GREED: The Ironic Antecedent to the Fall of Capitalism (as we have come to know it)

Saturday, October 11, 2008

7:49am
Our free market system has been placed on life support. This cataclysmic attack has not been at the hands of global terrorists unwell with our duplicitous foreign policy or the corruption that stales our domestic political agenda. It was an inside job…the mastermind of a proverbial parasite. Moreover, the demise of this system has cast economic dominos tumbling downward throughout the world, and has sent us back to the doorsteps of communist China – hat in hand – requesting a “bailout”.

From economists, politicians, and savvy businessmen to retired teachers, farm workers and American dreamers from sea to shining sea, we have all had a whack at identifying the culprit of this catastrophe – feverishly searching for an outlet upon which to project anger and rage, disappointment and unease. Fear has taken hold of the minds and hearts of many of our countrymen as well as citizens that inhabit cities and towns around the globe. In the aftermath, we have been allowed to see yet again how intricately tied our destinies are.

This has occurred amid our seeking to democratize the planet and arrogantly insist that others follow our lead. While we can’t seem to dislodge our ego-inflated head from our own ass, we steadily offer the world our empty rhetoric of e pluribus unum, in exchange for their deeply rooted cultural understandings of such fundamentally human concepts as:

“I am because we are, and because we are therefore I am..."
"Between friends all is common…”
“I am my brother’s keeper…”
“When spider webs unite, we can tie up a lion…”

It looks to me like we have a lot to learn.

(I wonder if this makes me a 'socialist' or maybe even 'un-American'...if so, I guess I'm in good company)

The Best Birthday Gift Ever!

Wednesday, October 8, 2008

1:35pm
I had an amazing birthday yesterday! There was a lot of reflecting, some quality ME time and quite a few heart-warming notes from family and friends who I love and appreciate for making this life experience a tremendous ride. The cards I received were beautiful. The gifts were very thoughtful. However, yesterday I got a gift that I can honestly say will never be duplicated. It was one of a kind. It was the best birthday gift ever.

I found this gift in my mailbox. It was there with an Allen Brothers catalog, a bill for my student loan payment, and a beautiful card from my mother (yeah, I'm still a "mama's boy" no matter how I try to deny it). My hands trembled as I held the envelop. I smiled a very big smile. Of all the things I could have received on my birthday, I stood there holding my vote-by-mail ballot for the November 4th election. How freakin awesome was that?

Yesterday....on my birthday....I was given the opportunity to exercise my right to vote in a very special election. I proudly cast my ballot for Barack Obama and Joe Biden. What an amazing birthday indeed!

On Identity - Part 5 - Life Force (A Birthday Finale)

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

7:55am
Thirty-2 years ago today I showed up. I had chosen as a backdrop all of the identity props that I have mentioned in my previous posts on this topic – a race, a gender, a family, a hometown (Washington, DC). I’ve lived the vast majority of this life making agreements, doing what was "appropriate": being a good student…a good son...a good Christian; all as if who I was could be encased, defined, shaped, or understood by a human story. It often seemed as if I were in search of an identity, when in actuality I was returning to a truth.

There is a dimension of me – who I really am – that was never born and will never die. This dimension has never been hurt, harmed or endangered. It’s the energetic that plays the soundtrack of my existence. It’s an orchestral symphony; an improvisized jazz riff; blues that shout rhythms; spiritual hymns that speak a freedom unbeknownst to captivity; it’s the reverb of the drum....that beats the heart….that sources the blood… that awakens the house in which my soul dwells. It’s a feeling that illuminates a body. A force which animates a life! I AM LIFE FORCE (élan vital).

Main Entry: life force
Part of Speech: n.
Definition: the vital force or impulse of life; one's source of vitality, spirit, energy, and strength;

A great delusion has swept the consciousness of the planet. It has lulled us into a false belief of separation from the thing itself. As a result, we define ourselves according to outward appearances rather than inward realizations. We live victimized by circumstances, because we have relegated our creative power to performance rather than emboding it ontologically. We have the power, yet we consider it blasphemous to think that we ARE the power. There is no separation.

I have awakened to a conscious awareness that I am the very vibration of life. I am life itself. EXPANSIVE…WHOLE…BOUNDLESS! I am now free from the limited beliefs…which shaped the limited perspectives….which out pictured as the limitations of my experiences. The force is with me. I bring the force. I AM THE FORCE!

Happy Birthday to me!