If you’re wondering about the crowning moment of my athletic career, the first thing I’ll say is there really hasn’t been such a career.
But still, I’ve had highlights on the playing field. One especially.
It was the summer of ’86 and we staff members of Fiddlers restaurant in Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada were having a picnic. After too much food and drink, we decided to have a softball game. I don’t know what Europeans know about North American sports, so here’s some info:
Softball is like baseball, except played with a bigger and softer ball. In baseball, you stand at home plate, hit the ball and hopefully run to first base (to the right), then second, then third, then back home … the route looks like a diamond.
My turn up to bat. With a semi-mighty swing, I launched the ball to the outfield (that is, far from home plate).
I didn’t think – I just did. I ran to third base! To the left. Then I roared past second … and slid into first. Safe!
I looked up at my teammates and my opponents. Mouths were agape, heads were shaking, voices were raised. Apparently I was an idiot.
***
I’m enjoying the World Cup of football on TV. For the uninitiated, in football (or soccer) you’re not allowed to use your hands, or even let the ball touch your arms.
In the spirit of zooming to third base, I’m fantasizing about a player grabbing the ball and running full tilt down the field. Then throwing the ball past the goaltender into the upper right corner of the net. Goal!
I’ve written “Bruce’s Blog” for twelve years. I believe that I’ve never asked someone “What should I write about today?” and then compose words about their answer … no matter the topic.
Today I did exactly that.
I’d been sitting in Lloyd Coffee Eatery with a big space in my head. “Topic-less” you might say. So I asked Hiba, one of the servers. She agreed to tell me what to write about. “Come back in fifteen minutes and I’ll compose around whatever you say.”
Hiba returned …
Is it better to pour your heart out or keep it all in?
Woh! That’s brilliant. I was hoping she wouldn’t say “Write about the floor.”
***
I say let your heart flow. Speak the truth, with the intention to give, not to smash. The words “I love you” (all three of them together) seem to have disappeared from the lives of most people.
And if you see some shining beauty as you walk in the world, such as the dew on a spider’s web at sunrise, share it with your companion. “Do you see that? Wow!”
If you don’t let your heart roam over the planet, if you compact everything inside …
You will sooner or later get sick
(So I contend)
Don’t pour your opinions out. They so easily slip from the mouth. “Why do you always dress in dull brown? That’s so boring.” Keep it to yourself. And who knows, maybe another’s fashion choices will grow on you.
When you’re with someone you trust, be emotionally naked. No walls. No hidden bits. The truth, spoken with love, heals.
It’s a joy to be “flat” with a beloved one. That is … there’s nothing of importance left unsaid between the two of you. Issueless.
I woke up this morning feeling like a normal human being. But then …
A word appeared in my mind, and wouldn’t go away. It’s still here.
Everybody
During my day, I hear many words. Some of them land more deeply than others. But this one! It’s burrowed down from the skin to my heart.
No analysis. No “Yes buts”. Just the word hanging before my eyes … shining.
This morning I watched the second half of the Wimbledon Women’s Final match – Karolina Muchova vs. Linda Noskova. Centre Court was full with about 15,000 tennis fans. I looked at them as the word continued to roam around in my head.
Young/old, dress shirts and dresses/t-shirts and shorts, enthusiastic/reserved, hats/none, sunglasses/ none …
All of us
***
Now I’m sipping away in a half-full Lloyd Coffee Eatery. Same deal …
I was dreaming last night. It was still vivid as I woke up. I had bought a new cell phone … and it was square. I didn’t know that such things existed.
I wanted to access the internet: see who was saying what in the world, read my messages, write this blog. I tapped and tapped, but all that came up were images, colours, patterns. Where were the words?
I didn’t give up. I spent hours trying to access the comings and goings on planet Earth. Nothing but sadness at the end. I couldn’t connect.
I was floating inside a mist, not being able to tell up from down, inside from outside. Untethered … to human beings, to life.
(Sigh)
The word “chasm” comes to mind. How do I get to the other side?
Can I really jump that far to reach what I want? Sometimes it feels hopeless. Ahh … but perhaps tonight my dream will include wings.
I’m in a situation which is immersing me in what truth and power mean.
I see the truth as “What’s so”. The sky looks blue, except when there are clouds. The truth comes out smoothly, easily, quietly.
The power that human beings usually understand is brute force – yelling, hitting, calling names, casting aside. Such as the spears in this painting.
The Buddha meets the spears with flowers … a soft power. One that flows with a tiny and unstoppable momentum. I think of Tai Chi, where you absorb the force of the aggressor, and use it against them to bring them down.
Another description of true power comes from the epic poem The Desiderata:
As far as possible, without surrender, be on good terms with all persons
Speak your truth quietly and clearly
Avoid loud and aggressive persons. They are vexatious to the spirit
Exercise caution in your business affairs, for the world is full of trickery
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune
Both are true. The oomph is not there to sing sweet songs with human lyrics and soaring melodies. And I’m fine with that. At peace. The opening of the mouth will return.
Still, I love watching live concert videos on YouTube. When Disturbed hits those incredibly low notes in The Sound of Silence … wow!
And here’s Bob Dylan, the American singer-songwriter who has entertained us since the 60’s. He knows a thing or two about beauty and truth.
Songs, to me, were more important than just light entertainment. They were my preceptor and guide into some altered consciousness of reality. Some different republic, some liberated republic.
“Access”is a fine word. What allows us to travel from one state of being to another? Is there a road map? A winding path? No path?
Music brings me along, inside the melody and harmony, inside the words …
The slow one now Will later be fast As the present now Will later be past The order is rapidly fadin’ And the first one now Will later be last For the times they are a-changin’
Fine songs point me to the moon … so bright, often overwhelmingly so.
Some of you are pretty young … and wise. I’m especially thinking of a Buddhist nun from Italy: Gotami. Her name was given by her teacher in Myanmar. She’s 27.
I wonder what wisdom means …
The ability to apply knowledge, experience and deep understanding to make sound judgments and good decisions … involving empathy, emotional balance and a clear moral compass to navigate complex life situations and benefit the greater good
So … the mind and the heart.
Can a five-year-old child be wise? As in “from the mouths of babes”? I say yes.
Can a mentally handicapped person be wise? My head is nodding yes.
Can you and I be wise? Why not? I sense there’s a slowing down here, letting the teachings of life wash over me.
And I’d say that a divine mist is falling on the shoulders of Venerable Gotami.
Voilà:
Even if just one person feels more understood, more whole, or simply less alone … that would be the greatest gift of all.
…
Live truthfully. Follow your own path rather than your parents’ fears or society’s expectations. A wholesome life grounded in ethics, courage and openness is possible.
…
[I read] the beautiful poem “The Albatross” by Charles Baudelaire, which spoke of a majestic seabird mocked and mistreated by sailors. I cried in front of the entire class the first time I read it. The poem was harsh but profoundly moving. Its message was clear: people don’t understand beauty and spiritual goodness – they mock those who are different, clumsy or sensitive. I felt like that winged traveller every single day.
…
He wore an orange robe, had olive skin, and round, peaceful, luminous eyes.
…
Even my life could perhaps encourage that girl who dreams in secret, and hides her wishes in a drawer.
…
That place was calling me. And I answered.
…
I promised myself: “If I talk the way I would to someone I love, I’m doing it right.”
…
I wasn’t afraid of the dangers. I was more scared of not answering the call inside me. Even if something bad happened to me by accident while I was there, I was ready to take responsibility. I was prepared to face any difficulty to achieve my dream. That opportunity I had dreamed of for so long was finally here, right in front of me. And I couldn’t let it go.
…
Part of something far greater than myself
…
It was an ancient kind of happiness, like I had been there many times before.
We are introduced to Lyra Belacqua in the first volume of Philip Pullman’s trilogy His Dark Marerials. She’s an 11-year-old orphan, wise beyond her years, alive like few others.
Even AI enjoys Lyra:
Lyra fights against oppressive religious structures, masters the truth-telling alethiometer, and undergoes a profound journey into adulthood.
Who leads on this planet? Those who are brave, whose eyes are wide open to the mystery, and whose mouth speaks the truth.
I don’t care how old you are, what you look like, where you’re from. I’ll be by your side if you’re kind, if you have empathy, if you stand up when others stay seated, if you go towards rather than backing away.
Philip Pullman says some amazing things in his writing. Here are a bunch of them. (And I realize you have no context for these quotes and descriptions)
What Lyra says:
“Iorek!” she said in a fierce undertone. “Listen! You owe me a debt, right? Well now you can repay it. Do as I ask. Don’t fight these men. Just turn around and walk away with me. We want you, Iorek, you can’t stay here. Just come down the harbour with me and don’t even look back.”
…
“I want to come North,” Lyra said so they could all hear it. “I want to come and help rescue the kids.“
“We will go,” she said to Pantalaimon. “Let ’em try to stop us. We will !”
…
When I get out, I’m going to tell all the kids in the world about this.
You oughter go and see him. He still loves you, I know he does.
Come on, I’ll make a new bandage, I’ll put some coffee on to cook, I’ll make some omelette, whatever you want, and we’ll sleep … We’ll be safe now we’ve got the alethiometer back, you’ll see. I’ll do nothing now except help you find your father, I promise …
***
What people say to Lyra:
The stars are alive, child. Did you know that? Everything out there is alive, and there are grand purposes abroad! The universe is full of intentions, you know. Everything happens for a purpose. Your purpose is to remind me of that.
…
She took off her crown, and plucked from it one of the little scarlet flowers that, while she wore them, remained as fresh as if they had just been picked.
“Take this with you,” she said, “and whenever you need my help, hold it in your hand and call to me. I shall hear you, wherever you are.”
…
Where do you come from? What are you? How do you know things like this?
***
What people say about Lyra:
Shame on you! Think what this child has done! You might not have more courage, but you should be ashamed to show less.
…
“This little girl’s pretty important, huh?” he said after several minutes.
“More than she will know,” Serafina Pekkala replied.
…
This is no ordinary child.
“We’re looking for a child,” said Serafina. “A young girl from our world. Her name is Lyra Belacqua, called Lyra Silvertongue. But where she might be, in a whole world, we can’t guess. You haven’t seen a strange child, on her own?”
***
How Lyra breaks open the world:
It was the most dangerous thing she had ever said. She could see quite clearly that only his astonishment prevented him from killing her on the spot.
She stood still, this tall bony gawky girl in her white nightgown and her bare feet, her face so unguarded it was almost naked, a face where intelligence and honesty and shyness and courage and hope all blended into an expression that touched Lee’s heart so strongly he all but fell in love with her there and then.
The witches have talked about this child for centuries past. Because they live so close to the place where the veil between the worlds is thin, they hear immortal whispers from time to time, in the voices of those beings who pass between the worlds. And they have spoken of a child such as this, who has a great destiny that can only be fulfilled elsewhere – not in this world but far beyond. Without this child, we shall all die.
First of all, my calculating mind is saying that noun should be spelled nown. The mysteries of the English language continue.
Anyway – person, place or thing. Or … more subtly and delightfully – value, principle, of the soul.
I don’t get excited by a door, but “integrity” warms my heart.
Many moons ago, a teacher introduced me to content analysis. Take a piece of writing and see if the author has used certain words frequently, or similar words. That will tell you something about the person’s perspective … and heart.
So here’s a Facebook user in response to some post about US politics, in which many people commenting were critical of the person posting. I look for nouns that join …
I’m so disheartened reading these mix of comments.
We have allowed our politics and our blind allegiance to political and religious ideology to cripple us as a nation from even seeing the truth.
We are human, first and foremost. With the responsibility to care for each other, especially our most vulnerable, and our planet.
This division has to end between our political parties. Citizens acting out of fear, anxiety, and rage are predisposed to directing all those feelings, and that blame to the “other side”. That division is what fuels the devolution of our very democracy.
There are no sides when it comes to protecting and defending our constitution, our people, and our planet. Which are all currently under very real threats.
Thank you for speaking the truth, and thank you for protecting and defending the constitution.
I would like to have coffee with this fine human being
Bruce's Blog 