I am Nahari

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Nahari talks with Gandhi taken from the 1982 movie, Gandhi

Nahari talks with Gandhi (from the 1982 movie, Gandhi)

There is an astonishing scene in the movie Gandhi where a Hindu man named Nahari commands Gandhi to “Eat!” The fasting Gandhi is starving, near death, but he refuses pressing for an end to violence. Nahari, overcome with emotion, cries out, “Eat! I am going to hell, but not with your death on my soul!”

Gandhi replies, “Only God decides who goes to hell.”

Nahari continues despairingly, “I . . . I killed a child . . . I smashed his head against a wall.”

“Why?” Gandhi asks.

Deeply distraught, Nahari replies, “They killed my son . . . my boy!” Nahari holds his hand out showing the height of his son. “The Muslims killed my son . . . they killed him.”

After an intense pause, Gandhi replies, “I know a way out of hell . . . Find a child . . . a child whose mother and father have been killed . . . A little boy . . . about this high . . . and raise him . . . as your own . . . Only be sure . . . that he is a Muslim. And that you raise him as one.”

Nahari almost leaves but then goes to his knees and breaks down sobbing. The divine seed within him is coming to life. Astonishingly, there is a way out of hell.

This story is not so much about Nahari, or about the faults of any people of the Indian subcontinent, or about the cruelty of Christian imperialism in India, or even about the violence or injustice or intolerance in today’s world. It is about me. How many times have I sought to get the better of a deal, killed the creativity in a child, scoffed at the wise thoughts of others, watched abhorrent videos, wasted the gifts of nature for my own convenience, discounted the needs of others, lashed out in anger, doubted the divine seed in others, failed to be generous, failed to forgive, placed myself above others, … In all these things, I have built up our insane violence, injustice, and politics.

But hell is not our only option. With God’s Infinite Gracious Mercy, we need add just a few ingredients: understanding, appreciation, justice, forgiveness, and love.

Similar to Nahari, we can raise our children and educate ourselves to understand and appreciate the ways of the Muslims, the ways of the Buddhists, the ways of the Hindus, the ways of the Christians, the ways of the Humanist, …

We can appreciate each person and each culture’s strengths and weaknesses, but we must not focus on the other’s weaknesses. It is by earnestly seeking solutions to own our faults, that we nourish the divine seed in others.

Nahari's Call and ChallengeWe all have needs. Justice for all is required. How we treat one person and how we neglect one person, is how we treat all humanity and how we neglect all humanity. Disrespect and injustice and violence, toward even the most despicable person, toward even the most unwanted person, toward the weak or the strong, toward our neighbor or stranger, … is intolerable.

I am guilty of these intolerable acts, yet I am forgiven and loved. There is hope, a way out of hell for everyone. Let us consider deeply and act today. Let us courageously hear the call to both a broader community and family.

Prayer is for Holistic Strength

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Prayer is not magic. Praying is strengthening, unifying, and liberating. Praying is life-talk, mission, the dance of revolution, … We cry for new life, nourishment, healing, action … Prayer is not individualistic. It’s not about special favors or any kind of favoritism. Praying is being communally present with the Communal Presence.

Monarch butterfly in backyard

Strengthening moments begin simply … a monarch butterfly photographed in our backyard on Dauphin Island, November 4, 2007.

I like to commune outside, in a space that is engaging and dynamic, filled with birds, trees, sky, various surprises, … “You-Are-Who-Are, Infinite Lover of All, Eternal Creating Spirit!”

Who am I? Where can I turn? Where is my strength, my center? I don’t want to be distracted, addicted, enslaved … I deeply want to Live being part of an Awesome Team! “Kumbaya to us, Your beloved, yearning Children, that we may keenly see and profoundly appreciate the needs, beauty, and gifts of each person and all creation!”

So much potential, but we often seem ensnared, paralyzed, powerless, … and so much of this is our own doing. I have done both good and evil. I am grateful and regretful. But all evil can be, will be, and has been overcome! “Merciful, Grateful Liberator, unshackle us from every hurt, injustice, doubt, anger, dishonesty, conceit, shame, and fear! Save us from every urge to do or return evil!”

My children and George Washington Carver have taught me that everything we need can be found in what we already have! We’ve been wondrously placed on this incredible, astonishing planet that has renewably nourished diverse life for billions of years. Without cost, the thirsty drink and hungry eat: free water, milk, bread, and the richest foods – all without costs (Isaiah)! “Look at the birds of the air, they neither sow nor reap, yet our Heavenly Father feeds them (Jesus)!” So why are we sowing and reaping such destruction upon the Earth! We! Who are we? God’s children? We must find and believe in our Collective Creative Strength! We must become part of the Great Giving! “We-Are-Who-Are, drench us with free and abundant nourishment found throughout creation and through diverse and wondrous persons!”

Much of “how-things-are” in our world, the world of our making, is shaped by injustice, dishonesty, fear, … We continue to hold each other in chains. But a renewing togetherness, generous and resourceful, is growing! “We-Can-Who-Can, rouse us to champion a wholly renewed world where nothing is wasted, every gift is shared, and every need filled!”

We, though wounded, together in all our diversity, together with the Healing Spirit, are the answer! We’re being counted upon! Our communal efforts and our inspired lives are the key to our Everyone’s Heaven and the key to our future and our children’s children’s children’s well-being and survival. “We-Will-Who-Will, heal us through shared words, play, and work so that we will come alive as one family filled with infinite joy, generosity, hope, understanding, creativity, openness, forgiveness, and love! Friend of All, our Imminent Victory, be our All in All, together for the benefit of All! Thank You! Thank You! Thank You!”

Rote prayers, like the You-Are-Who-Are prayer (seen in orange above), are guides, jumping off points for the heart, mind, and actions. I try to start each morning with the Lord’s Prayer (the Lord’s Guide) followed by this You-Are-Who-Are guide. It generally takes 30 minutes to an hour. Often I don’t finish the rote words. What’s important is to join the Presence, be decisively encouraged, see the path to healing, …, and wholeheartedly live it!

We All Live, Breathe, Drink, and Eat from the Same World

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Messengers can change the world. So today I have messages from a person who lives in the “third world” and from another who lived in another time. Both messages deeply relate to the largely ignored messages of those most affected by the gulf oil catastrophe. To keenly hear all these messages, we must first remove any barrier from within our hearts that somehow diminishes the worth or impact of a story because it originates from outside “our world.”

An oil field in Azerbaijan

An oil field in Azerbaijan (photographed April 17, 2008 by Indigoprime of Flikr and Wikimedia Commons).

I’m not at liberty to share the text of the first message, but I can share its basic content. The messenger speaks of living in a house close to the place where a city regularly burns its raw garbage. The smoke smells horrible. The people of the area are deeply disturbed about the healthiness of their homes and their environment. For example, out of deep respect for one another and guided by cultural traditions, the people remove their shoes whenever they enter a house. Yet their larger home, their environment, is being ruined not only by city’s burning but also by nearby natural gas and oil drilling. The wells pollute the area’s air, land, and water through huge chemical use, exhausts, and pipeline leaks. The people have learned not to drink the area’s water. Still many people are sick and children are far too often born with serious health problems including mutations. People want change. Yet, useful, reliable information on their environment is scarce, and their government is heavily influenced by big money interests and is corrupt. People feel powerless and have little hope. Their very survival is in question.

Martin Niemöller, a messenger imprisoned in Germany during War World II, once reflected “First they came for the communists, and I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a communist. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a trade unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a Jew. Then they came for me, and there was no one left to speak out for me.”

Likewise the whole human family’s survival is in question. To survive we must remove all barriers to our deep appreciation for each other and live generously and radically for each other. This understanding and forgiveness extends not simply to those who live near to us or those who think like us, but to all persons and all creation. A troubling but life-giving realization is springing up: do not blame anyone, not the politicians, not the corporations, not even the Hitlers. Rather let’s focus on increasing our responsibility for others and our hope in others, so that we can all work and thrive together sharing the same, wholly renewed world.

A Garden of Life

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Mixed up garden modeled after forest

My family has much to learn about gardening, but here’s our mixed up garden modeled somewhat after the forest which for eons has ably tended itself (June 5, 2012).

 My family’s garden was prepared by chickens who scratched the ground and enriched the soil with their manure – no other fertilizer was used. Seeds were planted. New plants breathed in the air, drank water, absorbed minerals, and enriched the soil. Leaves from nearby trees provided mulch to slowdown weeds. Diverse plants grew together for mutual benefit. Chickens continued to come – mostly munching on bugs – no pesticides desired or needed. Bugs, as they have for millions of years, also make contributions to plants. The whole family pitches in. Through nature, work, and generosity; food is being created for humans, horse, chickens, bugs, mice, sparrows, bluebirds, cuckoos, lizards, and many more.

One day we hope that our horse will help us garden too, but for now she keeps the grass manageable, and her beauty and personality provides us with much enjoyment. Our cat and canaries enrich our lives as well. Before long we might even accept a dog into our fellowship (that dog would be our first).

In the last few years, particularly since the gulf oil spill in April 2010, but before then too, I have had growing concerns about the harms and dangers that pervade our lives. But more importantly, I have felt the call to embrace the incredible gifts that God wants to shower upon us always, renewable gifts that create real wealth for everyone. All this and more led my family to the country. Living in our new home in Deer Park, Alabama, we hope to become farmers working well with nature. We’ve had to reevaluate our priorities, how we live, and how we pray. By way of example, like the new berries and vegetables that feed my family, here is a prayer that I have composed and recently revised:

You-Are-Who-Are, Infinite Lover of All, Eternal Creating Spirit!

Kumbaya to us, Your beloved, yearning Children, that we may keenly see and profoundly appreciate the needs, beauty, and gifts of each person and all creation!

Merciful, Grateful Liberator, unshackle us from every hurt, injustice, doubt, anger, dishonesty, conceit, shame, and fear! Save us from every urge to do or return evil!

We-Are-Who-Are, drench us with free and abundant nourishment found throughout creation and through diverse and wondrous persons!

We-Can-Who-Can, rouse us to champion a wholly renewed world where nothing is wasted, every gift is shared, and every need filled!

We-Will-Who-Will, heal us through shared words, play, and work so that we will come alive as one family filled with infinite joy, generosity, hope, understanding, creativity, openness, forgiveness, and love!

Friend of All, our Imminent Victory, be our All in All, together for the benefit of All! Thank You! Thank You! Thank You!

[Blog with earlier version of this prayer]

Rosie in our happy garden

I’ve heard some farmers speak of happy gardens. Here’s Rosie, my wife, enjoying our garden (June 5, 2012).

A spring chicken, bugs, and the three sisters: corn, squash, and beans

A young spring chicken searches for bugs in our garden where in American Indian tradition we have planted corn, squash, and beans together, the “three sisters” (June 5, 2012). This diversity in the garden is good for moderating the bug population. Bugs in moderate numbers invigorate gardens – without bugs we would all likely die.
Vegetables from the garden

A good morning of garden picking: herbs, berries, tomatoes, okra, beans, cucumber, summer squash, and two varieties of mystery squashes (June 4, 2012). I should have picked corn, tomatillos, and greens to add to this picture.

These blueberries are lush this time of year. Here’s a brown thrasher who had just fed a bug to its new hatchlings (June 7, 2012).

These blueberries are lush this time of year. Here’s a brown thrasher who had just fed a bug to its new hatchlings (June 7, 2012).