Beautiful thoughts, Gregory! I am urgently searching for paths to leave the death-cult matrix and into communities where compassion, creativity, and freedom are actually practiced. I love your work and am very excited to read more. I hope I can help build and participate in a better and more just world, too.
Thanks for your kind words and for your interest in my music, Gregory. I can imagine how a petrified forest would be a thing of beauty and would inspire reverence. I recently joined Substack in order to share my music and in particular my series of 6 pieces on The Wisdom of Trees. So far I have released 2 of these which you can listen to and read about here. https://open.substack.com/pub/glynsmusic?r=3w1kec&utm_medium=ios
Thank you for this reminder to recognise beauty in the world, wherever and whenever we find it, Gregory. I have found particular joy in trees. As a composer they have inspired me to create, and as someone entering the ‘elder’ stage of life they have taught me many lessons. I look forward to reading more of your wise reflections.
Beautiful. I can think of no elders more worthy of our consistent attention and devotion than Trees. Well, now that I think of it, Rocks are certainly worthy. I once visited a petrified forest as a child, it felt like I was going to church in an ancient living cathedral. I sure would love to hear you compositions Glyn, I imagine they must be remarkable. I am glad you are here. All blessings to you...
This is the first thing you've written that I found and read and I love it. There is a lot to think about here. I will say simple this - when I was coming of age I was quite cynical and though I understand the cynic's process to pick things apart as a step towards change, I eventually came to believe that I need to move forward by living in ways that created the future I want to live in. I believe that we create ourselves and our world in each moment and when I am able to choose to see beauty, find sources of joy, breathe deeply, and walk in the forest....etc...I feel much more hope for our future.
Thank you for sharing Lindsay. I love that you mention hope here. And I can see that you are wisely taking advantage of what you have to nourish joy in the world. This is what hope seems to be, to know what to do with what we have. And we have a lot. All blessings to you. Thank you for being here...
thank you for these words. Have you read Joyful Militancy by carla bergman and Nick Montgomery? So much of what you say resonates with me because I first read that book.
Nice to meet you Laurel! Thanks for chiming in, and reading along:) I have not yet read this book but I will try and find it! We need to be Joy Warriors! :) cheers
I grew up in St. Louis, Missouri, and share a similar experience of pain and grief related to the killing, jailing, and policing of Black people. I also very much resonate with your encouragement in this piece, to stay connected to Joy. One of my mentors, Angela Malik, a Zambian woman who helped many people in the Ngombe neighborhood of Lusaka, Zambia, used to say, “Don’t worry, Be Happy,” with an intonation that felt like waves rolling over your heart. She also would say, “You know, I have a dream… because everyone has a right to dream… No?” And then she would share her latest vision of how to help people in her community-most of them children orphaned by the HIV/AIDS epidemic, and we wanted to be a part of helping to make it happen. She also used to say, “Be like a sponge, not a stone….” Meaning, soak up the knowledge from an experience, but don’t keep it to yourself, wring out the precious sacred water and share it with others. Thank you for sharing your inspirations, Gregory.
Beautiful. I know St. Louis well. Some of my first memories are from there. And yes, a great deal of race related issues along the Mighty Mississippi. Thanks for sharing Leah. You are lucky to have found a mentor as wise as Angela. What a blessing. "Share it with others."
As a fellow “post-activist”, your words resonate. I also struggle to find joy in the midst of so much violence and loss, meaningful action in the ever tightly entangled algorithms of power.
One difference between us (perhaps) is that I don’t see the Earth dying. I watch in wonder as the sky, the birds, the worms, the little things that indeed do rule the world respond to our errant ways. 🦠
I think my view of dying is not so different from my view of living. As a Buddhist and a farmer it is clear that the two are inseparable. I think this is more akin to what you are sharing here. I suppose a more fitting word would be “sick”. And if the Earth is sick, humans inevitably will be too. Thanks for sharing:)
Your words bring tears to my eyes, Gregory. Thank you. I'm glad Gary sent me your way! I'm looking forward to following along, from slightly more North of you in Thailand.
Were you the one who recommended "Hospicing Modernity" which I just started reading last night?
I live with joy and hope in a world of despair, not rising above it but rather seeing through it. I remember reading "Hope for the Flowers" by Trina Paulus and it's hard to believe it just celebrated 50 years in publication. If you don't have a copy, your daughter will enjoy your reading it together. Every time, every day I see a butterfly, I see hope and joy and here, that is every day, with gratitude.
Probably so! I often recommend this book! I find it to be one of the most important works of this time. Glad you are reading it! I hope I can get my hands on Hope for the Flowers! Thanks for the recommendation Gary!
Yes, the focus on "Joy in spite of everything" (Tom Robbins) is essential; we have to keep shifting into high gear as the old world plays out. And that is what is happening - an old world is ending and a new one beginning. As we re-focus on how we want to experience it instead, we will tend to have that happen. Perhaps now is the time for humanity to make its move.
Martin Prechtel is big into grief, and that is appropriate here, as there is much too much of its functional opposite - RAGE - being indulged in. If we felt our pain and cried it out instead of repressing it and then acting out, we would rebirth our world in a day and a half.
The hating and fighting have to stop, and that means fighting against anything. "Smashing" patriarchy is not the way. Ignoring it and redirecting our energy is. I like Arundhati Roy's words here very much:
“Our strategy should be not only to confront empire, but to lay siege to it. To deprive it of oxygen. To shame it. To mock it. With our art, our music, our literature, our stubbornness, our joy, our brilliance, our sheer relentlessness – and our ability to tell our own stories. Stories that are different from the ones we’re being brainwashed to believe.
"The corporate revolution will collapse if we refuse to buy what they are selling – their ideas, their version of history, their wars, their weapons, their notion of inevitability.
"Remember this: We be many and they be few. They need us more than we need them.
"Another world is not only possible, she is on her way. On a quiet day, I can hear her breathing.”
Beautiful thoughts, Gregory! I am urgently searching for paths to leave the death-cult matrix and into communities where compassion, creativity, and freedom are actually practiced. I love your work and am very excited to read more. I hope I can help build and participate in a better and more just world, too.
Much love, Alexa
Thanks Alexa. You can do it:) It's what we are born to do!
Thanks for your kind words and for your interest in my music, Gregory. I can imagine how a petrified forest would be a thing of beauty and would inspire reverence. I recently joined Substack in order to share my music and in particular my series of 6 pieces on The Wisdom of Trees. So far I have released 2 of these which you can listen to and read about here. https://open.substack.com/pub/glynsmusic?r=3w1kec&utm_medium=ios
Thank you for this reminder to recognise beauty in the world, wherever and whenever we find it, Gregory. I have found particular joy in trees. As a composer they have inspired me to create, and as someone entering the ‘elder’ stage of life they have taught me many lessons. I look forward to reading more of your wise reflections.
Beautiful. I can think of no elders more worthy of our consistent attention and devotion than Trees. Well, now that I think of it, Rocks are certainly worthy. I once visited a petrified forest as a child, it felt like I was going to church in an ancient living cathedral. I sure would love to hear you compositions Glyn, I imagine they must be remarkable. I am glad you are here. All blessings to you...
This is the first thing you've written that I found and read and I love it. There is a lot to think about here. I will say simple this - when I was coming of age I was quite cynical and though I understand the cynic's process to pick things apart as a step towards change, I eventually came to believe that I need to move forward by living in ways that created the future I want to live in. I believe that we create ourselves and our world in each moment and when I am able to choose to see beauty, find sources of joy, breathe deeply, and walk in the forest....etc...I feel much more hope for our future.
Thank you for sharing Lindsay. I love that you mention hope here. And I can see that you are wisely taking advantage of what you have to nourish joy in the world. This is what hope seems to be, to know what to do with what we have. And we have a lot. All blessings to you. Thank you for being here...
Hello from a new subscriber,
thank you for these words. Have you read Joyful Militancy by carla bergman and Nick Montgomery? So much of what you say resonates with me because I first read that book.
Wishing you joy,
Laurel
Nice to meet you Laurel! Thanks for chiming in, and reading along:) I have not yet read this book but I will try and find it! We need to be Joy Warriors! :) cheers
I grew up in St. Louis, Missouri, and share a similar experience of pain and grief related to the killing, jailing, and policing of Black people. I also very much resonate with your encouragement in this piece, to stay connected to Joy. One of my mentors, Angela Malik, a Zambian woman who helped many people in the Ngombe neighborhood of Lusaka, Zambia, used to say, “Don’t worry, Be Happy,” with an intonation that felt like waves rolling over your heart. She also would say, “You know, I have a dream… because everyone has a right to dream… No?” And then she would share her latest vision of how to help people in her community-most of them children orphaned by the HIV/AIDS epidemic, and we wanted to be a part of helping to make it happen. She also used to say, “Be like a sponge, not a stone….” Meaning, soak up the knowledge from an experience, but don’t keep it to yourself, wring out the precious sacred water and share it with others. Thank you for sharing your inspirations, Gregory.
Beautiful. I know St. Louis well. Some of my first memories are from there. And yes, a great deal of race related issues along the Mighty Mississippi. Thanks for sharing Leah. You are lucky to have found a mentor as wise as Angela. What a blessing. "Share it with others."
As a fellow “post-activist”, your words resonate. I also struggle to find joy in the midst of so much violence and loss, meaningful action in the ever tightly entangled algorithms of power.
One difference between us (perhaps) is that I don’t see the Earth dying. I watch in wonder as the sky, the birds, the worms, the little things that indeed do rule the world respond to our errant ways. 🦠
❤️🔥💖
I think my view of dying is not so different from my view of living. As a Buddhist and a farmer it is clear that the two are inseparable. I think this is more akin to what you are sharing here. I suppose a more fitting word would be “sick”. And if the Earth is sick, humans inevitably will be too. Thanks for sharing:)
Your words bring tears to my eyes, Gregory. Thank you. I'm glad Gary sent me your way! I'm looking forward to following along, from slightly more North of you in Thailand.
Hope our paths cross soon:)
Were you the one who recommended "Hospicing Modernity" which I just started reading last night?
I live with joy and hope in a world of despair, not rising above it but rather seeing through it. I remember reading "Hope for the Flowers" by Trina Paulus and it's hard to believe it just celebrated 50 years in publication. If you don't have a copy, your daughter will enjoy your reading it together. Every time, every day I see a butterfly, I see hope and joy and here, that is every day, with gratitude.
Probably so! I often recommend this book! I find it to be one of the most important works of this time. Glad you are reading it! I hope I can get my hands on Hope for the Flowers! Thanks for the recommendation Gary!
Yes, the focus on "Joy in spite of everything" (Tom Robbins) is essential; we have to keep shifting into high gear as the old world plays out. And that is what is happening - an old world is ending and a new one beginning. As we re-focus on how we want to experience it instead, we will tend to have that happen. Perhaps now is the time for humanity to make its move.
Martin Prechtel is big into grief, and that is appropriate here, as there is much too much of its functional opposite - RAGE - being indulged in. If we felt our pain and cried it out instead of repressing it and then acting out, we would rebirth our world in a day and a half.
The hating and fighting have to stop, and that means fighting against anything. "Smashing" patriarchy is not the way. Ignoring it and redirecting our energy is. I like Arundhati Roy's words here very much:
“Our strategy should be not only to confront empire, but to lay siege to it. To deprive it of oxygen. To shame it. To mock it. With our art, our music, our literature, our stubbornness, our joy, our brilliance, our sheer relentlessness – and our ability to tell our own stories. Stories that are different from the ones we’re being brainwashed to believe.
"The corporate revolution will collapse if we refuse to buy what they are selling – their ideas, their version of history, their wars, their weapons, their notion of inevitability.
"Remember this: We be many and they be few. They need us more than we need them.
"Another world is not only possible, she is on her way. On a quiet day, I can hear her breathing.”
- "War Talk"