All things repeat. All things. And now Paris. Again. 
The world is a frightening and fascinating place. I have lived in a number of cities in the world. I have made terrible mistakes and wondrous decisions. So I am not naive. And as you know I have made a decision to move to the country, grow my own food and not to get involved in world news. No TV, no radio and no news feed on my computer. Not to ever see a doctor again even at the hour of my death. To leave politics. To live without influence. I cannot vote in the country I live in so Politics holds no interest for me.
This works for most of the time but with Hugo (my resident Frenchman) sitting across from me thumping his computer with the palm of his hand as Paris erupts in violence, I cannot help but be drawn in. He is cursing in French at the screen. I know little French to speak of but I understand every word. It is the scream of the young against the horror. Trying to make sense of a world of madness while sitting in a world of calm. And the madness is not new. Of course not. But for him it is.
Is this why I live in this isolated place? Where there is only cows and pigs and food and birds and me laughing and skipping about. Like an idiot. Am I terribly clever or the ostrich with her head in the sand.
I don’t know.
All I know for sure is that we are transients across the face of the earth we strut about on. We are temporary beings. Violence and war are a given for men and animals – even in a field of cattle, or a pen of pigs or chickens – violence is the way order is established in the animal kingdom and mans kingdom. Even the crowing of the farm roosters in the morning must happen in a designated order or there will be terrible retribution.
So why do we expect better from people. Yet I do.
We do. We can think. We can think and plot for power. Dominance over our kitchens or our neighbours, or our animals , power over our children, power over our dogs, power of religion, power in politics. It is impossible to escape it. We ALL think we know better than the other guy. But we also have the choice to think WITH the other guy. Listen to the other guy. Listen.
I said to a friend yesterday morning that I have won more battles with my EARS. Not by shouting or hitting or demanding that I know best. Because I do not. But by listening and waiting. Not joining in the name calling. Listening.
We are all flawed. We are none of us perfect.
Please, Please do not judge a person by his religion or his brothers religion, or by his political beliefs or by the food she eats or even her words. Judge me by my ACTIONS. Watch what I DO not what I say. Don’t blame me for the actions of my neighbours or the path I walk. Words are powerful but ultimately they are tissue paper. Listen to me. Watch my face. Forgive me, then listen again. Think about why I said what I said not WHAT I said. Then judge me when I am dead and in my coffin. Then you may judge me. Kindly I hope. But hold off until then. I may be still evolving and thinking myself. I may not have it right yet. I might still be working out how to live in this new and forever world. Or I may have hidden from it.
Don’t punish the little people on their little wheels for the horror caused by their big mean brothers with the big guns.
Be careful. Please be careful. I am only a wee person. Each one of us is. Being gentle is so much harder than pulling a real or metaphorical trigger.
Love celi
The Kitchen's Garden 
50 responses to “The new and the forever”
Being gentle in this crazy world of ours is indeed a hard thing to do. Such a sad day.
Wise words celi. If only people did listen more. Very sad day.
Your wisdom is indisputable, and politics are a no go area for we disenfranchised expats. But it is very difficult to feel gentle here in France today. Yes, we too have more or less escaped the troubled city lifestyle. Our thoughts are with the victims and their families. My kneejerk reaction poem is here: https://vivinfrance.wordpress.com/2015/11/14/sonnet-written-in-shock/
I woke up this morning to this horrific news. As I go about my Saturday morning chores, I an feeling shaken and so sad for the families who are experiencing agonies right now. All those lost lives….
“Dark times lie ahead of us and there will be a time when we must choose between what is easy and what is right”
You get it, and are so right.
I feel your sentiments. It is so sad really that this has to happen (again) and the innocent people who lost their lives. Let there be peace and unity in the whole world.
My grandfather used to say, “Don’t listen to what I say, listen to what I mean”. These words made no sense to me as a child. As an adult, I understand then clearly. Our words have only a minor roll, while our actions take the lead.
As horrific as this is – and horrific is a tame word to use for this – what saddens me even more is the people who are now using this as a stage for hate and more violence. FB this morning is full of people calling for retribution! I can understand they are angry, but a lot of the times this anger is like a cancer, and it’s growth often kills the innocent because they are the closest to what we perceive as a threat. And when emotions are this high, some forget to listen. Hate to say this but a lot of people get a certain ‘high’ on this kind of tragedy, it justifies their ‘right to bare arms’ and they, in blind fury, look for someone to use these arms against!
If you are an ostrich, then so am I in my little corner of peace I have strive to make. It isn’t that I don’t care about humanity, but I refuse to add to the hysterical hate and bias of the world today. I will quietly go my way, helping those I can, when I can, without all the shouting and finger pointing!
hear hear
Tolerance, understanding and forgiveness are all products of civilisation, and go against the raw instincts of man and animal alike to dominate, control and exclude the ‘other’, the different. I would *like* to say that all men are my brothers, just as all women are my sisters. But how can a man be my brother, if he oppresses my sisters? I do not bay for revenge, or threaten or hate, because how then can I think of myself as civilised? Instead, I work hard at not hating, at forgiving, and wondering how we can all be brought to talk together…
I have not heard till now about this. Like you, I have chosen not to engage in the media frenzy that is often slanted to induce more of the same. I pray for peace daily and keep my vibration as loving and peaceful as possible. So each encounter I have in the world reflects that. It’s the only tool I have to to help our troubled world and you are correct. It is always the struggle for power in everything. My heart goes out to Hugo. The only persons actions we can control is our own. Well said, Celi. Well said.
I was aware of news of events last night in Paris. Elly was flying to Israel with a long stop over in CDG. Thankfully she was well away when the events began. I have a friend who lives in between the Bataclan and rue de Charonne, and not so far from the other restaurants where killings occurred. He is safe, but was shattered when I chatted to him this morning. It is not only those killed, but those who mourn their deaths, the injured, the emergency services and passers-by who helped or saw the carnage we need to think about now. My heart goes out to Hugo, so far away from home. Please give him a hug from me.
The Fellowship stands with and behind Hugo, and you as well. I think we all grieve this morning in our own way and all stand in abject horror once again at this news. Peace and respect…words that seem to mean nothing anymore.
Thanks, Celi for these beautiful words. And love to Hugo.
Well said Celi, you always find the right words.
My thoughts and prayers are with Hugo, his family and his country.