Lovely and true! Wull, I DO remember and keep scratchin' my head as to the fact that SO many do not...those in lockstep with their new normal bull-de-ology that so dehumanizes us messy human beans. I'm a' jus' comin' up for air after 25 days with no email service and a big move and a jab-injured mama (and lots more--when it rains it pours jus' like that Morton's Salt gal) but as I start to read all the messages I missed, I was SO glad to see this one--and watch. Havin' our truth projected in under 5 joyful moments is what we are all 'bout. Well done agin'--and kudos to ya both!
I am surrounded by people who clearly do not or can not remember. The clearest sign they don't is that they don't recognize anything has changed. People still wearing masks in grocery stores are treated as a novelty rather than a great shame of how we treated treated each other.
So many people are in a rush to "move on" that they're hardly looking at what they're moving on into.
I really appreciate this video because it really puts it all into focus. If nothing else, reestablishing pro-human norms needs to be one of the top priorities.
That’s a great point. The reestablishment of those norms is the basis before anything gets built again, indeed. I see you point that out in chats and in comments, and I will vow to play a bigger part of this notion, especially in real life. Easier to fight war than to make peace, but peace is what we need.
As far as moving on and not knowing what we’re moving on to, I would hope we all play a role in building that future. It’s a unique position humanity is in, to be able to do that. Finally enough critical mass of folks ready to exit existing systems. I see you doing that with your tech knowledge and with your stack.
Great video. My reaction while watching: yes, I do remember, but vaguely. Very vaguely, the way people our age remember their adolescence. Another lifetime, in the distant past. That world feels long long gone. I won't say I have no hope for the future, but to the extent I have any hope for some more-optimistic future, it will be a long road. It always seems much easier to tear things down than build them up; what we have lost will not be easy or quick to get back, and we have lost so much. I agree that you captured the essence, the spirit of the words perfectly, maybe the very fact that it was so well executed is part of why it made me feel very sad watching that. But very well-done.
Sometimes I get crushed by the feeling you describe, but sometimes when I glimpse a moment free of fear and full of joy, I am reminded that progress is exponential; we can’t even imagine what we are capable of and the speed of which we are capable of it. Perhaps we need to envision the ‘what’ and let the universe show us the ‘how’? Maybe we can’t even imagine the ‘how’ yet.
Yeah, that sort of makes me think of a concept I've been 'wrestling with' these past two or three months, the idea of trying to become more comfortable with uncertainty, to allow myself to sit in a place of uncertainty. Rather than be completely pessimistic, rather than say to myself "I don't see a way out so therefore there must not be a way out (or a way forward or whatever)", to say "I may not be able to see a way out but that doesn't mean there isn't one". It requires some humility, which is always a good thing to attempt to have a bit more of, so I'm working on that.
I found your visualisation of Margaret Anna Alice's words very moving, like the sentiment itself. As with a lot of your stuff it resonates deeply inside of me on, yes, a visceral level. Thank you both. Moreover, if the joy we have lost is replaced by defiance then I believe we are going to move on to an even better place. So I wish love and the new joy we are going to find on everyone who comes and visits these types of pages. The 'we' of that team are, indeed, all in it together. Peace.
>the joy we have lost is replaced by defiance then I believe we are going to move on to an even better place.
I’m already feeling that. And the more fun we have being defiant, the more fence sitters it will attract. Thanks for the great wishes and I wish the same! 🤗
This was wonderful and timely for me. I was just ruminating about the fear of hugging yesterday while watching a movie and when I woke up, there was your collaboration. Just shared it on my page. Well done! xo
“Let go or be dragged”—love the wisdom, love the graphic, and love YOU!
I had a blast and am so grateful to you for bringing my prose poem to life, Tonika. Can’t wait to dive into the next one (after we both catch our breath(s?) :-)
Hope you had a spectacular Christmas, and here’s to taking on 2023 together! 🙌
A match made in heaven. Beautiful work, both of you! I love the feel of ease, freedom, and joy that suffuses the video. It's a visceral (of course! 😉) reminder of who we were before all of this dystopian bullshit...
You both inspire me. I let anger overtake me over the last 3 years. In the last few months I have realized how much it stifled the creative part of me that is so vital to my wellbeing. Thanks for being part of the catalyst to get me back to being me.
I know that suffocation of creativity well, Rebecca. The last couple of months have had me feeling my old self again. Finally. Believe it or not, I found inspiration in your grit, in the stories you shared in the OU chat, and in your resilience. I’m here with you, sister. ✊
Yes, I am one of the many who had to pick their jaw off the floor after seeing the video collab between you and Margaret. Fantastic. For all the good it will do, I posted it to several Fakebook groups and followed you immediately.
But then I saw the 'Zen Proverb' pic at the bottom of your post here, and my jaw dropped again. By way of brief introduction ... here is a little something I posted on Quora about 7 years ago.
I am fairly eclectic, not a follower of any particular tradition, but I do have a healthy intellectual, practical, and aesthetic respect for Zen. Pretty much agree with Patrick, David, and George's comments.
My understanding of Zen came mostly from reading Suzuki Daisetsu in my undergrad days, and a few other books along similar lines later on such as Zen Flesh, Zen Bones (Paul Reps).
At that time, I went through an intellectual stage of comparing Daisetsu's explanations to other thinkers such as Wittgenstein, Emerson, Jung, and mystics from more Euro-centric traditions.
Later in life, one of my part-time college teaching jobs for about 10 years was at a well known private university in Tokyo, Komazawa University, which was founded and still funded by a Zen sect, and is also one of Japan's oldest schools.
While working at Komazawa, I occasionally raised the topic of Zen in relation to deconstructing movies or short stories in upper level English classes, and although the students mostly understood my angle when pressed to give every-day examples (e.g. comparing 'kandou' with 'satori' — ‘a profoundly moving experience’ with ‘enlightenment’) or cross cultural equivalents (other than ‘woke’), they did not seem to be particularly knowledgeable about Zen or Buddhism in general.
After about my 3rd year or so working at the school, I finally attended one of those once-a-year parties held to allow part-time teachers to meet their otherwise anonymous, tenured counter-parts. I tried to strike up some small talk with the head of one of the graduate programs, and mentioned I was a big fan of Suzuki Daisetsu.
(In the interval since writing this original ‘answer’, I actually went to Kanazawa and visited the Suzuki Daisetsu Museum. That is about the time I started finding out that Suzuki Daisetsu was actually cast out from Kyoto University and was virtually an enemy of the pre-W.W.II Imperial Nation-State of Japan.)
But back to the party … my remark about Suzuki Daisetsu was met with amused condescension ... with me listening meekly while he explained that Zen, as popularized in Western cultures by Suzuki, was completely wrong. He then gave me an impromptu lecture of something that sounded altogether more militant and ethno-centric / right-wing.
To this day, I don't know if that intellectual spanking was because I did not know the difference between Rinzai Zen and Soto Zen, or because he was just an asshole. I suspect a bit of both.
————
A lot has happened since I wrote that, most of it not good. But thanks to activists like you and Margaret, things are getting better.
No one here is dishing spelling grades (I hope!). I certainly wont pass. English isn’t my first language. Grateful for when readers catch my mistakes and let me know so I can correct in a post. In a comment section - let the auto correct sow confusion galore! 😂
Lovely and true! Wull, I DO remember and keep scratchin' my head as to the fact that SO many do not...those in lockstep with their new normal bull-de-ology that so dehumanizes us messy human beans. I'm a' jus' comin' up for air after 25 days with no email service and a big move and a jab-injured mama (and lots more--when it rains it pours jus' like that Morton's Salt gal) but as I start to read all the messages I missed, I was SO glad to see this one--and watch. Havin' our truth projected in under 5 joyful moments is what we are all 'bout. Well done agin'--and kudos to ya both!
Merry Christmas 😀
And a Happy Nee Year!
I can't get the video to play. Is it on another platform?
That’s strange, I wonder what’s going on there. You can check it out on YT, if you want:
https://youtu.be/0Vh6RIpVrGE
Merry Christmas, visceral one! xxx
Merry Christmas, Helen!
I am surrounded by people who clearly do not or can not remember. The clearest sign they don't is that they don't recognize anything has changed. People still wearing masks in grocery stores are treated as a novelty rather than a great shame of how we treated treated each other.
So many people are in a rush to "move on" that they're hardly looking at what they're moving on into.
I really appreciate this video because it really puts it all into focus. If nothing else, reestablishing pro-human norms needs to be one of the top priorities.
That’s a great point. The reestablishment of those norms is the basis before anything gets built again, indeed. I see you point that out in chats and in comments, and I will vow to play a bigger part of this notion, especially in real life. Easier to fight war than to make peace, but peace is what we need.
As far as moving on and not knowing what we’re moving on to, I would hope we all play a role in building that future. It’s a unique position humanity is in, to be able to do that. Finally enough critical mass of folks ready to exit existing systems. I see you doing that with your tech knowledge and with your stack.
I love the Zen proverb.
Great video. My reaction while watching: yes, I do remember, but vaguely. Very vaguely, the way people our age remember their adolescence. Another lifetime, in the distant past. That world feels long long gone. I won't say I have no hope for the future, but to the extent I have any hope for some more-optimistic future, it will be a long road. It always seems much easier to tear things down than build them up; what we have lost will not be easy or quick to get back, and we have lost so much. I agree that you captured the essence, the spirit of the words perfectly, maybe the very fact that it was so well executed is part of why it made me feel very sad watching that. But very well-done.
Sometimes I get crushed by the feeling you describe, but sometimes when I glimpse a moment free of fear and full of joy, I am reminded that progress is exponential; we can’t even imagine what we are capable of and the speed of which we are capable of it. Perhaps we need to envision the ‘what’ and let the universe show us the ‘how’? Maybe we can’t even imagine the ‘how’ yet.
Yeah, that sort of makes me think of a concept I've been 'wrestling with' these past two or three months, the idea of trying to become more comfortable with uncertainty, to allow myself to sit in a place of uncertainty. Rather than be completely pessimistic, rather than say to myself "I don't see a way out so therefore there must not be a way out (or a way forward or whatever)", to say "I may not be able to see a way out but that doesn't mean there isn't one". It requires some humility, which is always a good thing to attempt to have a bit more of, so I'm working on that.
I found your visualisation of Margaret Anna Alice's words very moving, like the sentiment itself. As with a lot of your stuff it resonates deeply inside of me on, yes, a visceral level. Thank you both. Moreover, if the joy we have lost is replaced by defiance then I believe we are going to move on to an even better place. So I wish love and the new joy we are going to find on everyone who comes and visits these types of pages. The 'we' of that team are, indeed, all in it together. Peace.
>the joy we have lost is replaced by defiance then I believe we are going to move on to an even better place.
I’m already feeling that. And the more fun we have being defiant, the more fence sitters it will attract. Thanks for the great wishes and I wish the same! 🤗
This was wonderful and timely for me. I was just ruminating about the fear of hugging yesterday while watching a movie and when I woke up, there was your collaboration. Just shared it on my page. Well done! xo
Thank you, Barbara. 🙏
What a treat; a perfect pairing of talents. Loved it.
More, please.
Ten for, more coming, Kathleen! Thank you for encouraging. 🤗
😊🙏
“Let go or be dragged”—love the wisdom, love the graphic, and love YOU!
I had a blast and am so grateful to you for bringing my prose poem to life, Tonika. Can’t wait to dive into the next one (after we both catch our breath(s?) :-)
Hope you had a spectacular Christmas, and here’s to taking on 2023 together! 🙌
Shoulder to shoulder, MAA! When it’s fun and effortless, it’s the universe’s way of lighting the path, me thinks!
🙌
A match made in heaven. Beautiful work, both of you! I love the feel of ease, freedom, and joy that suffuses the video. It's a visceral (of course! 😉) reminder of who we were before all of this dystopian bullshit...
This dystopian bullshit is gonna give us artists content for eons... 😂
Oh God yes! I particularly like the implication that artists will actually still be "a thing" eons from now 😂😜
You both inspire me. I let anger overtake me over the last 3 years. In the last few months I have realized how much it stifled the creative part of me that is so vital to my wellbeing. Thanks for being part of the catalyst to get me back to being me.
What a phenomenal comment, Rebecca. Congratulations on rediscovering your creative lifeblood, and it is an honor to have played a role in that.
I know that suffocation of creativity well, Rebecca. The last couple of months have had me feeling my old self again. Finally. Believe it or not, I found inspiration in your grit, in the stories you shared in the OU chat, and in your resilience. I’m here with you, sister. ✊
What a fantastic collaboration!! So inspiring. Such awesome work. Thank you...
https://imgflip.com/i/75fzok
That is an unsettling image.
It is...blame Kubrick.
Hello from Japan Tonika!
Yes, I am one of the many who had to pick their jaw off the floor after seeing the video collab between you and Margaret. Fantastic. For all the good it will do, I posted it to several Fakebook groups and followed you immediately.
But then I saw the 'Zen Proverb' pic at the bottom of your post here, and my jaw dropped again. By way of brief introduction ... here is a little something I posted on Quora about 7 years ago.
————
https://www.quora.com/What-do-modern-Japanese-think-of-Zen
Sept. 2015
I am fairly eclectic, not a follower of any particular tradition, but I do have a healthy intellectual, practical, and aesthetic respect for Zen. Pretty much agree with Patrick, David, and George's comments.
My understanding of Zen came mostly from reading Suzuki Daisetsu in my undergrad days, and a few other books along similar lines later on such as Zen Flesh, Zen Bones (Paul Reps).
At that time, I went through an intellectual stage of comparing Daisetsu's explanations to other thinkers such as Wittgenstein, Emerson, Jung, and mystics from more Euro-centric traditions.
Later in life, one of my part-time college teaching jobs for about 10 years was at a well known private university in Tokyo, Komazawa University, which was founded and still funded by a Zen sect, and is also one of Japan's oldest schools.
While working at Komazawa, I occasionally raised the topic of Zen in relation to deconstructing movies or short stories in upper level English classes, and although the students mostly understood my angle when pressed to give every-day examples (e.g. comparing 'kandou' with 'satori' — ‘a profoundly moving experience’ with ‘enlightenment’) or cross cultural equivalents (other than ‘woke’), they did not seem to be particularly knowledgeable about Zen or Buddhism in general.
After about my 3rd year or so working at the school, I finally attended one of those once-a-year parties held to allow part-time teachers to meet their otherwise anonymous, tenured counter-parts. I tried to strike up some small talk with the head of one of the graduate programs, and mentioned I was a big fan of Suzuki Daisetsu.
(In the interval since writing this original ‘answer’, I actually went to Kanazawa and visited the Suzuki Daisetsu Museum. That is about the time I started finding out that Suzuki Daisetsu was actually cast out from Kyoto University and was virtually an enemy of the pre-W.W.II Imperial Nation-State of Japan.)
But back to the party … my remark about Suzuki Daisetsu was met with amused condescension ... with me listening meekly while he explained that Zen, as popularized in Western cultures by Suzuki, was completely wrong. He then gave me an impromptu lecture of something that sounded altogether more militant and ethno-centric / right-wing.
To this day, I don't know if that intellectual spanking was because I did not know the difference between Rinzai Zen and Soto Zen, or because he was just an asshole. I suspect a bit of both.
————
A lot has happened since I wrote that, most of it not good. But thanks to activists like you and Margaret, things are getting better.
Cheers from Japan, Tonika.
And Merry Christmas!
steve
It’s a pleasure having you here, Steven. And thanks for a glimpse into your insight. 🙏
Looking forward to playing catch-up with your work Tonika.
Cheers! And 'there jaw'? Gawd, I need a good grammar/spell checkerrrrrr.
steve
No one here is dishing spelling grades (I hope!). I certainly wont pass. English isn’t my first language. Grateful for when readers catch my mistakes and let me know so I can correct in a post. In a comment section - let the auto correct sow confusion galore! 😂