In The Context Of The Courage In Which We All Forever Live

Strange Fruit

“I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.” 
(Nelson Mandela)

“Like so many of you, I’m pained by these recent tragedies. And I’m exhausted by a heartbreak that never seems to stop. Right now it’s George, Breonna, and Ahmaud. Before that it was Eric, Sandra, and Michael. It just goes on, and on, and on. Race and racism is a reality that so many of us grow up learning to just deal with. But if we ever hope to move past it, it can’t just be on people of color to deal with it. It’s up to all of us—Black, white, everyone—no matter how well-meaning we think we might be, to do the honest, uncomfortable work of rooting it out. It starts with self-examination and listening to those whose lives are different from our own. It ends with justice, compassion, and empathy that manifests in our lives and on our streets. I pray we all have the strength for that journey, just as I pray for the souls and the families of those who were taken from us.” 
(Michelle Obama)

Light In The Dark Forest

Thanks to Beth at the cassandra pages for her thoughts about the need for thoughtful dialogue and for posting this interview with Jürgen Habermas.

"Thanks to his courage, the idea of putting human beings and dialogue at the center of all solutions is familiar to us all."

Both/And

"Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage."
  - Lao Tzu

Thanks to Beth for this quote today.

Resting on the Wings of a Bird of Peace

Life, death, and mourning.

Version sung on behalf of a man:

God, full of mercy, who dwells in the heights, provide a sure rest upon the Divine Presence's wings, within the range of the holy, pure and glorious, whose shining resemble the sky's, to the soul of (Hebrew name of deceased) son of (Hebrew name of his father) for a charity was given to the memory of his soul. Therefore, the Master of Mercy will protect him forever, from behind the hiding of his wings, and will tie his soul with the rope of life. The Everlasting is his heritage, and he shall rest peacefully upon his lying place, and let us say: Amen.

"Give us all the courage and the grace"

Sparkle on the ocean

Eagle at the top of a tree

The phrasing of the first two lines of "This Place," written by Joni Mitchell in 2007, has sounded hauntingly familiar to me for the last few days when I have listened to it while driving in my car. This afternoon I suddenly realized that it has echoes of the first two lines of "Spirit on the Water," written by Bob Dylan in 2006:

Spirit on the water

Darkness on the face of the deep

Here is the last verse for "This Place":

Spirit of the water

Give us all the courage and the grace

To make genius of this tragedy unfolding

The genius to save this place.

Meditation / A young man who was staying drunk on fear in the wilderness / A young woman who was not afraid of him

Johnny: [opening narration from "The Wild One"] It begins here for me on this road. How the whole mess happened I don't know, but I know it couldn't happen again in a million years. Maybe I could of stopped it early, but once the trouble was on its way, I was just goin' with it. Mostly I remember the girl. I can't explain it - a sad chick like that, but somethin' changed in me. She got to me, but that's later anyway. This is where it begins for me right on this road.

During the 1960s, upon looking at some promotional photos of himself, Bob Dylan laughed and said, "I look like Marlon Brando, James Dean or somebody..."


























What's my point here? Something about fear and courage. That series of film clips from "The Wild One" moved me this morning. This may make more sense after watching the entire YouTube video above. Maybe not.

"I always have respected her
for doing what she did and getting free."
(Bob Dylan, from "If You See Her Say Hello")

"How long can I stay drunk on fear
out in the wilderness?"
(Bob Dylan, from "When He Returns")

"Time heals, after all -- although the clock that marks that kind of time has no hands."
(Suze Rotolo, from A Freewheelin' Time, 2007)






















(2007 trackpad drawing by am and February 2012 trackpad drawing by am)

Witness with Courage (1984)

There is fierce wind and rain outside my window this morning. The lights have been flickering. Georgia O'Keeffe said: “I've been absolutely terrified every moment of my life -- and I've never let it keep me from doing a single thing I wanted to do.”

Photo by Todd Webb, Georgia O'Keeffe sketching at age 74 in 1961