Tag Archives: society

The Wisdom of Walt Whitman

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“This is what you shall do; Love the earth and sun and the animals, despise riches, give alms to every one that asks, stand up for the stupid and crazy, devote your income and labor to others, hate tyrants, argue not concerning God, have patience and indulgence toward the people, take off your hat to nothing known or unknown or to any man or number of men, go freely with powerful uneducated persons and with the young and with the mothers of families, read these leaves in the open air every season of every year of your life, re-examine all you have been told at school or church or in any book, dismiss whatever insults your own soul, and your very flesh shall be a great poem and have the richest fluency not only in its words but in the silent lines of its lips and face and between the lashes of your eyes and in every motion and joint of your body.”
~ Walt Whitman (1819-1892) ~ Preface to Leaves of Grass, 1855

Do you think the poetry of poets such as Whitman, Thoreau, and Emerson is outdated, or are the concepts classic, and like “the little black dress”, never go out of style? They are the basics of life, and speak to the fundamental principles that humanity aspires to, over and over again.

Whitman speaks here (in a very eloquent way) of love, compassion, connectedness, humility, courage, determination, discernment, independence of thought, knowing and being true to one’s self.

If these principles have gone “out of style” at the moment, perhaps it’s time to bring them back…

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Escape

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Beyond the babel,
my bliss, beauty, sacredness,
soul cradled in calm.

Perhaps it’s just my lens because I’m a traveler at heart, but I think some of the best stories are rooted in travel. Of course, one person’s travel story is another person’s home story – and that is the essence of these journeys – discovering bits of one’s self in other cultures, and by extension, the call of our humanity.

What does any of this have to do with the haiku? The world’s in a pretty crazy place right now, and many of us are looking for calm places where we can heal and center ourselves. (I would say it’s not only crazy, but society has morphed into a quite abusive place of late. This makes our need for sanctuary more important than ever.) Judy Garland wistfully sang about it in Over the Rainbow, that place where “troubles melt like lemon drops”.

This morning I happened to stumble upon a wonderful story about just such a place of healing, created by a community of formerly abused African women. I’m looking forward to many more stories such as these, as the unfolding of a new humanity continues. It’s a saga of hope and possibilities, and beyond that, a confirmation that our best potential for the future lies in our ability to work together to achieve it.

Ghanaian photographer Paul Ninson on how he was able to visit the ‘village with no men’

The haiku Escape is from my Hart Haiku Vol 1. collection. | Susan L Hart

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Regeneration

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Out of charred remains,
glimpses of green restore faith,
life’s will to survive.

Just as the the forest regenerates after a fire, so is humanity renewing itself after the affront of a pandemic. So it has always been after catastrophes, and so it shall be again. The will of nature and the human spirit to survive, adapt, revitalize, and thrive is astounding. This is creativity in its finest hour.

Does the forest grow back exactly as it was before? How can it? Neither will we. We are changed, and although humans often resist change, we had no choice – it was thrust upon us. Change is a very good thing. It gives us the opportunity to assess what wasn’t working, make improvements, or maybe even do a complete makeover if need be.

So are we currently undergoing a simple regeneration, or will it prove to be an astounding rebirth? This will depend greatly on certain choices we make along the way. What do you think?

haiku Regeneration © Susan L Hart | From Hart Haiku Vol. 1.

Consensus

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The crowd turns their back,
stamp of approval denied.
Conformity rules.

haiku, © Susan L Hart

A selection from my ebook Hart Haiku Vol. 1

Happiness & Meaning

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“You will never be happy if you continue to search for what happiness consists of. You will never live if you are looking for the meaning of life.” ~ Albert Camus

Albert Camus said we shouldn’t analyze happiness or the meaning of life too much, otherwise they elude us. Socrates, on the other hand, apparently said, “The unexamined life is not worth living.”

My impression is that many people are searching for these two important things, and they are often deeply intertwined. Personally I think that finding happiness and meaning in life requires some courage and taking risk. Henry David Thoreau may have agreed with me. He said, “The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation.” (I interpret this as, afraid to take the leap to find their own fulfillment and happiness, but that is just my take on it.)

Confused yet? Perhaps the real point here is that the source of happiness and meaning in any person’s life is extremely personal to them, so let’s “live and let live”.

Reverence for life and respect for others is (I think) an important part of the journey, and therein may lie the seed of an answer. When we get out of ourselves (and therefore out of our own way), and when we focus more on what we can do for others, we begin to find happiness and meaning. So Albert may have been right all along…

Or, as the people at Nike would say, “Just do it”.