I am 82 years old

I am 82 years old.

 

I am in a wooden rocking chair

not out of necessity

but because I enjoy its peaceful rhythm.

 

I rock slowly back and forth

my porch is made of old, varnished native wood

it creaks in unison with each rock of my chair.

 

It is sunset,

I look out over a small, sandy bay,

splashed red-purple by the evening sun.

 

There is an old woollen blanket on my knees that was my fathers

in the background there is the laughter of children,

I am alone on the porch,

snatching a brief moment of solitude

behind me, in the house, my children

berate their children for making a mess

with their toys on the floor

I laugh

I gave them the toys.

 

From the kitchen wafts the smell of fresh baked bread

and homemade vegetable soup

the vegetables were grown in the back yard by my grandchildren..

I taught them how to grow things.

 

In the corner of the house, someone is playing a guitar

beneath my feet, just in front of my chair,

is an old dog, sleeping.

 

I finger a set of prayer beads given to me

by an old monk I met somewhere on my travels

I give thanks for a good life and children

and the chance to make a difference

the wind blows flowers from a Kowhai tree into my lap..

the breeze is warm

I am content.

 

I fall asleep and snore loudly

until my family comes

to fetch me for dinner.

A lamp burning in Palestine

Today I read about someone who I’m sure is to become one of my contemporary heroes..Mohammed Khatib, secretary of the Bilin, West Bank, village council, referred to as “a modern-day Gandhi”.

Khatib’s nonviolent resistance, in cooperation with Israeli peace activists, has earned him arrests, beatings, and death threats by Israeli forces — as well as modest legal victories, which have yet to be enforced, to change the Israeli separation barrier’s route through his village’s lands.

From the article:

“His message is a hard sell: Khatib, 35, is a modern-day Gandhi in a culture that enshrines the language of the gun, even if most Palestinians have never used one. And the risks of his activism are enormous.”

My prayers are with Khatib and his fellow activists as they attempt to break the cycle of violence in the Israel/Palestine conflict. I do hope he is encouraged by the words of Gandhi:

“Nonviolence is the greatest force at the disposal of humanity. It is mightier than the mightiest weapon of destruction devised by the ingenuity of humanity.

Nonviolence is not passivity in any shape or form. It is the most active force in the world. Nonviolence is the supreme law. Just as one must learn the art of killing in the training for violence, so one must learn the art of dying in the training for nonviolence. One person who can express nonviolence in life exercises a force superior to all the forces of brutality.”

Mohammed Khatib prays at the grave of his friend Bassem Abu Rahma in the West Bank town of Bilin. Abu Rahma was killed in April by a high-velocity tear gas grenade fired into a crowd of nonviolent demonstrators.

 

‘Morgan’ Mandela

So Clint Eastwood is directing a new biopic movie about Nelson Mandela! Centered arond the events of the 1995 Rugby World Cup, this promises to be an interesting film, particularly for that generation of Kiwis involved in the Sprinbok tour protest.. there may be more than a few tears in the cinema when that generation of activists are reminded of the part they played in the fall of apartheid.

Plus Morgan Freeman is playing Mandela! I love Morgan Freeman.

Check out the full article here.

The Elders

The internet is a wonderful place when you can find initiatives like this.

The Elders are an independent group of eminent global leaders, brought together by Nelson Mandela, who offer their collective influence and experience to support peace building, help address major causes of human suffering and promote the shared interests of humanity.

Watching this video, seeing some of my greatest heroes all lined up and ready to share their wisdom with the world.. I’ll admit, I got teary eyed (especially when Tutu speaks.. boy I love that man).

Here’s a intro video, and the website is here.

A Franciscan Benediction

Heard this today at Church.. love it, love it, love it. This is going on my wall soon.

“May God bless you with discomfort at easy answers, half truths, and superficial relationships so that you may live deep within your heart.

May God bless you with anger at injustice, oppression and exploitation of people so that you may work for justice, freedom and peace.

May God bless you with tears to shed for those who suffer pain, rejection, hunger and war so that you may reach out your hand to comfort them and to turn their pain into joy.

And may God bless you with enough foolishness to believe that you can make a difference in the world so that you can do what others claim cannot be done.”

Always blow on the pie

In case any of my friends or readers overseas missed this.. classic deadpan humor from a Kiwi cop on the beat. This has now become something of a cult phenomenon here in NZ, being printed on Tshirts and even inspiring a South Park style spin-off.

Father John Dear

Went to hear Father John Dear speak tonight.

He was awesome.

John is a Jesuit priest, peace activist, lecturer, and writer of approximately twenty books on nonviolence, including Living Peace.

In the course of his civil disobedience as protester of war and violence, he has been arrested more than 75 times. His longest period of incarceration lasted eight months, plus nine months of house arrest, following his participation in a Plowshares Movement disarmament action. As a result, Dear lost his United States voting rights, is prohibited from traveling to certain countries, and is subjected to increased scrutiny at airports.

In protest to UAV attacks in Pakistan, in an event sponsored by Nevada Desert Experience, Dear, Father Louie Vitale, Kathy Kelly, Stephen Kelly, SJ, and others were arrested outside Creech Air Force Base on Wednesday April 9, 2009. He received the Peace Abbey Courage of Conscience Award in September of 2009 for his solidarity and leadership in nonviolent resistance, vegetarian life style and Gospel living.

This guy is my hero. He marries sound and courageous theology (where did the Sermon on the Mount go for the last 1700 years?) with integrity in word and deed. Not just that, but John showed an intimate knowledge, historically and contemporarily, of humanities addiction to violence, and its complete failure to truly resolve human issues. He put forward practical examples, starting with Jesus, moving through the usual suspects (gandhi MLK etc) and into the modern era where active, smart, courageous, disciplined and loving non-violent activism and peace-building truly have succeeded in bringing lasting peace.

I can’t remember any off the top of my head other than the ones I knew already (Gandhi’s India, MLKs civil rights, the Marcos regime in the Philippines, and a number of states in the former Soviet Bloc). Watch this space for more on the subject.

In the meantime, check out Father John Dear’s website here. Lots of good info to be going on with.

NHS slow and ineffective? Who cares!

There’s a lot of media attention on the British NHS at the moment, most of it drawn by american Right Wingers who are resisting the much-needed healthcare reform in the States. ‘Don’t create public healthcare!’ they say, ‘just look at the NHS!’

Well, ok. I’m a brit, born and raised. I grew up with the NHS. ANd all I have to say is.. ‘free healthcare?? yes please!!’

Sure, the NHS has a lot of room for improvement. But long waiting lines and dodgy dealings by NHS staff doesn’t negate the fact that a free public health service benefits MILLIONS of brits who would otherwise never be able to afford the healthcare they need, period. Sure, there’s long waiting lines.. thats what happens when all healthcare is free… people start going to the doctor and dentist as soon as they feel poorly, instead of waiting for it to get chronic.

My family grew up in the UK, and most of them are still over there. Because of NHS, I was all able to get things like a set of jaw braces (normally thousands of dollars), operations etc for free etc. Free healthcare is fantastic. If people don’t like the waiting lines, they can go private if they want! Private healthcare will always be there, offering faster and higher quality services.. but not everyone will be able to afford this.

Again, most of the attention on the NHS currently is because of the healthcare reforms in the US, around which so much misinformation has been spread. For goodness sake, no one is forcing you to use a public health option if you don’t want it! Government officials won’t turn up at your door as soon as you start getting sniffly. You can still go private, or keep the private provider you already have. Having a public option means those who simply cannot afford private care will have somewhere to go when they get sick.

It’s time for the misinformation and lies to stop.. this boils down to healthcare corporate lobbying vs the needs of impoverished familes.. period.

Is our sustainability science racist?

Found this fantastic radio interview with Dr Ariel Salleh, a sociologist in political economy at the University of Sydney. She focuses on the ecological debt notched up by affluent societies as main contributors to global warming.

The interview gets very academic and wordy in parts, but its well worth the read. Salleh makes the basic premise that it is Northern institutions, not Southern ones, that need capacity building in the area of sustainability science. She supports the suggestion made to the UN by the Indigenous Peoples’ Global Summit – that the time has come for Northern institutions to host technical briefings by Indigenous peoples on traditional knowledge and climate change.

For too long the path of industrialised society has been guided by a narrow, western post-enlightment way of thinking that has discredited or ignored alternative forms of sense-making and knowledge. Now, on the edge of a climate and resource crisis, the industrialised world has reached a ‘wrong way, turn back’ sign, as Salleh puts it, and is scrabbling for answers… unfortunately with the same thinking cap on that got us here in the first place.

Indigenous models of sustainable development almost unanimously advocate for autonomous, local, intimate economies in possession of food and energy sovereignty. Their models are highly sophisticated and well-thought out.. and best of all, they could really help solve the resource crisis. But will they happen here in the West before it is too late? To quote Salleh,

“Here is a people’s science that vies closely with the advice of good environmental consultants in the global North. The trouble is that in growth economies that advice too often gets shelved by governments under pressure from business. Or, unwieldy administrations foil the translation of principles into action on the ground. Beyond this, our capitalist states are so dependent on resources from the meta-industrial periphery, the exacting sustainability practices of the global majority must remain invisible. Yes, technical briefings by Indigenous peoples are going to be indispensible if international decision-making is to become coherent and democratic.”

I for one look forward to hearing some fresh voices on the sustainability debate.

Life Inc.

Stumbled across this excellent series of videos, based on the book by Douglas Rushkoff of the same name. In this first 9 minute clip, Douglas explores how the world has become ‘corporatised’, what this means, and what we can do about it. Excellent, thought-provoking content. More to come from this man in later posts.