conforming to the image of ourselves

Jesus Christ was a revolutionary.

He died because he was killed.

He was killed because he was offensive.

His whole life as recorded in the accepted cannon of scripture documents an individual who flew in the face of society on almost every level.

The religious order as well as the governmental order were confused and disturbed, even outraged at his lifestyle, his teachings and the things he did.

Even his closest followers and devotees were offended and confused at his every move, his every word.

In these days there are millions, perhaps even billions who declare themselves to be disciples and passionate followers of this same Jesus Christ.

Perhaps I am no more than a cynical, disgruntled, negative, anti-establishment, rebellious dysfunctional, …. but including myself, I battle to see even one person amongst the odd seven billion people in the world today who lives their lives in the remotest similitude to the one we claim to follow so passionately and exclusively.

an “I” for an “I”

our heritage

… where have we come from?

… where are we right now?

…and where are we going to from here?

is it in any way reasonable to assume one can initiate healing and effectively shake off the devastating effects of generations of abuse by legislating the self same abusive acts as the historically abusive perpetrators once committed?

what results can one expect if the previous victims of abuse are legally granted the inalienable right to perpetrate the exact same abuse as they themselves historically suffered, and this allegedly in order to access restoration and healing?

it has been suggested that to do the same thing over again and expecting to get a different result is a sure indication of insanity

maybe the braaing of  “boere” wors as a collective national act on heritage day is the real “state of the nation” keynote address?… unwittingly endorsed by all

… and could this indeed be a tragically succinct declaration of our real national heritage leaking out unintentionally and being exposed and publicised for all to see?

as wrong and undeniably evil as the previous system of legislated abuse was, have we lost sight of the chillingly scary idea that an eye for an eye can only result in all becoming blind?

5 sentences past

this was posted on Facebook  recently and it is indeed a sobering cluster of ideas

when I saw this for the first time it was posted by a person of “white” race in South Africa – a minority cultural group in the country who are now feeling the very real pressure of racist legislation and the resulting reality of legislated dis-empowerment and intimately perceived unfairness under the powerful hand of the present government which was democratically elected into power by the majority of South African citizens nearly 20 years ago

as a member of this same “white” cultural group I immediately resonate with the sentiments and ideals expressed in the posting

I also feel all manner of emotions bubbling up inside me as it is a very tangible reality we face every day

and yes, in the posting there a strong linear thread of ‘logic’ in these statements and the wisdom of what is stated is to my mind self evident

… however what is seemingly less evident is that without too much lateral thought and perspectival gymnastics the same set of principles can be seen at work in the present political legislation as those which entrenched and under girded the now disgraced and ousted Nationalist Party’s policy of Apartheid and “Separate Development” prior to the political shift in 1994

with these policies legislated during the days of Apartheid the White race in South Africa was entrenched as exclusively privileged recipients of preferential access to resources … material, economical, political, social, cultural and this spilled into all other sectors of society including job reservation, education, land ownership and many other arena’s …

what a man sows is what a man reaps… whether just or unjust

and yes, the circle will turn again, and again…

and it’s always amazing how the same thing can look so completely different seen from just another angle

… and perhaps now, with the shoe on the other foot so to speak, so many of us “whites” seem to all so easily think of many reasons and linear justifications not to share this sobering  aspect of the equation, publicly, privately, even within ourselves – in our own private thoughts

… don’t you think?

more sense please

we are equipped with 5 senses and we are pretty proud of that.

with these 5 senses we believe we can understand the universe in all it’s glory.

well, maybe the universe has more sense than that…

the reality of illusion

lately I’ve been wrestling with the reality of the world we seem to have created for ourselves… and it’s not a pretty picture

we believe that due to our tremendous technological advancement we are more powerful than ever before yet so much seems to be no more than smoke and mirrors … and instead of being stronger than ever we appear more naked now than the day we were born

we all seem to live under an illusion of our own making – a personally convenient, subjectively desired perspective that actively shapes our own private reality

possibly one of the biggest enemies we face is the superficiality of the illusionary power of our cognitive intellect and the ascendency this has assumed in our thinking in this present age?

perhaps the only way we seem able to really and effectively help ourselves and others is governed by the extent to which we are able to tackle our own illusions

very possibly the biggest weakness of the ascendency of this dominant linear cognitive intellect is that it seems so easily to overlook the strongly suggested probability that the cognitive is merely only the surface 10% of the human “iceberg” which is slowly melting into history

it’s more often than not that it’s the submerged 90% of the human “iceberg” that floats, steers, determines and often sinks the whole psycho-social individual human package

… and the hotter we make it for ourselves the more the dark underbelly of who we really are is brought steadily to the surface only to be melted away by the light of the day

 

and then he turned around and walked

there were no instructions to take notes

nor any commands to record anything

there was no time frame given

nor any specific direction offered

 

there was no course duration

nor any curriculum revealed

and no season for evaluation

no diplomas

no certificates

 

there was no expectation to remember anything

and no demand to be anything

other than what they already were

…only more

 

even suggestions came scarcely

and clear, detailed answers were rare

 

there was just this simple statement…

 

“follow me”

 

and then he turned around and walked…