from our brother, thomas merton

A theology of love cannot afford to be sentimental. It cannot afford to preach edifying generalities about charity, while identifying "peace" with mere established power and legalized violence against the oppressed. A theology of love cannot be allowed merely to serve the interests of the rich and powerful, justifying their wars, their violence and their bombs, while exhorting the poor and underprivileged to practice patience, meekness, longsuffering and to solve their problems—if at all, nonviolently.

The theology of love must seek to deal realistically with the evil and injustice in the world, and not merely to compromise with them. Such a theology will have to take note of the ambiguous realities of politics, without embracing the specious myth of a "realism" that merely justifies force in the service of established power. Theology does not exist merely to appease the already too untroubled conscience of the powerful and the established. A theology of love may also conceivably turn out to be a theology of revolution. In any case, it is a theology of resistance, a refusal of the evil that reduces a brother to homicidal desperation. (Faith and Violence )

cactus metaphor

i had the day off thursday, packed a lunch, a book ("atom from the sun of knowledge" by sufi shaikh lex hixon), and a camera and walked up my street until it became a path heading up into the mountains. within 5 minutes the city had dissapeared and i was alone w/ a jungle of cactus and other hostile plants and animals.

after hiking to the top of a small mountain, finding a flat vantage point to eat and view and read, i found two things - one in the book and another on the mountan top....the basis of this revelation.

since moving here i have been focused on one cactus in particular. its a kind of yucca that has numerous spines that fan out in a 2 foot diameter around the base of the plant and a 12 foot stalk that shoots upward from the center. at the top there are several pods that contain the seeds. when the seeds are ready, the plant dies and falls over, spilling the seeds...and one did in front of me as i was reading a collection of suras from the quran selected by lex hixon as one of several versus favored by the people of tasting (sufi).

so the verse is .....

"in any and every direction you turn, there is only the face of the beloved." - 2.115


....the singular purpose of the life of a plant, especially a desert plant became for me a metaphor. the simple fact that its whole life was lived for this single moment, selflessly continuing the creation even after its own death, w/ everything it needs to protect itself in this hostile enviroment - and in its goal giving it all up in the end. viewed in this way, the plant is the perfection of evolution and we are at the bottom of the progression.
maybe divinity created the perfection first in plants, and it evolved further and further away from the source, and now here we are to struggle w/ this journey back to the source....tied up in our intellegence, emotions, complexity. seperated from our true nature - the singular purpose as creators, the protectors, the perpetuators....a reflextion of the image of god

my new goal, live life as a cactus metaphor.

music as religion....

how
should those who know of god
meet and
part?

the way
an old musician
greets his beloved
instrument

and will take special care,
as a great artist always does,

to enhance the final note
of each

performance.

- hafiz

new....yr...day....hour.....moment.......?

to my friends and family.....happy new year, i miss u who r there (wherever that is) and am thankful for the amazing light and warmth i feel from u regardless of distance......

the return to bisbee from cleveland affected just about every part of me. the marathon drive (2000 miles in 38 hours -2x in 10 days) pushed all the emotions into the sureal, and i still dont have a concrete idea how i feel about anything....i know it was a fantastic trip and that i miss my friends and making music w/ my favorite musicians and at the same time was exicted by the idea of returning to my new friends and beautiful landscapes of bisbee.

its funny how a place will fade once youve left it. i was amazed by how different the color of cleveland was all white and grey and once again by az, bright blue and red. and after the initial shock of temperature and view i forgot all about my new home-not the people or any of the events or responsibilities (i brought my laptop and did work for my new job in between all the gigs and sessions in cleveland - i think if have a work addiction or fear of stagnation or some such thing) it was the feeling of where i was that made me forget the feeling of where i lived both coming and going from cleve....but now im back - - -- - new years in bisbee is by far the most interesting place ive been. the town is filled w/ the freakest people, hobos and hippies, burning man folks, gypsies. all come to town to celebrate the clean slate, living in the mountains, playing music and doing tricks. its like a circus of dirty transience for about a week or so. colorful, though.

you all should come and check this shit out....