hi brendan, kairi and others.
i've never opened space in a prison but i have participated in a touchstones
discussion (http://touchstones.org) with about 25 men serving life
sentences. the discussion centered around "power" and not surprisingly, i
learned a great deal.
great that you are doing this! i look forward to following developments as
you work toward opening space in prisons.
on another subject, kairi, thank you for sharing that poem in your message.
i love it! and, i loved being at OSonOS! Judi, you and your team did a great
job at receiving us and making us feel at home.
while i love the spirit of the poem, i just don't know what to do with
"banish the word struggle from your vocabulary." how do others see this?
removing the word struggle from MY vocabulary seems like it could have some
positive outcomes. at the same time, it's hard for me to think of a better
word that describes daily life for so many people. and, not acknowledging
this seems like i might be missing something as i work with folks in
circumstances so much different from my own.
i'm in haiti as i write and catching up with friends and colleagues. there
are at least hundreds of thousands of people here--some estimate in the
millions--that don't consume a meal each day. and when they do, they don't
know when they'll eat next. i can't begin to imagine what living with so
much uncertainty and discomfort must be like. and i've also learned that far
too often we who live in financially prosperous countries romance poverty,
saying that poor people are happier.
it serves us (people who live in financially prosperous countries) well to
see things this way and it pains me when i have US American visitors with me
in Haiti and conclude after a week here that the people are "so happy." in
many cultures, those in the southern countries included, it is appropriate
to put one's best face forward especially when meeting visitors. those same
Haitians who looked so happy to the visitor might be totally stressed out
because they're worrying about how they're going to pay school fees for
their kids and get a meal together, etc. when they speak in their own
language to me, "struggle" projects from their facial expressions, body
movement and words.
i would not feel comfortable asking folks who live such realities to remove
"struggle" from their vocabulary.
thanks for your patience as i vent and live emotions connected to being with
friends in extremely difficult situations.
john
http://JohnEngle.net
email: j...@johnengle.net
P.O. Box 337
Hershey, Pennsylvania 17033
tel. 202-236-6532
From: Brendan McKeague <mckea...@iprimus.com.au>
Reply-To: OSLIST <osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu>
To: osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu
Subject: Re: There is a river flowing now very fast
Date: Thu, 11 Aug 2005 08:26:54 +0800
"Banish the word 'struggle' from your attitude and your vocabulary.
All that we do now must be done in a sacred manner and in celebration.
aahhh....thank you so much Kairi
What a moment to receive this gift - the start of a brand new
day...beautiful and inspiring...today I will let go a wee bit more...
I am about to depart for a day's 'space-making' in a maximum security
prison with long-term offenders..
I will be present and holding space with individual men - my dream is that
one day there may be more collective open space within such confinement...
.
Anyone ever opened space in a prison?
peace to all
Brendan
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