Phoenix: “defined as a person or thing regarded as uniquely remarkable in some respect.” A bird that lives on, flying so close to the sun that it is consumed by fire, dying on the funeral pyre, yet to be born again, resurrected to live on.
Recognizing my own prejudice, to size people up on the quick, I hope to achieve a new sense of enlightenment and to heal my tendency to categorize and divide. Maybe it comes with age, as I long for the onset of senior wisdom.
Our country, our conversations are experiencing a great divide. Unfortunately, we’ve surrendered to dualistic thinking. It’s either this or that, black or white, liberal or conservative, it’s either me or you.
I’m trying to rewire, retire my old way of thinking. In a false sense of order, many of us are drawn to place people in categories, subjugating each one unfairly into one camp or another without taking the time to consider what they are actually saying. We scan each other’s comments with the keenness of a web browser’s algorithm to determine in a microsecond their supposed intent.
I write I blog as an effort to explore the true self to see if the cosmic universe has something to tell me through the hidden whispers in my mind. As I long to have the cherished car ride conversations with a close friend, I long to delve into meatier encounters beyond the Friday happy hour laments of the past week. Wonderment abounds as I envy a friend’s ability to cut to the chase with the perfect question reaching to the heart, daring me to be bold and vulnerable and open up the possibility of entering into a deep dialog.
It is a skill to listen and contemplate, to discern, respond and engage, opening the mind to listen all the more. We live this life understanding the rise and fall of the tides of joy and suffering. We risk getting burned, to suffer scars, taking the time to heal, letting go, moving on to cherish the moment of being present and engaged.
To move beyond the dualistic mind of “either/or” onto “both/and” we can risk personal change to gain a new perspective and hope of deeper encounters.
These days I’ve become disappointed when in conversation a person is first interested in a political party, social status or superfluous affiliations. I’m intrigued by presence, vulnerability and the need to share one’s experiences and life’s lessons learned.
This past Sunday night I watched the Academy Awards Show, perusing the various acceptance speeches as I was struck by Joaquin Phoenix’s comments. I had placed Joaquin in my category of talented, wacky and uniquely remarkable. Mindful of body language, Joaquin rose to the stage, waving off the applause of the crowd, humbling himself before them. Recognizing the blessing of his profession and ability to work in cinema, he recounted the mystery of where he would be without the encouragement of many people along the way.
I see tremendous value and lessons in his words and I would like to share his acceptance speech from last night. He spoke extemporaneously, lacking an indignant posture in expressing a call to redemption and mutual respect.
Joaquin Phoenix: “We have to continue to use our voice for the voiceless. I've been thinking a lot about some of the distressing issues that we are facing collectively. I think at times we feel or were made to feel, that we champion different causes, but for me, I see the commonality. I think, whether we're talking about gender inequality or racism or queer rights or indigenous rights or animal rights, we're talking about the fight against injustice. We're talking about the fight against the belief that one nation, one people, one race, one gender or one species has the right to dominate, control and use and exploit another with impunity.
I think that we've become very disconnected from the natural world, and many of us, what we're guilty of is an egocentric worldview — the belief that we're the center of the universe. We go into the natural world, and we plunder it for its resources. We feel entitled to artificially inseminate a cow, and when she gives birth, we steal her baby, even though her cries of anguish are unmistakable. Then, we take her milk, that's intended for her calf, and we put it in our coffee and our cereal, and I think we fear the idea of personal change because we think that we have to sacrifice something to give something up. But human beings, at our best, are so inventive and creative and ingenious, and I think that when we use love and compassion as our guiding principles, we can create, develop and implement systems of change that are beneficial to all sentient beings and to the environment.
Now, I have been a scoundrel in my life. I've been selfish. I've been cruel at times, hard to work with and ungrateful, but so many of you in this room have given me a second chance. And I think that's when we're at our best when we support each other, not when we cancel each other out for past mistakes, but when we help each other to grow, when we educate each other, when we guide each other toward redemption. That is the best of the community.
When he was 17, my brother wrote this lyric. It said, 'Run to the rescue with love, and peace will follow.'"
I can relate to often being a scoundrel, difficult to work with, especially in zeal for justice. Like the Phoenix, we can fly high to a point of being consumed, experiencing a decent, a dying. With the hope of healing, may our scars be a reminder of life’s experiences, for us to engage and rescue each other, to become remarkable in the pursuit of peace.
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