A friend just sent me this video and I can’t resist sharing it with you. I imagine I’m not the only one needing inspiration… or a laugh… right now. Enjoy!
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Category: Inspiration
A Change is Gonna Come
The instant I pressed publish on my contribution (When You Feel Like Darkness Has You Bound) to this week’s Song Lyric Sunday challenge, I had the urge to also find a protest song.
A Change is Gonna Come, was released by Sam Cooke in 1964. It became an anthem for the Civil Rights movement. When I listened to the song and watched the video that went with it, I knew I had found my protest song. The video has photos from the 50’s to the present. By the end of viewing it, I was crying.
The lyrics are on the video but I will also include them here:
It’s been too hard living but I’m afraid to die
Cause I don’t know what’s up there beyond the sky
It’s been a long, a long time coming
But I know a change gonna come, oh yes it will
I go to the movie and I go downtown
Somebody keep telling me don’t hang around
It’s been a long, a long time coming
But I know a change gonna come, oh yes it will
Then I go to my brother
And I say brother help me please
But he winds up knocking me
Back down on my knees
Ohhhhhhhhh…
There been times that I thought I couldn’t last for long
But now I think I’m able to carry on
It’s been a long, a long time coming
But I know a change gonna come, oh yes it will
When You Feel Like Darkness Has You Bound
I love watching the path my mind takes when I am determining what song to use for the Song Lyric Sunday challenge. I start by thinking about what songs would address the theme for the week, but I often don’t end up there.
This week the theme was protest songs. The song I used for my second week of doing this challenge was We Shall Overcome so I considered some of the 60’s protest songs. But then my mind went a different direction. I thought about two of the Blues songs my son Sreejit wrote some years back. I listened to them both, but as I was considering them, another song came to mind.
My daughter Chaitanya and my son Sreejit live at Amma’s Amritapuri ashram in Kerala, India. People for all religions come to Amma, and all religions are respected. For the last seven or eight years my son and daughter have been very instrumental in creating the Christmas play that is performed on Christmas Eve each year. Chaitanya writes and directs the plays and Sreejit and his friends compose most of the tunes. The plays are in the style of Broadway musicals.
The particular play that came to my mind was performed in 2012 and was titled God is Able. The setting was a Southern style Gospel church. Sreejit was the preacher! The story line covered the stories of Moses leading the Jews to the promised land, Rachael being healed by touching Jesus’ garment, and a fictional account of the heart of an angry store keeper being healed. I never will forget the moment in the play when the stage doors opened and our sparkling “Gospel Choir” became visible. It seemed like everyone in the auditorium did a collective gasp. Part of the reason I remember the gasp and the thunderous applause and shouts that followed our song so well is that I was part of the choir!!!
The song I have chosen is Dear God. The tune was written by Sreejit and the lyrics by Chaitanya. It is not a protest song but it is a song that is very relevant to times of darkness which is often what proceeds protest.
The mp3 recording and the lyrics are below. I hope you enjoy it as much as I still do!
When you feel like darkness has you bound
And you can’t see any way to get out
There’s a power which surrounds us all
Through God anything is possible
Never fear
Never let your doubts draw near
With courage face all that comes
Put your trust into God’s arms
He’ll protect you from all harm
His love will carry you on through
Dear God, hold us tight never let us leave thy sight
Dear God, fill our soul with your love make us whole
Sreejit singing above the choir:
God is able to calm the wild storm
God is able to make the weak strong
God is able to bring change within
God is able to do all things
How Free Would We Be If We Cared This Deeply?
A friend shared the link to this beautiful piece by Chani Nicholas with me. Chani has given me permission to reprint her words on my blog.
“I want to live in a world where old ladies can afford to buy a cup of coffee.
And healthcare, because it’s free.
A world where folks are allowed to dress as they desire to and call themselves as they need to be called. Love who they love. Live how they live.
I want to live in a world where folks are allowed to live.
With dignity. In diversity. In a world that honors our differences and celebrate our connections.
I want to live in a world that apologizes when it’s wrong. A world that makes amends and reparations for what it has taken. A world that does not look away from its own horror. A world that builds monuments to resilience and resistance. A world that listens to the stories of the survivors. And believes them. A world that seeks to understand rather than to be understood. A world that listens to the stories of the past and a world that refuses to repeat its mistakes.
I want to live in a world where pain is transformed in the present, not passed down to future generations. A world that is organized around protecting the rights of each being, including every creature on the earth and the earth itself. A world where the hungry get fed first, the wounded receive remedies right away and the heart-broken know where to go to get a hug.
I want to live in a world where everyone is afforded the ability to take care of their own needs. And the needs of their loved ones. A world where The System prioritizes self-care. A world where self-determination is possible. A world where feeling competent, autonomous and related to folks that love you is the measure of a good life.
I want to live in a world that knows that hurt people hurt people and healed people heal people so we focus on helping folks heal. A world where mean-spirited violence and intolerance are not an option so they get interrupted immediately before they are allowed to take root. I want to live in a world full of self-correcting communities. A world full of folks that hold themselves and each other accountable. And close. A world where no pain goes unprocessed, no fear gets to fester, no greed goes unchecked. A world that understands its own imperfection. A world full of grown folks that know how to get down and children that feel safe enough to discover who they are. A world where creativity is the currency, where prisons are replaced with healing centers and no human potential is pissed away.
I want to live in a world where it is known that to go against any life would be to go against our own. Where it is known that to cause harm to another is to harm ourselves.
How free would we be if we cared that deeply?”
Thank you Chani for putting your prayer/vision/desires into words that we can all benefit from.
Turn, Turn, Turn
Today’s Song Lyric Sunday challenge was to pick a song related to love. As I started thinking about love, I thought about life. As I thought about life, I thought about the seasons of life. As I thought about the seasons of life, I thought about how many roads we walk down during our lifetimes. As I thought about how many roads we walk down during our lifetimes, I thought of The Byrd’s song Turn, Turn, Turn. When I thought of Turn, Turn, Turn, I knew I had my song for the week!
Turn, Turn, Turn actually was written by Pete Seeger in the late 50’s. Most of the words come from the Bible (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8). The song became famous when The Byrd’s started singing it in late 1965.
To everything – turn, turn, turn
There is a season – turn, turn, turn
And a time to every purpose under heaven
There is a season – turn, turn, turn
And a time to every purpose under heaven
A time to be born, a time to die
A time to plant, a time to reap
A time to kill, a time to heal
A time to laugh, a time to weep
To everything – turn, turn, turn
There is a season – turn, turn, turn
And a time to every purpose under heaven
A time to build up, a time to break down
A time to dance, a time to mourn
A time to cast away stones
A time to gather stones together
To everything – turn, turn, turn
There is a season – turn, turn, turn
And a time to every purpose under heaven
A time of love, a time of hate
A time of war, a time of peace
A time you may embrace
A time to refrain from embracing
To everything – turn, turn, turn
There is a season – turn, turn, turn
And a time to every purpose under heaven
A time to gain, a time to lose
A time to rend, a time to sew
A time for love, a time for hate
A time for peace, I swear it’s not too late!
Gypsy Soup
Sreejit’s new book Gypsy Soup is now available at Amazon.com. The book contains some of his older poems and many that have never been published before. As always, Sreejit examines the darkness and the light inside himself and in our world. His poems are insightful and thought-provoking. I also enjoy the humor that he sometimes sprinkles throughout his poetry.
Here is a sample poem from the new book (used with permission).
It’s No Mystery
I wake up every morning,
with another chance
to be the perfect man
I always wanted to be.
I’m not talking about
Amma sucking the pus from the leper,
or Jesus walking on water
perfect,
I just mean that,
‘be the inspiration
I’d always desired to be’
that, ‘give it my all
from the bottomless depths
of my fallible humanity.’
Yet normally, before
I even make it to the bathroom
in the morning to brush my teeth,
an expletive,
or some other colorful thought,
invades my desired
perception of me.
In that moment when
I look in the mirror
and realize so many years
have passed,
or in that moment when
my stomach decides,
it’s better I now pass some gas,
I quickly forget
all about the divine
and become the man that can’t
even relax.
I feel the aches and the pains,
and the not quite migraines,
and start pitifully scratching
my ass.
Is this how Descartes
came up with the phrase,
‘I think therefore I am?’
Here a pain, there a pain,
everywhere I feel a pain,
I am, oh I am, yes I am!
Is this the height of my philosophy –
I feel pain therefore I am?
Then get me some coffee!
I’ll be perfect tomorrow.
Today I’ll just map out the plans,
of how tomorrow I’ll evolve
from this lazy seeker
and discover the mysteries
of man.
Is it really a mystery,
when the saints have laid bare
a path to keep the senses
at bay?
Or is it just that perfection
is another distraction,
another excuse for my
lazy reactions?
– the mind, so in love
with the ego’s satisfaction,
that it lets pleasure
show reason away.
And now, the ego
lives to fight
another day.
To order Gypsy Soup click here.
And consider checking out Sreejit’s blog as well.
We Shall Overcome
Ever since I learned about Song Lyric Sunday, songs from my past have been going through my mind. My 67 years of life has had so many phases and the music that is dear to me reflects all the different paths I have walked.
As I contemplated what song to use this week, I realized I wanted it to relate both to my life in the past and the present. What song could do that better than Pete Seeger’s version of We Shall Overcome. As I read the words and listened to the video I chose to accompany it, I began to cry.
There were so many levels to my tears. I grew up during the struggle for civil rights and in a lot of ways that movement created the me I am today. As I looked at the photographs that are on the video below, my mind flooded with my own memories. Some of my tears were from remembering what this country was like before the push for civil rights, and feeling touched by how far we have come.
At the same time, the events of this past week (and many weeks/months/years before it) make it evident that we still have a long way to go. Therefore, another part of my tears were due to despair arising from the recent killings in Baton Rouge, Falcon Heights and Dallas and the overwhelm of not knowing if, when or how we will make the violence stop. When will we (humans) learn to live with love and respect for all beings?
No one knows for sure who wrote We Shall Overcome. There is some new evidence that it may have originally been a gospel hymn composed between 1932 and 1942. The lyrics have changed over the years. The song as I know it became associated with the Civil Rights movement in 1959 and was soon considered its unofficial anthem. (Wikipedia)
We Shall Overcome Lyrics
We shall overcome,
We shall overcome,
We shall overcome, some day.
Oh, deep in my heart,
I do believe
We shall overcome, some day.
We’ll walk hand in hand,
We’ll walk hand in hand,
We’ll walk hand in hand, some day.
Oh, deep in my heart…
We shall live in peace,
We shall live in peace,
We shall live in peace, some day.
Oh, deep in my heart…
The whole wide world around,
The whole wide world around,
The whole wide world around, some day.
Oh, deep in my heart…
We are not afraid,
We are not afraid,
We are not afraid, TODAY.
Oh, deep in my heart…
We shall overcome,
We shall overcome,
We shall overcome, some day.
Oh, deep in my heart,
I do believe,
We shall overcome, some day.
While my faith is a bit shaken right now, as I listen to the music, I know that this is my truth.
Oh, deep in my heart,
I, Karuna, do believe
We shall overcome, some day.
Driving Out Darkness
Murshed Zaheed, from CREDO Action <act@credoaction.com> just wrote CREDO members and said:
“We are simply reeling.
The killings by police this week of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, and the mass shooting in Dallas that killed five police officers, shine a harsh light on the way that white supremacy, systemic racism, and a culture of gun ownership driven by fear and hate puts the lives of far too many Americans, especially Black Americans, at risk.
There is much to be said in the wake of these tragedies: That Black Lives Matter. That the fight for justice has too often been littered with unnecessary violence. That too many are living in fear.
We have much work to do. At the end of a week where the world feels dark, we are thinking of the message of Martin Luther King, Jr. It is love that calls us to resist hate, racism, and violence. It is love that calls us to imagine a better world, and to fight for it. It is only love that can drive out hate.”
Murshed asked that we send out this message/picture through Facebook and Twitter. It is a message I also believe in. Since I don’t participate in Facebook, I am choosing to post it here.
Let There Be Peace on Earth
Helen at This Thing Called Life One Word at a Time started a new prompt today entitled Song Lyric Sunday. It gives participants a chance to share the lyrics and tune to a favorite song. The song that came to my mind was “Let There Be Peace on Earth and Let it Begin with Me.” It was one I loved in my early years but haven’t thought of for decades.
The song was written by Jill Jackson Miller and Sy Miller in 1955. The lyrics are:
Let There Be Peace on Earth and let it begin with me.
Let There Be Peace on Earth, the peace that was meant to be!
With God as our Father, brothers all are we.
Let me walk with my brother in perfect harmony.Let peace begin with me. Let this be the moment now.
With ev’ry breath I take, let this be my solemn vow;
To take each moment and live each moment in peace eternally!
Let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me!
When I looked for a video to post with the lyrics, I was drawn to one by the Harlem Boys’ Choir. The song touched me as much as it did fifty years ago. I imagine it will bring back memories to some of you as well. And it is certainly a message that the world needs to hear at this point in time.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXFeeJ6LSMc
Living Codes
Sreejit has written a new poem that I think is an amazing piece of self reflection.
Living, Learning and Letting Go 