Wednesday, June 26, 2013

“We like dwarfs on the shoulders of giants…”

Four days after the concluding of our New Horizons community building event day, last Saturday, and you might as well look for me in the “lost and found.”

Where does one go after a moment of “awe”? What are my next steps in the grand scheme of things?  I am asking myself that today.
On the most basic level, I thought it might be nice to leave the mountain, today. I am always reluctant to do this. Where is there to go when one feels as if she lives in paradise?

Still, I urged myself out, sunroof and windows open to the sunshineand breeze, for a lovely ride into a nearby town to shop.

As awe is not sustainable here on earth, I might as well buy groceries, right?

Freedom at my wheel, soon I leisurely crossed over the Potomac River. Yet, in the midst of this scenic beauty, as verdant mountains rose before my eyes, I could not help, revisiting those age-old existential questions,–
·         Who am I?
·         Who are you?
·         What is everybody doing here?  And,
·         What am I supposed to do in a place like this with people like you?
Darn, does life never stand still long in perfection? Answer, of course not.
We are made to be still and soon after begin our very next cycle of growth.

So, if there is life on other planets,  as the news of the day suggests, OMG, don’t I/we have enough to figure out with the life we have here?

Thus, my drive time musings reminded me, before long, that there is a Possible Society In Motion Radio Show scheduled for tomorrow night for which I still have no definitive plan. However, come four or five-ish today and my co-host, Jack Slattery, and returning guest, Gloria Livingston, will be awaiting my guidance.
Darn, again.

I scheduled this show to build around a quote by Margaret Mead which has inspired me since first I heard it decades ago. It is reflective of that which I correctly assumed was relevant to our event. The quote is as follows. For sure you must have heard it.

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed that it is all that ever has.” 
How goes this for tomorrow night’s show?

Well, last Saturday, we did, indeed, bring together a “small group of thoughtful, committed citizens….” And, we did, overall, complete our mission for that single day; bringing together likeminded life adventurers who wish only for peace (along with all the other good things). At least that is what we are all ostensibly saying.
Now New Horizons is certain of its intent to grow and guide this small, select group on a one year, at least, journey to this end.

Ok, now that we’ve gotten that far, what next?
I’ve been sitting back the last day or so, reflecting on my role in this adventure. And, I must admit I am indeed, humbled.

The following words, credited to Bernard of Chartres, 1100 approx. approx. (as per Blueprints by Edey and Johanson), avow my humility, striking me as appropriate for where I should look next for guidance (in addition to “up”, out and around me).
“We like dwarfs on the shoulders of giants can see more and farther, not because we are keener and taller but because of the greatness by which we are carried and exalted.”
Indeed!

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