Freedom and Love and Beat
When we get down to what is 'beat' we are left with the words of a handful of writers/poets who are now dead. Do these few people constitute what is really 'beat' - the free-form writing art that was/is called 'beat'? What about the other art forms that were around during the 50's-60's? Painters were 'abstract' in their freedom of expression; music took on a new direction thru the freedom of jazz...
The bottom line in all of this is within any generation there are groups of people that use the arts to gain their freedom from whatever conditionings they have gone through. When we 'go through something' we (hopefully) come out the other end and into something else.
These generational shifts or transitions are all about 'freedom' - 'beat' is freedom, jazz is freedom, abstract painting is freedom, 'bohemians' were freedom, 'rock' is about freedom, 'hippies' were freedom, 'punk' was freedom, and on and on...many voices all clamoring for freedom, thru the freedom of creativity.
It’s happened throughout history - the outsiders that rebelled against the establishment and had a need to live, speak and create in a free-state of being...to 'authenticate' themselves from the norm. It is the 'norm' that places the labels upon those that differ from themselves.
When one feels unable to breath, when one feels stifled by the society in which they associate with... these are hints that they who have these feelings have a need for newness - a new direction to go, new vistas to see, new experiences to encounter. All of this is that word freedom that is stirring within.
It has been said that one cannot fully love without having freedom first... it is that important a quality. Freedom is much more than a social desire... freedom to vote, freedom of speech, religion, to bear arms, etc... those are indeed important, but can never be fully realized without a sense of personal freedom first and foremost. That's why the Founding Fathers of America insisted upon the freedoms written into the laws of their land - they had those freedoms already... and they wanted to keep them not only for themselves but for all their countrymen. They had that inner freedom that allowed their love of liberty to ring for others.
Once our personal freedom is obtained then we are able to fully appreciate these social, democratic, governmental freedoms... indeed, we clamor for them.
But if we are unable to find freedom within ourselves, to find that constant inside, to discover our oneness, all other freedoms are incomplete. And incomplete freedoms are false freedoms. They become wishful thinking. That is why so many today can surrender these social freedoms - because they know not their own inner freedom... their own love within, for if they did they would never surrender their own freedom, even an inch. It is like surrendering love - how could anyone give up love..? What would anyone give up love for? Only a fool would exchange love for a thing. It is the same for freedom, but even more important... when we disallow even our own being to experience freedom, we cheat our Self of love.
On this eve of the full moon, ask yourself if the moon will deny its fullness when the time has arrived. It is not a matter of choice for the moon but a natural occurrence - the time has not only arrived, but has re-arrived for its full brilliance to glow in the night sky.
It is the same for love. It is the same for freedom. These are natural and each has their moment to shine. That moment is not one time but over and over again - it is cyclical. It's necessary to accept the natural flow... our love cannot always shine upon everyone, our freedom cannot overshadow another’s freedom... but given the flow of life, each of us has our moments to shine and those moments will re-occur. Life does not cheat us. Life does not short-change us. Life by definition gives and gives without expecting anything in return. It is us - you and her, me and we, them and those, that cheat ourselves of giving, of loving... only because of our incompetence’s. It is our incompetence that doesn’t allow us our freedom... not nature.
There's more to nature than meets the eye
There's more to nature than we will allow
It is within our nature to be free and to love
It is within our nature to experience the Now
There's more to nature than we will allow
It is within our nature to be free and to love
It is within our nature to experience the Now
cecil
02 december 2007
(originally written 22 May 2005)
