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#3343 - Thursday, November 6, 2008
- Editor: Jerry Katz
Nonduality Highlights - http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NDhighlights
"We must learn actually not to have enemies, but only confused adversaries who are ourselves in disguise."
Alice Chestnut sends the following letter written by Alice Walker:
Nov. 5, 2008
Dear Brother Obama,
You have no idea, really, of how profound this moment is for us.
Us being the black people of the Southern United States. You
think you know, because you are thoughtful, and you have studied
our history. But seeing you deliver the torch so many others
before you carried, year after year, decade after decade, century
after century, only to be struck down before igniting the flame
of justice and of law, is almost more than the heart can bear.
And yet, this observation is not intended to burden you, for you
are of a different time, and, indeed, because of all the relay
runners before you, North America is a different place. It is
really only to say: Well done. We knew, through all the
generations, that you were with us, in us, the best of the spirit
of Africa and of the Americas. Knowing this, that you would
actually appear, someday, was part of our strength. Seeing you
take your rightful place, based solely on your wisdom, stamina
and character, is a balm for the weary warriors of hope,
previously only sung about.
I would advise you to remember that you did not create the
disaster that the world is experiencing, and you alone are not
responsible for bringing the world back to balance. A primary
responsibility that you do have, however, is to cultivate
happiness in your own life. To make a schedule that permits
sufficient time of rest and play with your gorgeous wife and
lovely daughters. And so on. One gathers that your family is
large. We are used to seeing men in the White House soon become
juiceless and as white-haired as the building; we notice their
wives and children looking strained and stressed. They soon have
smiles so lacking in joy that they remind us of scissors. This is
no way to lead. Nor does your family deserve this fate. One way
of thinking about all this is: It is so bad now that there is no
excuse not to relax. From your happy, relaxed state, you can
model real success, which is all that so many people in the world
really want. They may buy endless cars and houses and furs and
gobble up all the attention and space they can manage, or barely
manage, but this is because it is not yet clear to them that
success is truly an inside job. That it is within the reach of
almost everyone.
I would further advise you not to take on other people's enemies.
Most damage that others do to us is out of fear, humiliation and
pain. Those feelings occur in all of us, not just in those of us
who profess a certain religious or racial devotion. We must learn
actually not to have enemies, but only confused adversaries who
are ourselves in disguise. It is understood by all that you are
commander in chief of the United States and are sworn to protect
our beloved country; this we understand, completely. However, as
my mother used to say, quoting a Bible with which I often fought,
"hate the sin, but love the sinner." There must be no
more crushing of whole communities, no more torture, no more
dehumanizing as a means of ruling a people's spirit. This has
already happened to people of color, poor people, women,
children. We see where this leads, where it has led.
A good model of how to "work with the enemy" internally
is presented by the Dalai Lama, in his endless caretaking of his
soul as he confronts the Chinese government that invaded Tibet.
Because, finally, it is the soul that must be preserved, if one
is to remain a credible leader. All else might be lost; but when
the soul dies, the connection to earth, to peoples, to animals,
to rivers, to mountain ranges, purple and majestic, also dies.
And your smile, with which we watch you do gracious battle with
unjust characterizations, distortions and lies, is that
expression of healthy self-worth, spirit and soul, that, kept
happy and free and relaxed, can find an answering smile in all of
us, lighting our way, and brightening the world.
We are the ones we have been waiting for.
In Peace and Joy,
Alice Walker