made it!
for me, it was Ma, maternal grandmother, who loved me unconditionally, gave me resilience (and quite possibly stubbornness) and the notion that I could be an agent in my own life. I don't like myself when I say it, but really, there is no cure for stupid.
In grad school, a mentor spoke about the need to reach the lowest common denominator to educate for health. I think that may be the case for other outreach efforts as well. At the time (mid 80s), that level was 4th grade comprehension.
This is the answer. I feel like the best way to defeat racism is meeting and knowing people of other races, ethnicities, cultures. How can you walk a mile in their shoes if you really don’t know anyone in other shoes? Education is the answer.
I have found this thread uplifting and encouraging. Thank you Robin for setting out your thoughts. Give my love to Wales. Not been there for a while!
Beautiful. Thank You Robin. Today, snow all melted, I was outside when my neighbor rode up on her horse - I needed to tell someone that because it sounds so cool. But what she said was even more amazing and energizing and uplifting and comforting. "With the pandemic I haven't seen you this winter and I've been thinking about you, and hoping you are okay. I'm glad to see you look great." That is LOVE. We call it "neighboring."
We need more "neighboring."
Very cool indeed.😍
Thank you. Love endures. Gives me hope
Thank you Robin! You just Made My Day!! Really💕
Aww, thanks.
Ah, so well said, but the kind of love you're talking about requires effort and contemplation. So many humans choose to take the easy way out and just follow the rules laid down for them by the so called leaders of their church, family, regional culture. Don't question, just follow. So easy.
Thanks for your reply Beth. Each person has their own path to follow and is at a place in their journey where they have their own choices to make. I find it hard to judge what is easy or hard for someone else. Effort and contemplation are virtues for sure, but for me, having sampled most religions both east and west it has come down to just learning to exercise my moral conscience muscle at every crossroad and byway of life. And that learning does not involve much effort. It is just staying alert and asking for help when I need it. I can’t believe anyone’s worthiness of love or their ability to show it is established by effort....by somehow getting it right. We would all be doomed. Each persons worth is extrinsic. No matter how hopeless they may appear at the moment they have a lifetime of opportunities, who knows, maybe more, to choose love over fear. A person could contemplate forever but if their eyes are closed perhaps they will not see that the person next to them just needs a hug. All of us fall short of being able to embody unconditional love. I have experienced a source of it that helps me see my way when I need it. To me that experience means that if I look to love first then my service to everything else falls into place. This does not feel religious in the institutional sense but just a connection to a helpful benevolent source. So I bumble along and things are not perfect but they are closer to heaven everyday. If Hell is the place where Love does not exist I think that someday, at the end of space and time, everyone will get the help they need and then no one will want to live there anymore.
I want to live in the world Robin envisions.
Thx TPJ, come to visit any time.😍
Wonderful. As I read this I can feel myself turning back to the source, reminded, as it were, not to be distracted from this central ideal. An ideal that must be nurtured and lived each day. Thank you Robin
Thx Kathi.😍
Robin, you began with the importance of LOVE and Beth joined in. Love is the supreme experience. Do some of us suffer from a lack of LOVE because it was never given? Was LOVE taken from us very early in our lives, so we don't believe in it or think it isn't lasting? Can LOVE be perverted from the outside? May other qualities or wants super-seed it. Might some people give and feel love intermittently? Are people who love their mothers, fathers, children, sisters, or brothers...necessarily good people; naturally support others; good members of the community? After all the questions, I agree that LOVE matters.
And in their minds that is exactly what they feel they are doing.