Jeanne H Barnett's Blog

a profound shift in the consciousness of humanity
as we move from “me” to “we” was the “promise”
of the 1960s – at least, that is what we thought!

BUT – what was our Mission of Promise –
hopeful dreams?
the impossible dream?
or just the silliness of typical young people
who think they know better
than those who went before them?

Shreds of the hopeful ‘60s remained in
the summer of 1969, and we clung to that
like a life raft as we saw all that needed
to be changed and knew WE could
make those changes!
Ah! the immortality of youth –
the inability to believe in failure –
the strength of a spirit that said
“YES, WE CAN” to every doubting voice!

We had heard the stories about how
World War Two had been won because of people
coming together united in a common cause
to overcome the odds and victory resulted!
Those who had horribly abused, starved, and
murdered people had been stopped – and
WE could gain that victory for people in
our own generation, in our own country . . .
we KNEW WE could and WE should!

And so it began –
• Civil Rights Movement
• The Student Movement
• The Anti-Vietnam War Movement
• The Women’s Movement
• Gay Rights Movement
• Environmental Movement

ALL to bring about changes to long-standing
political, social, economic, and legal practices
against people, destruction of life in a war that
was for profit of a few and not winnable, and to
call attention to abuse of our natural resources.

Although specific goals differed, all of the movements
were built on the ideal of citizen-activism and a belief that
social justice could be won through political change.

The focus was always to take steps for “the common good”
– to make love for each other and for all of creation be the
driving force for decisions we made and those made FOR
us by those WE elected to represent us – the “government”
was “WE, the people” and it should do what we want it to do
– for ALL and we raised our voices to make sure OUR
representatives heard the message!

• The civil rights movement, the
women’s movement, and the gay rights
movement demanded that Americans
consider equality for ALL citizens in the
United States.
• The student movement probed the
meaning of freedom in the United States.
• The anti-Vietnam War movement asked Americans
to consider the use of national power and the
appropriateness of their government’s foreign policy.
• Environmentalists asked what good
America’s economic growth was if it
resulted in the destruction of the planet.

WE believed the Mission of Promise –
the Promise of life in a world for ALL –
was up to us to make happen –
it was our world and our purpose
was to make it a better world –
WE bought into the foolish idea that
if Love was put in the driver’s seat and
everyone lived it, those driven by greed
or selfishness or a need to control or
dominate others would be led to
be better people as their hearts were changed
by an awareness of humanity around them . . .
unfortunately, we learned that we had made
a Mistake of Priority . . .

NEXT: a Mistake of Priority

what does what I have created
say about me?

do my words speak of
the “mind of Christ”
OR
do my words speak of
a “fleshly” heart
filled with judgement
and condemnation of others –

do my actions speak
of the life of Jesus, the Christ,
who freely healed and fed and
taught all who came to him –

what is my nature that shows
in what I create?
—-
Why do you see the speck in your neighbor’s eye
but do not notice the log in your own eye?
Or
how can you say to your neighbor,
‘Friend, let me take out the speck in your eye,’
when you yourself do not see the log
in your own eye?
You hypocrite,
first take the log out of your own eye,
and then you will see clearly
to take the speck out of your neighbor’s eye.

“No good tree bears bad fruit,
nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit;
for each tree is known by its own fruit.
For people do not gather figs from thorns,
nor do they pick grapes from a bramble bush.
The good person out of the good treasure
of the heart produces good, and
the evil person out of evil treasure
produces evil,
for it is out of the abundance of the heart
that the mouth speaks.

Luke 6:41-45 NRSVU

I need to know . . . I MUST know . . .
in the world I see, in my struggles: GOD, CAN YOU HEAR ME???

REST comes from where MY hope lies

when the WEAKNESS OF MAN
manifests itself
as darkness rises
and reaches out to
possess, control and distort
the Light,
a seen/unseen battle ensues
as the Creator of the world
and ALL that is
shines Light to confirm
eternal Presence and flow of Life
by the Source of ALL

I can choose to REST in
These Truths . . .
• the Light, the confirmation of Presence –
the Sun and the Moon
never cease to shine
even when I cannot see them –
• I choose HOPE
in the Power of the Presence . . .

the answer to the Question . . .

• Christian Scriptures speak of “shadows,”
sometimes they are a “foreshadowing” of
things to come (Hebrews 10:1) –
• there is a call to remember the “rock”
from which we are hewn (Isaiah 51:1) –
• perhaps the buried stone is Truth hidden
deep within the created being to be
“dicovered” at the right time —
• in the “garden of Eden,” Adam and Eve
used leaves to cover their nakedness, to
hide parts of themselves (Genesies 3:7) –
• what if the “driftwood” in this picture is
there to remind of the wood cross on
which the ultimate sacrifce was made –
• maybe the “message” is “look to the
ancient road” shown in the composition
of this picture—not arranged by any
human hand, but a picture that was
taken just as it lay on the ground at
the Historic Arkansas Museum at the
base of a very old, huge Magnolia tree

imagine standing in the garden of Eden
at the base of the Tree of Life,
BUT THIS TIME with a knowledge of
all the “foreshadowing” contained
in that story . . .
the shadows speaking,
the stone solid to stand on,
the uncovering, the revealing,
the reminder of ultimate giving for others
drawing heart/mind to the ancient road
to cauiously step onto that stone and
allow the shadows to lead to the Source,
the breath/wind/whispers of
the Spirit of God as Living Love
to guide the listening, hungry heart

I was feeling weak . . . starting to lean down . . .

alone – I am weak finding it hard to hold onto hope . . .

BUT I AM NOT ALONE . . .

As I turned the page, the words
seemed to disappear . . .
it looked like the words were fading
in front of my eyes until they
were not there, they were just gone!

WHAT was going on?
The story to that point had been confusing,
but interesting and I wanted to find out how
it turned out, to finish the story, see if I was
right about the “good guys” and the “bad
guys,” BUT— the next page was blank!

I enjoy mysteries – but,
I was NOT enjoying this mystery!

The words were there when I started,
I know, because I kind of flipped through
the pages to make sure there were not any
pages stuck together before I began
reading and I would have noticed if there
were blank pages!

Perplexed, I sat the book down –
maybe I will come back later to see if the
book “fixes” itself and puts the words back
or maybe it is a trick of my tired mind and
I will see words when I look next time,
later . . . this is so strange.

———-[…]
this is the introduction to a book i am considering “trying”
to write –