Love me without fear

Trust me without questioning

Need me without demanding

Want me without restrictions

Accept me without change

Desire me without inhibitions

"Angel Fire"

Another lonely night in December
(Jaweh, Jaweh, Jaweh)
It is the time of year people remember
(Jaweh, Jaweh)
I can't find a word to say to you
I can't comprehend, I can't relate to you

Plain to see no flies on me
Take me higher Angel Fire
Take me where I want to go
Teach me things I need to know
Plain to see no flies on me
Take me higher Angel Fire
Take me where I want to go
Teach me things I need to know

I'm knowing this could be our last event
(Jaweh, Jaweh, Jaweh)
I'm knowing I am your youngest descent
I don't want to know your pain
I don't want to play the game

Plain to see no flies on me
Take me higher Angel Fire
Take me where I want to go
Teach me things I need to know
Plain to see no flies on me
Take me higher Angel Fire
Take me where I want to go
Teach me things I need to know

I can't find a word to say to you
I can't comprehend, I can't relate to you

Plain to see you faithfully
Take me higher Angel Fire
Take me where I want to go
Teach me things I need to know
Can't you see you're made for me
Take me higher Angel Fire
Take me where I want to go
Teach me things I need to know
Can't you see you're made for me
Take me higher Angel Fire
Take me where I want to go
Teach me things I need to know

(Who knows)

egoist or egotist...

 

There is a considerable overlap between the words, but a difference exists.

An egoist is someone who is self-centred or selfish, often without realising it: He's a proper egoist, never thinking to enquire about the needs or wishes of anyone else.

An egotist is an arrogant or conceited person, always talking about himself: She's a real egotist, always on about what she has done or is planning to do.

 

Folks, I have spend sometime over the past twenty four hours (only, hehehe) pondering the difference between the above two. Am kinda worn down by having an abundance of the above in my life. I mean inheriting one of each from the male species is almost on a par to digesting black pudding for breakfast. Uccccchhhh....I feel wheezzyy already. Below is my attempt at scrawling the impact that  two of these so called breeds, has had on my life, up until today. My new motto for 'egs' is 'Be aware...if one must keep one of these creatures...restrain them at the doorstep, but do not even give them the slightest of peeks!'

 

 

egoist...

U, talk about your world so much THAT

 am lead to believe that I do not have an existence;

U rarely change persepective THAT

am wondering if I do have a viewpoint worth considering.

U seem so numb to your feelings THAT

am left with that throat felt emptiness;

U forget to enquire about a woman's plethora of emotions THAT

am sucked into your self pity.

U seek humbly my forgiveness THAT

am left to think that was a learning;

U sadly fear so much am thinking THAT

 

 

Who You Are Makes A Difference!

 

A teacher in New York decided to honor each of her seniors in high school by telling them the difference they each made. Using a process developed by Helice Bridges of Del Mar, California , she called each student to the front of the class, one at a time. First she told them how the student made a difference to her and the class. Then she presented each of them with a blue ribbon imprinted with gold letters which read, "Who I Am Makes a Difference."

Afterwards the teacher decided to do a class project to see what kind of impact recognition would have on a community. She gave each of the students three I more ribbons and instructed them to go out and spread this acknowledgment ceremony. Then they were to follow up on the results, see who honored whom and report back to the class in about a week.

One of the boys in the class went to a junior executive in a nearby company and honored him for helping him with his career planning. He gave him a blue ribbon and put it on his shirt. Then he gave him two extra ribbons, and said, "We're doing a class project on recognition, and we'd like you to go out, find somebody to honor, give them a blue ribbon, then give them the extra blue ribbon so they can acknowledge a third person to keep this acknowledgment ceremony going. Then please report back to me and tell me what happened."

Later that day the junior executive went in to see his boss, who had been noted, by the way, as being kind of a grouchy fellow. He sat his boss down and he told him that he deeply admired him for being a creative genius. The boss seemed very surprised. The junior executive asked him if he would accept the gift of the blue ribbon and would he give him permission to put it on him. His surprised boss said, "Well, sure."

The junior executive took the blue ribbon and placed it right on his boss's jacket above his heart. As he gave him the last extra ribbon, he said, "Would you do me a favor? Would you take this extra ribbon and pass it on by honoring somebody else? The young boy who first gave me the ribbons is doing a project in school and we want to keep this recognition ceremony going and find out how it affects people."

That night the boss came home to his 14-year-old son and sat him down. He said, "The most incredible thing happened to me today. I was in my office and one of the junior executives came in and told me he admired me and gave me a blue ribbon for being a creative genius. Imagine. He thinks I'm a creative genius. Then he put this blue ribbon that says 'Who I Am Makes A Difference' on my jacket above my heart. He gave me an extra ribbon and asked me to find somebody else to honor. As I was driving home tonight, I started thinking about whom I would honor with this ribbon and I thought about you. I want to honor you.

"My Days are really hectic and when I come home I don't pay a lot of attention to you. Sometimes I scream at you for not getting good enough grades in school and for your bedroom being a mess, but somehow tonight, I just wanted to sit here and well, just let you know that you do make a difference to me. Besides your mother, you are the most important person in my life. You're a great kid and I love you!"

The startled boy started to sob and sob, and he couldn't stop crying. His whole body shook. He looked up at his father and said through his tears, "I was planning on committing suicide tomorrow, Dad, because I didn't think you loved me. Now I don't need to."

 

1. Promote human values-those actions which bring happiness and compassion, not only to ourselves but to our families. Basic human nature is social animal. Scientific research says, people who experience compassion function effectively on both the physical and mental level. Biologically, we seem to belong to that realm where compassion and forgiveness have a role to play. We learn the value of compassion (a compassion mixed with attachment) from our mothers. We take it with us to our dying moments. A dying person needs compassion to be at ease.
2. External disarmament must be replaced with internal disarmament. We are not lacking money or education, rather we are lacking deeper values. The twentieth century was a century of war and destruction. The twenty first century will be a time of peacemaking.The mistakes from the previous century fall on our youth of today. Eliminating nations who are different, through force, does not work. Words and dialogue are the new weapons. The day after September 11, the Dalai Lama wrote to President Bush and asked him to meet with Osama Bin Laden and find out the reasons behind the bombing of America. Alas, Bush did not heed this advice and we all know what happened as a result. Trying to digest the consequences of His Holiness advice is humbling indeed.
3. Long lasting peace-school lessons need to find peaceful resolutions through dialogue. This dialogue must be done in spirit of reconciliation. This new found awareness can be taken by student to family and outside community. The rest of the world is part of yourself. Destroying your neighbour is destroying yourself. This is a newly discovered reality.
4. Forgiveness- forgive but don't forget. Remember the injustice that person/people did. Stop their wrong action, out of compassion for that person. Take appropriate counter action. Action and agent must be separated i.e. the person is more than that behaviour/action.
5. Sad moment for the Dalai Lama-10 March 1959 we lost our country to the Chinese and over 1 million Tibetans died and many more faced death due to starvation.
6. Happiest moment for the Dalai Lama-17 March 1959-" finished my doctorate and escaped Lahasa at 10.00am the next day to a free zone across the river."
7. Realistic perspective-"the above tragedy helps me to be more realistic. If situation is comfortable we live in idealistic self-deception. Look at the holistic picture i.e. the positives and negatives and you get a balance. Yes, we lost our country, there is many encouaging things happening. No use worrying. What does worry do? It does not create a solution. Feel happy!"
8. Formality-"no need for formalities, I am free and that is what matters. Formality is silly...hehehe."

" Each of us in our own way can try to spread compassion into people’s hearts. Western civilizations these days place great importance on filling the human “brain” with knowledge, but no one seems to care about filling the human “heart” with compassion. This is what the real role of religion is."

- Dalai Lama

" Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them humanity cannot survive."

- Dalai Lama

" Our prime purpose in this life is to help others. And if you can't help them, at least don't hurt them."

- Dalai Lama

" I believe all suffering is caused by ignorance. People inflict pain on others in the selfish pursuit of their happiness or satisfaction. Yet true happiness comes from a sense of peace and contentment, which in turn must be achieved through the cultivation of altruism, of love and compassion, and elimination of ignorance, selfishness, and greed."

 

 

HIP HOP

I attended the annual Social Justice Youth Forum on Friday at the local Uni campus. Two other staff and seventeen students were utterly inspired by the speakers and workshops that were on offer for the day, not to mention the food and bands. One of the workshops which I attended was Social Justice Hip-Hop. It was to my great delight that I discovered that this workshop was run by a former student of mine, from ten years ago. Fred Leone, an indigenous and passionate young person helps disadvantaged youth. He is a respected international hip-hop artist and has just toured with Xavier Rudd. He has also attended the U.N. World Youth Conference in New York. I now have a deeper appreciation for the world of real hip-hop and its passion for justice regarding the marginalised in society.

Hip-Hop Defined:

Hip-hop is a form of popular music that’s comprised mainly of mc'ing (rapping) and dj'ing. The other two components that complete the four elements of hip-hop are graffiti and breakdancing. As hip-hop evolved into big business, the four elements (mc'ing, dj'ing, graffiti, and breakdancing) are constantly being merged with others like clothing, language, and mind set in general.

Hip-Hop Vs. Rap:

Rap is the form of music that stemmed from the hip-hop culture. Hip hop is a lifestyle with its own lingo, dress code, etc. In the words of KRS-One, “hip-hop is something you live, rap is something you do.”

Hip-Hop Started in the Bronx:

A product of cross-cultural integration, rap is deeply rooted within ancient African culture and oral tradition. Hip-hop is believed to have originated in the Bronx by a Jamaican DJ named Kool Herc. Herc’s style of dj'ing involved reciting rhymes over instrumentals. At house parties, Herc would rap with the microphone, using a myriad of in-house references. Documented duplicates of Herc's house parties soon drifted through Brooklyn, Manhattan, etc spreading hip-hop and spawning new artis

Hip-hop As a Melting Pot:

Hip-hop as a musical melting pot is still evolving. It has become more eclectic, borrowing from soul, jazz and live instrumentations with the likes of De La Soul, A Tribe Called Quest, and most recently Kanye West championing the ‘soulful rap’ movement

Beatboxing is the art of vocal percussion. Although the term "beatboxing" derived from hip hop culture, it is not limited to hip hop music. It is primarily concerned with the art of producing drum beats, rhythm, and musical sounds using one's mouth, lips, tongue, voice, and more. It may also involve singing, vocal imitation of turntablism, the simulation of horns, strings, and other musical instruments.

A 4th World

Here we are under these particular stars
Here we stand Victorian
Where the white folk can grow to no so
Very little about the black folk
The same folk who rightfully own
This piece of beauty that we call our home

Well negativity is often heard from society
With conviction they preach
Not even knowing of whom they speak
I guess it's each to there own
Those that want to will know
I guess it's each to there own
Because from the top the views are old and grey

Well I feel so ashamed
Of this system and these ways
The tiny hearts that lead our nation
And tiny minds that let them in
And I see your confusion
I see your pain
I see your pain and your confusion
And there's still some with my skin
Who still try and hide the reason

Xavier Rudd