" Let My Country Awake"

" Where the mind is without fear and the head held high;
Where the knowledge is free;
Where the world has not been broken up
into fragments by narrow domestic walls;
Where words come out from the depth of truth;
Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection;
Where the clear stream of reason has not lost it's way
into the dreary desert sand of dead habit;
Where the mind is led forward by thee into
ever widening thought and action;
Into that heaven of freedom, my Father,
Let my country awake."

Rabindranath Tagore

The Two Sons...

Long ago there was a village with two sons . They were young men from different families, but they came from the same village.

They were both musical and they both knew how to speak to a crowd in the village about the important things in life. In time, many in the village spoke highly of both men . These young men were also very different for each other. One of them was very careful to thank and please those who were in positions of power and influence. he watched and waited to acknowledge those who could impact his life.


The other young man was passionate, headstrong, and did not take the time to nurture influence or even thank people when it would have been wise. He viewed the need for the political ways of village life as dishonest and unnecessary. It was a mistake he would pay for.

In time there was a conflict between these two men. The political skills of one of the one young man gave him a way to turn the minds and hearts of the villagers . He was not an evil young man, it was just the way that he knew. But, the hearts of some of the villagers of influence were dark and they began to condemn the passionate young man. Stories began to emerge about the passionate young man which were not true, but they had a momentum all of their own because of the hearts of some villagers.

The mayor of the village knew that something must be done . He gathered all of the wise men and women of the village together and questioned the passionate young man about his crimes . The passionate young man protested and remained transparent, but sadly lacked the political skill or influence to weather the onslaught of stories and vitriol from the angry villagers.

The group of villagers of influence told the passionate young man that they had little choice but to condemn him because the stories and accounts were too powerful . The passionate young man did not await sentence, but left the village, sad and anguished about the relationships that were lost.


After much time had passed, the King rode through the village and asked where the passionate young man had gone. The villagers told the King that the passionate young man was a fallen man and was not worth recovering, so He should forget about him and enjoy the village. The King looked suddenly very sad and said, "Don't you understand, all of you are fallen , but I forgave your debts to me and I continued to give you the love and generosity of my kingdom."


With that, the King shook his head and rode out of the village, expressing love for everyone there and a sense of sadness for the fears and anger of some villagers concerning the passionate young man...

Our Deepest Fear...


Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us.
We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous,
talented and fabulous ?
Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God.
Your playing small doesn't serve the world.
There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other
people will not feel insecure around you.
We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us.
It is not just in some of us; it is in everyone.
And as we let our own light shine,
we unconsciously give people permission to do the same.
As we are liberated from our own fear,
Our presence liberates others.

- Nelson Mandela
Inaugural speech, 1994