Happy 40th Anniversary, Woodstock "Kids"

How have we arrived so soon at the 40th anniversary of Woodstock? How has old man Chronos hoodwinked old man Kairos into letting us develop spare tires, grey hair, wrinkly skin and fading eyesight?

For those of us who happily mutated at the sound of our very first Beatles song,
who transformed through meditation and pot and peyote buds and dancing and free stores and organics, it's a very short moment in time since that weekend.
I was 15 years old and living in Oregon at the time, so although I was present at the very first Oregon Country Fair (which started as a Renaissance Faire BTW), used to have a room mate named Lila who was a founding Earth Mother of The Rainbow Family, although my friend Jimmy Hissop (a gentle soul with a shiny brown mop of curls who wore old coveralls over tie dye) drove a milk truck for Ken Kesey's Springfield Creamery all through his senior year in high school, although I'd seen the Grateful Dead 3 times before my 18th birthday, despite all that I did not make it all the way across the continent for Woodstock, except in spirit.

Here are a few little snippets of thought on Woodstock, 40 years on.
Peace, my brothers and sisters.

Paul Krassner at Huggington Post - Four decades ago, along with 499,999 others on a countercultural pilgrimage, I was headed for the Woodstock Festival of Music & Love.

CBS News It was 40 years ago Saturday when almost half-a-million people descended on a farm in upstate New York to enjoy a music festival called "Woodstock." But what nobody knew then was the impact it would have on a generation.

Rolling Stone Rolling Stone's Essential Woodstock Coverage

A Capella In the Paris Subway.

Free hugs.
Guerilla gardening.
Pay it forward.
Pronoia.
And now, cross-cultural good vibes in small places. Naturally 7 Live in the Paris Subway! I like this veddah veddah much...enjoy
:)

A Little Perspective

A little perspective now and then is valued by the wisest men (and women!)

From the pronoia wildman, Rob Brezhny. Here's one pagan hippie I agree with, at least with most of the sentiments he delivers in the letter below, which I found today in my inbox. I personally am still likely to write in a Ron Paul/Dennis Kucinich protest vote, but the first 3/4 or Rob's letter really got my attention. Yes!
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QUOTE
Dear Readers,

Before the last U.S. presidential election in 2004, *What Is Enlightenment?* magazine posed the following query to five religious leaders: "Many people argue that the upcoming presidential election is the most important in our lifetime.
Do you agree?" Four of the respondents said, in effect, "Yes, because George Bush is bad for America and the world." But the fifth religious leader, Zen Buddhist Jan Chozen Roshi, replied, "I don't know. Our existence is so short, it's like a dust mote in the eye of God.

To say that the time in which my dust mote existed was the most important is a self-centered view." Roshi's wisdom reminded me of an anecdote told by Henry Kissinger, an American politician who was Secretary of State in the 1970s. Kissinger once asked Chinese premier Zhou Enlai what he thought of the French Revolution, which had happened two centuries earlier. "Too soon to tell," Chou answered.

I always like to keep these ideas in mind, even in times of relative peace and calm. But I'm especially fond of focusing on the *very* big picture when divine chaos is whirling around -- like now. It helps keep me humble, and discourages me from any temptation I might have to believe I know the Whole Truth about anything, let alone about the mysterious long-term processes at work in the evolution of the human race.

There's another factor that makes me cautious about getting embroiled in partisan politics and the narrow-minded hostility that fuels it. One of my main goals in life is to love everyone with passionate intensity -- no exceptions. Not just the people I find beautiful and helpful and interesting and attractive. But also the people I don't like and the people who don't like me and the people I disagree with and the people who can't or won't do anything for me. In order to become the gorgeous genius I aspire to be, in order to fulfill the unique destiny I came to Earth to embody, I have to hold EVERYONE in my heart with compassion and empathy. As I contemplate how every single part of creation is interconnected, I've got to be aware that the creatures I'm allergic to and inclined to feel alienated from are also part of the great web of life.

That's my spiritual goal; it's essential to awakening my best self and cultivating an intimate connection to Spirit. It's also my selfish goal; it's critical to my physical and mental health. Hatred always sickens me. Love always invigorates me.*On the other hand:I was born at a specific moment in history with a unique outlook and a particular assignment. I can't help but be passionate about the truth as I see it.

And the truth as I see it is that Barack Obama is the best choice for President of the United States. He is definitely the most pronoiac candidate.That's why I'm voting for him and feel good about saying:BARACK OBAMA FOR PRESIDENT

If you'd like to know a little more about my political perspectives, some (but not all) of which are shared by Obama, you can read them here: http://tinyurl.com/2etg3cIf the spirit moves you, you can also read this article from *The New Yorker,* which I largely endorse:http://tinyurl.com/4ev99m

P.S. It's crucial to keep in mind that Obama can't single-handedly and magically heal all the havoc inflicted on America and the world by He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named and his henchmen. The resuscitation will have to be accomplished primarily by we-the-people, and as much on the local level as in the federal realm.
UNQUOTE
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The Stout Discipline of the Optimist

I found this in my inbox today, and it resonated in my very bones. I pass it on to you so as not to hog the blessing.

DJY
b b b b b b b

From *The Return of the Prodigal Son* by Henri J. M. Nouwen

QUOTE I am not accustomed to rejoicing in things that are small, hidden, and scarcely noticed by the people around me. I am generally ready and prepared to receive bad news, to read about wars, violence, and crimes, and to witness conflict and disarray. I always expect my visitors to talk about their problems and pain, their setbacks and disappointments, their depressions and their anguish. Somehow I have become accustomed to living with sadness, and so have lost the eyes to see the joy and the ears to hear the gladness that belongs to God and which is to be found in the hidden corners of the world."

I have a friend who is so deeply connected with God that he can see joy where I expect only sadness. He travels much and meets countless people. When he returns home, I always expect him to tell me about the difficult economic situation of the countries he visited, about the great injustices he heard about, and the pain he has seen. But even though he is very aware of the great upheaval of the world, he seldom speaks of it. When he shares his experiences, he tells about the hidden joys he has discovered.

He tells about a man, a woman, or a child who brought him hope or peace. He tells about little groups of people who are faithful to each other in the midst of all the turmoil. He tells about the small wonders of God. At times I realize that I am disappointed because I want to hear 'newspaper news,' exciting and exhilarating stories that can be talked about among friends. But he never responds to my need for sensationalism. He keeps saying: 'I saw something very small and very beautiful, something that gave me much joy.'"This is a real discipline. It requires choosing for the light even when there is much darkness to frighten me, choosing for life even when the forces of death are so visible, and choosing for the truth even when I am surrounded with lies.

I am tempted to be so impressed by the obvious sadness of the human condition that I no longer claim the joy manifesting itself in many small but very real ways. The reward of choosing joy is joy itself. Living among people with mental disabilities has convinced me of that. There is so much rejection, pain, and woundedness among us, but once you choose to claim the joy hidden in the midst of all suffering, life becomes celebration. Joy never denies the sadness, but transforms it to a fertile soil for more joy. UNQUOTE
g g g g

Get Your Freak On

Your happy and clear-headed joyful freak, that is. Here's an excerpt from Rob Brezsny's mind-blowing "Pronoia:How the World is Conspiring to Shower You With Blessings", which was published in The Sun magazine a few years ago. If you haven't seen The Sun, do yourself a favor and check it out; you'll find current commentary written from a stance of progressive wisdom - poetry which is actually good - and much more.
In 2001 Brezsny founded the Beauty and Truth Laboratory, which he describes as “a think tank of sorts,” to balance what he sees as the unrelenting negativity in the news and entertainment media. The Beauty and Truth Laboratory, which
may or may not have offices in Brezsny’s garage, is dedicated to exploring the possibilities of pronoia. Coined by Grateful Dead lyricist John Perry Barlow, pronoia is the opposite of paranoia. A “pronoiac” is someone who believes that the world is conspiring to shower him or her with blessings.

QUOTE At the Beauty and Truth Laboratory, we believe that stories
about the rot are not inherently more captivating than stories
about the splendor. On the contrary, given how predictable
and omnipresent the former have become, they are actually
quite dull. Obsessing on evil is boring. Rousing fear is a hackneyed
shtick. Wallowing in despair is a bad habit. Indulging
in cynicism is akin to committing a copycat crime.
How did it come to be that the news is reported solely by
journalists? There are so many other kinds of events besides
the narrow band favored by that highly specialized brand of
storytellers. Indeed, there are many phenomena that literally
cannot be perceived by journalists. Their training, their
temperament, and their ambitions make vast areas of human
experience invisible to them.
“Ninety-six percent of the cosmos puzzles astronomers,”
read a headline on CNN’s website: proof that at least some of
our culture’s equivalent of high priests — the scientists — are
humble enough to acknowledge that the universe is made up
mostly of stuff they can’t even detect, let alone study.
If only the journalists were equally modest. Since they’re
not, we’ll say it: The majority of everything that happens on
this planet escapes their notice. UNQUOTE