TEREZIN Poems

[Guest guest]

Gloria wrote:

> While I can understand the reasons people brought up other historical

instances

> of horror, how can one diminish any other? If anything, this is brought up

to

> increase awareness of those other instances as well. The cruelty of social

> rejection and ridicule was a factor in the Littleton killings, violence

begins

> in little ways. There is a silent Holocaust occurring now in Africa,

brought on

> by aids orphaning so many children. America has its own ghettos and we

spent

> more building prisons than we did on education last year. I think the gift

of

> art is to personalize and put a name and identity, to make real the

suffering of

> the nameless multitudes. The point is to NOT replay the causes and

> "justifications" of WW2.

 

I've been wondering for a year now what factors lead to the Littleton

killings, of course this is a life long question. And you know the killings

are continuing, 3 more children have been killed over February & March.

There is seemingly no end to the horror just a couple of miles from my home.

 

But I can think of a few things: as a culture we've lost touch with Being

and how to discover Being in ourselves, how to discover that we are Being.

The institutions (Christianity) having responsible for moral / ethical

development & responsibility for leading us to God within are often failing

totally and promoting intolerance instead. Intolerance is the factor behind

violence. As a culture we have no idea that Being even exists. Consciousness

is said to be an artifact of having a body.

 

"first seek the kingdom of heaven..." We seek science & technology

constantly through most thoughts and action. The high priest of technology,

the news media, constantly keeps us stimuluated with the latest pseudo

advances. And so we've made technology our God, failing to realize that

science can never measure love [barry Long]. This is the ultimate material

deception. Not that technology itself is bad, but the ultimate deception is

this illusion that we ARE the continous outward movement of the mind

entertaining this never ending fantasy of technological stimulation.

Stillness, the only truth, is unknown.

 

Too often our children are raised by proxy while we vainly pursue this

fantasy. It's no wonder our children are killing each other. It's a cry for

help, a deadly warning from nature about our pursuit of matter at the

expense of spirit.

 

G:

> Roger, the cantata was commissioned as a work to be performed in schools,

and

> since 1991 it has been heard in over 35 schools in various states.

Littleton

> would seem a good place to hear it. It does require above average

musicians for

> the piano, violin, and cello parts, but if you can find any choral group

willing

> to perform it, I'll be glad to put you in touch with the composer for

getting

> the score. I like the way you said these "are the songs for now."

 

I'll send your suggestion to some people I know. Frankly it's the most

touching suggestion about this whole mess that I've heard. Yet practically I

don't think it'll happen. You see, this wound goes so deep, and most here

are shocked into withdrawal, into avoidance, they just want Columbine to go

away, and nature refuses us that option, nature says 'you WILL listen...

these crys WILL continue while you place a false God (technology & religion

etc..) before ME.' "ME" meaning the "I AM" found in stillness.

 

Your suggestion is so touching & healing but the community would rather not

remember, the wound is simply too deep to consider, 'please, let us forget'

is the cry. As a community we have no idea why this sort of thing is

happening, and we have no idea what to do about it. The only public

suggestions I recall are gun control & posting the 10 commandments in

school: completely ineffective.

 

I agree with Osho, "meditation is the only solution", but also we must

recognize that there are many different kinds of meditation, and that

eventually effort must give way to effortless communion. Our culture is so

resistant to this message. Very few in my community understand.

 

Love,

Roger