Dawid, Plato, Joan of Arc, Mozart, Beethoven, Churchill, Robin Williams, Jim Carey, Robert Downey, Jr. en vele ander — extraordinary people that some might call, have mental problems but they managed to allow the brilliant shards in their minds to fall into place like pieces of broken glass in a kaleidoscope and create something beautiful, something fascinating, or something different that changed the cause of human history ... dit waarna Rob Siltanen verwys as hy sê, “Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules, and they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them; disagree with them; glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do.”
Ons het laas Sondag ʼn paar Afrikaanse gedigte gelees wat my na aan die hart lê en toe geluister na die woorde van Job wat in poësievorm geskryf is — die klank, kleur, ritme, inhoud, het vir die eerste keer betekenis gegee aan hierdie stuk wysheidsliteratuur. Ons kon daarmee vereenselwig. Komende Sondag gaan ons na nog ʼn paar mooi Afrikaanse gedigte luister en dan gesels oor die poësie in die liedere van Psalms waaronder my gunsteling Psalm 139.
John Lennon het êrens gesê — “My role in society, or any artist’s or poet’s role, is to try and express what we all feel. Not to tell people how to feel.” Die skrywers van die Psalms gee ʼn blik op die tydgees (zeitgeist) waarin hul leef. Digters leef bewustelik (life awake, live aware) en daarom kyk hulle anders na die wêreld. Hulle woorde is ʼn emosionele kode wat verby die verstand gaan en praat met die hart. Daar is ʼn sekere oorgawe aan ‘gevoel’, asof hul met ʼn ‘super-mind’ net sekere goed wéét ... ʼn universele waarheid oordra wat verby taal en kultuur beweeg. Daardie misterieuse fluit waarvan Hafez laas week gepraat het waardeur die Asem van die Alles beweeg en ʼn melodie tevore bring wat nie behoort aan die wêreld van vorm, definisie en dimensies nie.
Ons weet vandag dat ʼn groot hoeveelheid van die Psalms net so oorgeneem is uit die Egiptiese Wysheidsliteratuur waarvan Psalm 104 seker die bekendste is as nét so afgeskryf uit die Lied aan Aten (een van die Egiptiese gode). Dawid se naam is aan baie van die psalms gekoppel — enersyds om dit gesag te gee en andersyds om dit op te dra aan hom, selfs lank na sy dood. Die Hebreeuse voorvoegsel ‘li’ (soos in limiet) kan ‘vir’ of ‘van’ beteken en daarom lees ons dit as ‘Tehillim li’dawit’ (Psalm vir/van Dawid) wat nie in een van die twee gevalle beteken dat Dawid dit letterlik geskryf het nie. Maar dis nie waaroor vandag gaan nie — dit gaan nie oor wie die outeurs was, waar dit oorspronklik vandaan kom, of wat die milieu was nie ... dit gaan of ons met die lees daarvan iets in ons binneste voel roer soos wanneer ons Opperman, Van Wyk Louw, Krog, en Breytenbach lees? Kan ons vir ʼn oomblik die teologiese interpretasies en dogmatiese implikasies eenkant skuif en met die lees van 139 voel hoe daar trane oor ons wange loop. Trane van onthou. Trane van verligting. Tears of ‘reawakening’ ...
Dit is geen geheim dat my lewe deurweek is van die letterkunde nie, byname poësie en veral poësie in lirieke. Asof die duiwels van skrywers my engele word waarsonder ek nie hul taal, gedagtes, treur, lag, en gekke intensiteit my eie kan maak nie. Ek raak liries as ek in die antieke tale soos Hebreeus sien hoe selfs die klank van ʼn woord ʼn sekere betekenis oordra, en raak in vervoering as daar met één woord ʼn hele lewe se betekenis oorgedra word.
Ons almal ken “The Four Agreements” van Miguel Ruiz — aan die hand hiervan gaan ons Sondag na paar Psalms kyk wat hierdie beginsels besing in ons maand se tema — CHOOSE LIFE --
- Be impeccable with your word.
Speak with integrity. Say only what you mean. Avoid using the word to speak against yourself or to gossip about others. Use the power of your word in the direction of truth and love.
- Don’t take anything personally.
Nothing others do is because of you. What others say and do is a projection of their own reality. When you are immune to the opinions and actions of other, you won’t be the victim of needless suffering.
- Don’t make assumptions.
Find the courage to ask questions and to express what you really want. Communicate with others as clearly as you can to avoid misunderstandings, sadness, and drama. With just this one agreement, you can completely transform your life.
- Always do your best.
Your best is going to change from moment to moment; it will be different when you are healthy as opposed to sick. Under any circumstance, simply do your best, and you will avoid self-judgement, self-abuse, and regret.
En terwyl ons nuwejaarsvoornemens nog vars in die geheue van ons intensies is, kan ons die gedig van Christian D. Larson, ‘Your Forces and How to Use Them’ in ons dagboek of beursie bêre vir die dae wat ons vergeet ...
“Promise Yourself --
to be so strong that nothing
can disturb your peace of mind.
To talk health, happiness, and prosperity
to every person you meet.
To make all your friends feel
that there is something in them
To look at the sunny side of everything
and make your optimism come true.
To think only the best, to work only for the best,
and to expect only the best.
To be just as enthusiastic about the success of others
as you are about your own.
To forget the mistakes of the past
and press on to the greater achievements of the future.
To wear a cheerful countenance at all times
and give every living creature you meet a smile.
To give so much time to the improvement of yourself
that you have no time to criticize others.
To be too large for worry, too noble for anger, too strong for fear,
and too happy to permit the presence of trouble.
To think well of yourself and to proclaim this fact to the world,
not in loud words but great deeds.
To live in faith that the whole world is on your side
so long as you are true to the best that is in you.”
Hoop almal is al veilig terug van hul vakansie en dat ons Sondag saam kan feesvier en die nuwe jaar ingaan met ʼn uur se stilte, gedagtewisseling, musiek en kerse onder ʼn blou kruis wat ons herinner aan ons wie ons behoort en wat ons waarde is.
🌺 ACIM — Hervat weer na die somervakansie.
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Gedagte vir die Week:
“Start by doing what's necessary; then do what's possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible.” — Francis of Assisi
