powerful poem! help me understand it.

Thu Aug 11 14:51:18 PDT 2005

Dear John and all...

the way I understand the poem is like this...
I think hopi elders are using the term struggle as the work we are called to do, to heal ourselves, to heal the world, whatever that means...not necessarily the struggle to survive...struggle brings to mind doing something out of obligation, to make a streneous effort, to progress with difficulty...

I'd like to banish 'struggle' in my work and life, because whatever I am doing, I am doing with heart, out of passion and responsibility, with compassion...these are the words that replace struggle in my dictionary...:)

or it could be a simple translation issue...perhaps in hopi language it slightly means something else???

regarding poverty romance you mentioned...I felt a tingling there because that was also my conclusion that people who live in 'poverty' as it is defined by western cultures seemed to have more richness than I could ever imagine...I have to admit that I haven't been to extreme poverty conditions but I have been to places what we call "underdeveloped". I come from a country that is labeled as developing. But with time I came to understand these labels are very much based on material wealth. People you are working with might be 'struggling' to survive but aren't they also the ones who have immense power to go on life with an immense depth in their souls, communities, traditions?? or am I disillusioned? 

I am not sure I am able to judge who is more happy but my experience tells me that people living in 'materially underdeveloped' places have something that we might have lost in the material cluster we created for ourselves (apologies for this big generalization) 
of course that doesnt mean that we don't work for improving life conditions, to create a more just division of earth's resources...my question is how do we do it without imposing a particular worldview and 'what we think is good', with total humility and keeping the space open? 

thanks for your question John!
filiz

john engle <englejohn at hotmail.com> wrote:
hi brendan, kairi and others.

i've never opened space in a prison but i have participated in a touchstones 
discussion (http://touchstones.org) with about 25 men serving life 
sentences. the discussion centered around "power" and not surprisingly, i 
learned a great deal.

great that you are doing this! i look forward to following developments as 
you work toward opening space in prisons.

on another subject, kairi, thank you for sharing that poem in your message. 
i love it! and, i loved being at OSonOS! Judi, you and your team did a great 
job at receiving us and making us feel at home.

while i love the spirit of the poem, i just don't know what to do with 
"banish the word struggle from your vocabulary." how do others see this?

removing the word struggle from MY vocabulary seems like it could have some 
positive outcomes. at the same time, it's hard for me to think of a better 
word that describes daily life for so many people. and, not acknowledging 
this seems like i might be missing something as i work with folks in 
circumstances so much different from my own.

i'm in haiti as i write and catching up with friends and colleagues. there 
are at least hundreds of thousands of people here--some estimate in the 
millions--that don't consume a meal each day. and when they do, they don't 
know when they'll eat next. i can't begin to imagine what living with so 
much uncertainty and discomfort must be like. and i've also learned that far 
too often we who live in financially prosperous countries romance poverty, 
saying that poor people are happier.

it serves us (people who live in financially prosperous countries) well to 
see things this way and it pains me when i have US American visitors with me 
in Haiti and conclude after a week here that the people are "so happy." in 
many cultures, those in the southern countries included, it is appropriate 
to put one's best face forward especially when meeting visitors. those same 
Haitians who looked so happy to the visitor might be totally stressed out 
because they're worrying about how they're going to pay school fees for 
their kids and get a meal together, etc. when they speak in their own 
language to me, "struggle" projects from their facial expressions, body 
movement and words.

i would not feel comfortable asking folks who live such realities to remove 
"struggle" from their vocabulary.

thanks for your patience as i vent and live emotions connected to being with 
friends in extremely difficult situations.

john

http://JohnEngle.net
email: john at johnengle.net
P.O. Box 337
Hershey, Pennsylvania 17033
tel. 202-236-6532

>From: Brendan McKeague 
>Reply-To: OSLIST 
>To: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
>Subject: Re: There is a river flowing now very fast
>Date: Thu, 11 Aug 2005 08:26:54 +0800
>
>
>"Banish the word 'struggle' from your attitude and your vocabulary.
>All that we do now must be done in a sacred manner and in celebration.
>aahhh....thank you so much Kairi
>
>What a moment to receive this gift - the start of a brand new 
>day...beautiful and inspiring...today I will let go a wee bit more...
>I am about to depart for a day's 'space-making' in a maximum security 
>prison with long-term offenders..
>I will be present and holding space with individual men - my dream is that 
>one day there may be more collective open space within such confinement...
>.
>Anyone ever opened space in a prison?
>
>peace to all
>Brendan
>
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