New Year 2007
During this holiday that coincides with the first full day of winter, and on a day when the holiday period unofficially begins, it is our hope that during the waning days of 2006, we recall the triumphs as well as the challenges, the highs as well as the lows. James Harvey Robinson summoned us to humanize our knowledge, our experience, as the conception of history being an impersonal flow of figures and facts. Henry James in a cynical moment might be right, that all history is a succession of inventions, interpretations and extrapolations made by genius and turned into convention by the people, a series of initiatives taken by adventurous leaders and spread among the masses of humankind by the waves of critical mass. Yet as we search for a place, a concept, a movement that might guide and pioneer into the future, let not the lows extinguish the flame of our hope and our reverence for life. Let not the doubts over power the senses. Let not the fears overcome the confidence we know is so rightly placed in our service for the common good.
I share these thoughts because the holidays evoke so many different passions. For some they are highlighted by the gift of life. For others they might be embraced by a deep sense of loss, shame and despair. Polarities it might seem but possibly not in our interpretations about how we define our lives. For me, and for many, I trust that the challenges of poverty, inequality and racism remind us every waking day of the clarity which comes from seeking to alleviate the pain of others and within ourselves. Faith is a noble passion, and the hope that emerges is born of wisdom. The thought and creativity each of us brings to a mutually defined mission, cannot only help to define our lives, but will affect and bring joy to tens of thousands. In so doing, we are elevated above the casual needs that serve to suffocate those trapped by self-interest. In so doing we enable those who gather with us to recognize that education is not the painful accumulation of facts, dates and theories, but as an ennobling intimacy with great minds. Consider it not as the preparation of the individual to make a living, but as the development of every potential capacity in us for the comprehension, control, and appreciation of our world. It has been written that education is the reason why we behave like human beings. We learn to write, as Susan Sontag, "not to express ourselves but to create ourselves." We learn to share our thoughts, tears and fears which universally connect achievements of the minds. In so doing we bound the generations together with a common heritage "...through a millennium of poverty and superstition, [and gain] the wisdom found by philosophy...the beauty carved out in drama and poetry." In what has been called by Durant as the "Country of the Mind" our heroes and heroines need not die.
Yes, this is the place where our heroes dwell. This is where we can go in our love of learning, in our thirst for deeper knowledge and understanding. It is framed by individuals who collectively decide that the greater whole supersedes individual passions. I guess that is what the message of my rambling attempts to accomplish during this holiday season. It is in memory, love and passion that our existence must stand as the foundation for others to share in the beauty of life and the wholeness that comes from being. So as we move into the new year, let 2007 become yet another marker along the path we all tread, framed by those who have walked before us and who will follow. Never lose sight of the purposes that lift us with the spirits that surround our very being. Never lose the thirst for the joy of seeing a child smile -- recognized for the brilliance that they bring to each waking day.
Leaders are ennobling. Leaders help us to move beyond the thought there is more violence in the world than before. If truth be told we are reminded there are only more newspapers and media platforms; vast and powerful organizations which scour the Earth for crimes and scandals "...that will console their readers for stenography and monogamy; and all the villainy and politics of five continents are gathered upon one page for the encouragement of our breakfasts." Durant has written that we conclude "...that half the world is killing the other half, and that a large proportion of the remainder are committing suicide. But in the streets, in our homes, in public assemblies, in a thousand vehicles of transportation, we are astonished to find no murderers and no suicides; but rather a...blunt democratic courtesy, and an unpretentious chivalry a hundred times more real than when men mouthed chivalric phrases, enslaved their women, and ensured the fidelity of their wives with irons while they fought for Christ in the Holy Land."
Paradox frames our lives. But the heart, mind, and hand do lift us through renewed belief, hope, determination and confidence. We celebrate your leadership. We celebrate your integrity for purpose and mission. We celebrate your gifts that you bring to family, friends and colleagues bound by a common mission. We celebrate you not only during this holiday of seasons, but in every waking moment that your presence is recognized by your universal actions and commitments.
I share these thoughts because the holidays evoke so many different passions. For some they are highlighted by the gift of life. For others they might be embraced by a deep sense of loss, shame and despair. Polarities it might seem but possibly not in our interpretations about how we define our lives. For me, and for many, I trust that the challenges of poverty, inequality and racism remind us every waking day of the clarity which comes from seeking to alleviate the pain of others and within ourselves. Faith is a noble passion, and the hope that emerges is born of wisdom. The thought and creativity each of us brings to a mutually defined mission, cannot only help to define our lives, but will affect and bring joy to tens of thousands. In so doing, we are elevated above the casual needs that serve to suffocate those trapped by self-interest. In so doing we enable those who gather with us to recognize that education is not the painful accumulation of facts, dates and theories, but as an ennobling intimacy with great minds. Consider it not as the preparation of the individual to make a living, but as the development of every potential capacity in us for the comprehension, control, and appreciation of our world. It has been written that education is the reason why we behave like human beings. We learn to write, as Susan Sontag, "not to express ourselves but to create ourselves." We learn to share our thoughts, tears and fears which universally connect achievements of the minds. In so doing we bound the generations together with a common heritage "...through a millennium of poverty and superstition, [and gain] the wisdom found by philosophy...the beauty carved out in drama and poetry." In what has been called by Durant as the "Country of the Mind" our heroes and heroines need not die.
Yes, this is the place where our heroes dwell. This is where we can go in our love of learning, in our thirst for deeper knowledge and understanding. It is framed by individuals who collectively decide that the greater whole supersedes individual passions. I guess that is what the message of my rambling attempts to accomplish during this holiday season. It is in memory, love and passion that our existence must stand as the foundation for others to share in the beauty of life and the wholeness that comes from being. So as we move into the new year, let 2007 become yet another marker along the path we all tread, framed by those who have walked before us and who will follow. Never lose sight of the purposes that lift us with the spirits that surround our very being. Never lose the thirst for the joy of seeing a child smile -- recognized for the brilliance that they bring to each waking day.
Leaders are ennobling. Leaders help us to move beyond the thought there is more violence in the world than before. If truth be told we are reminded there are only more newspapers and media platforms; vast and powerful organizations which scour the Earth for crimes and scandals "...that will console their readers for stenography and monogamy; and all the villainy and politics of five continents are gathered upon one page for the encouragement of our breakfasts." Durant has written that we conclude "...that half the world is killing the other half, and that a large proportion of the remainder are committing suicide. But in the streets, in our homes, in public assemblies, in a thousand vehicles of transportation, we are astonished to find no murderers and no suicides; but rather a...blunt democratic courtesy, and an unpretentious chivalry a hundred times more real than when men mouthed chivalric phrases, enslaved their women, and ensured the fidelity of their wives with irons while they fought for Christ in the Holy Land."
Paradox frames our lives. But the heart, mind, and hand do lift us through renewed belief, hope, determination and confidence. We celebrate your leadership. We celebrate your integrity for purpose and mission. We celebrate your gifts that you bring to family, friends and colleagues bound by a common mission. We celebrate you not only during this holiday of seasons, but in every waking moment that your presence is recognized by your universal actions and commitments.
posted by Eric J. Cooper at 7:03 AM
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