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Check out my blog, "Living with open hands . . . in a world of clenched fists . . .":

http://blog.ronirvine.net/

The OPEN HAND is a tangible expression of an OPEN MIND and an OPEN HEART.

Question, examine, think, learn, grow . . .

Thoughts and Meditations on Life.

"If I loose my grip . . .

will I take flight?"

~ Bruce Cockburn



The real voyage of discovery
consists not in seeing new landscapes,
but in having new eyes.
~ Marcel Proust


We shall not cease from exploration
and the end of all our exploring
will be to arrive where we started
and to know the place for the first time.
~ T.S. Eliot (1888-1965)


"Poetry may make us . . . a little more aware of the deeper, unnamed feelings which form the substratum of our being to which we rarely penetrate; for our lives are mostly a constant evasion of ourselves."
T. S. Eliot, Nobel Prize acceptance speech, 1948







"God breaks the heart

again and again and again

until it stays

OPEN."

Hazrat Inayat Kahn (Sufi Master)

The way of the brokenheart
is reflected in every spiritual tradition in this world.

Our pride, selffullness, narcissism, myopia, egoism, egotism, and conceit
is brought to its knees
by a broken heart that has finally become an OPEN HEART.


"The Lord is close to the brokenhearted" (Psalm 34:18)


"The most beautiful people we have known are those who have known defeat, known suffering, known struggle, known loss, and have found their way out of the depths. These persons have an appreciation, a sensitivity, and an understanding of life that fills them with compassion, gentleness, and a deep loving concern. Beautiful people do not just happen … They are made." - Elizabeth Kubler Ross



"Tenderness comes from pain" (Sade, Lyrics)



"Whether we try to enter into a dislocated world, relate to a convulsive generation, or speak to a dying man, our service will not be perceived as authentic unless it comes from a heart wounded by the suffering about which we speak." - Henri Nouwen in "The Wounded Healer"



Portrait (below) by my brother Steve

Our long, long, long history of war...




“Hope – hope in the face of difficulty. Hope in the face of uncertainty. The audacity of hope! In the end, that is God’s greatest gift to us, the bedrock of this nation. A belief in things not seen. A belief that there are better days ahead.”

~ Barack Obama

Another World is Possible:
Check out Shane Claiborne's Litany

Click here: Stolen Land by Bruce Cockburn
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~





Living with open hands, heart, and mind requires that we:

~ Live consciously, mindfully, and intentionally.

~ Bring full attention, presence, consciousness, and awareness to each moment; to every thought, to every action, and to each and every interaction.

~ Come to the realization that every time we encounter another human being, they (and we) cannot walk away unchanged. They (and we) leave changed; for the better or for the worse. We are all connected.

~ Realize that the only thing we have power over and are responsible for is the present moment.

Our whole life comes to bear and comes to fruition in the NOW; in the present moment.

~ The past is unchangeable, although it has created this present moment.

~ The future is untouchable, although it is created by this present moment.

If we step back and observe our thoughts (metacognition), we'll see that they continually jump back and forth between past thoughts and future thoughts. How often are we fully present with our thoughts focused on this moment in time, right now? The smile of a stranger, the voice of a child, the smell of a rose, the view of a fleeting sunset, the wind, the rain, the trees, people, myself (what I see, feel, hear, smell, taste). . . my own breath of life

THE ONE CAMPAIGN: HELP MAKE POVERTY HISTORY. WWW.ONE.ORG

Get this widget!

The ONE Campagn: Make Poverty History!!!

Get Involved, Make A Difference! www.one.org

Check out Bono's speech as he receives the chairman's award from the NAACP.

WHAT A POWERFUL SPEECH. Here are some excerpts:

"We need the community that taught the world about civil rights to teach it something about human rights. I’m talking about the right to live like a human, the right to live period. Those are the stakes in Africa right now. 5 and a half thousand Africans dying every day of AIDS, a preventable treatable disease. Nearly a million Africans, most of them children dying every year from malaria, death by mosquito bite. This is not about charity as you know here in this room, this is about justice, it’s about justice and equality…"

"True religion will not let us fall asleep in the comfort of our freedom. Love thy neighbor is not a piece of advice it is a command…"

"Because where you live should not decide whether you live or whether you die…"

"God has a special place for the poor. The poor are where God lives. God is in the slums, in the cardboard boxes where the poor play house. God is where the opportunities are lost and lives are shattered. (standing ovation) God is with the mother that has infected her child with a virus that will take both their lives. God is under the rubble and the cries we hear during war time. God, my friends, is with the poor and God is with us if we are with them! This is not a burden, this is an adventure! Don’t let anyone tell you it cannot be done. We can be the generation that ends extreme poverty. Thank you."




Neil Young: We Need A Leader


ON LEADERSHIP

To lead people, walk beside them.
People do no notice the existence
Of the best leaders.
The next best are honored and praised.
The next are feared.
The worst are hated.
When the best leader’s work is done,
People think they’ve done it themselves.
~ Lao Tzu


No truly great man
Ever thought himself so.
~ William Hazlitt





Barak Obama in New Hampshire on September 3, 2007. Give a listen, I dare you!




Youth are taking a stand to transform America. How long has it been since our youth have had a vision of America being theirs; a dream they could grasp? Youth involvement and youth leadership is one of the greatest historical indicators that change is on the horizon!!! THIS IS WHAT WILL RESTORE FAITH IN AMERICA!





TIME FOR CHANGE?


Democracy is not simply about the right to be heard; it is about the opportunity to influence opinion and action. It is about being impatient and impassioned, informed and involved. The real power of democracy is that not only the elite can shape the agenda. One’s voice can be bigger than one’s vote. Susan B. Anthony, Martin Luther King, Jr., Ralph Nader, Rush Limbaugh, and Jesse Jackson have all had an influence on political thought and action that has gone far beyond a single vote.
Gary Hamel
“Strategy as Revolution”
Harvard Business Review
July 1996