Oops. Pls Disregard Prior. CRUCIAL. Comments? 105. When I'm not blue hot flame, I'm no hope. I can't bring others to that

105. When I'm not blue hot flame, I'm no hope. I can't bring others to that

'We are all extremists.  We are ere extremists for love, or extremists for hate,' to paraphrase Dr. King.   To paraphrase Jesus,  'I came to bring a fire and oh how I wish it were blazing already.'  

This, is what it is to die to head and flesh, and Live in Heart.  This, by different words and name, is what Jesus died to give us – Life, Burning with LIFE, the Light on the Hill, Blue Hot Flame, LIFE ITSELF, or Death.  Those are the only two options.  INSHE Warrior, Truly, not in our imaginations, our delusion, but Honestly, Truly measuring up to those that have been most like our Creator – on all 105 characteristics.

Possibly the hardest to defend academically of all these essays, quite possibly the most important of all these essays, among the most difficult and important of the metaphors, and mixed metaphors.  After my second major hunger strike to avert environmental Armageddon ended, just about a year ago, June 2011, 50 days in front of the White House, oh, I realized that I was doing the best I knew how to avert environmental Armageddon, and that I was not doing well enough.  I don't remember what hit me first - the realization that I finally knew enough to design a tool, a personal trainer to increase the odds I would become what the world needed of me; I don't remember if that came first, or if the notion of burning at blue hot flame came first.  Maybe sometime I'll have a chance to retrace that, and I would be able to do so because of the various postings of such ideas on the Start Loving blog. SL

But quickly they became hand-in-hand, and the notion that I needed to burn hotter, I think it came on the second to last major hunger strike, the one in the November-December timeframe, 50 days again. I think the notion of burning at blue hot flame came then, and I wasn't.  I was smoldering.  I was anywhere between minus numbers and 3,3.5.  And the notion that unless I learned to burn hotter, whatever that meant, but it meant a lot to my nervous system, and I was correct, that I was no hope in igniting others, unless and until I hit blue hot flame.  Profoundly correct. 

There is a delightful, important expression - the fish are the last to discover water.  So after seeing a hundred and four characteristics of history's high impact unviolent warriors, 105 presents itself to me, the last, and the one that most makes sense of them all.  Unless I'm burning hot enough, unless you are burning hot enough, you can't bring the fire that Jesus spoke of.  You can't be the extremist for Love, you can't bring about extremists like Dr. King spoke of.  Water boils at, is it 120°, so the flame underneath can be in 119° forever, or for a few seconds it can get to 120 and then drop below, and the water will never boil.  The flame must stay at 120 deg or higher, for the water to boil.

It is so immensely tempting for the most promising of us - 'well I'm doing better than anyone else today.' 'I did well yesterday.' 'I did well last week, it's okay that I'm down now.'  Well, in some sense it's okay.  We can't do better than we can do. 

But if what matters is giving a decent life to the next 200 billion people - I'm blue hot flame long enough, intense enough, for others to catch fire, or I might as well move on, because all depends on enough people burning at blue hot flame, which is the heart in charge; the heart fully engaged and accountable to the global neediest - living up to the characteristics of the INSHE warriors throughout history; or not.  "Love as I have Loved," means, be like Me, Christ Jesus told us.  105 Characteristics.  On fire.

Back in September if you look at this jpg, far right, Loving was smoldering, never conceived of getting to blue hot flame, was sure he could not.  And in inventing much of this tool along the way, and in capturing many of the characteristics from history's great unviolent warriors, he finally arrived at blue hot flame. It took about 8 months (and 59 years).  

When I think of the very most promising people I know, they are about where Loving was in September, far right, smoldering, which is a lot more than all but 100 in a million, but hasn't a prayer of lighting the world on fire.  But they do have the potential.  Luke Skywalker had the potential.  Anakin Skywalker had the potential.  In each case I see the opportunity to progress as far and as fast as I, or maybe faster than I since last September (JPG). 

EXCEPT, the desire is missing, in all but maybe one case, from what I can see.  Too many temptations.  Oh, how I pray I'm wrong, about the others. 

Jesus, King, Gandhi, Alice Paul, Loving, the 105 characteristics… came for those literally dying for a world better than the status quo.  That is why, that is why the 'gate is narrow, and few shall enter in.'  All but the 1 in a million can and do live with the status quo.  They will take the blue pill, they will kill Truth, God, the Creator, Hope (all replaced with shiny new Idols made in their own image, to their own liking)… every time, to stay within the status quo – 'I'll kill for no change, if need be,' the status quo of the right; 'no fundamental personal risk; I'll not Fundamentally put myself in harm's way for anything,' the status quo of the left.  And no one dying to be the middle way – a world better than the status quo, regardless of personal risk, not if I have to die for it for every day, every decade... I'm given.

You don't have that much time.  The Personal Trainer has given you an opportunity to get there more quickly.

You can't say you didn't know.

Will you be the 'seed' on the path, on the rock, among the thorns, or on good ground? 

The odds, the world, is totally stacked against you.

And you, are the world's only hope.

-------------------------------------------------

----- Forwarded Message -----
From: Start Loving <start_loving@yahoo.com>
To: Loving [Start] <start_loving@yahoo.com>
Sent: Monday, June 25, 2012 9:29 PM
Subject: CRUCIAL. Comments? 105. When I'm not blue hot flame, I'm no hope. I can't bring others to that

105. When I'm not blue hot flame, I'm no hope. I can't bring others to that

'We are all extremists.  We are ere extremists for love, or extremists for hate,' to paraphrase Dr. King.   To paraphrase Jesus,  'I came to bring a fire and oh how I wish it were blazing already.' 

Possibly the hardest to defend academically of all these essays, quite possibly the most important of all these essays, among the most difficult and important of the metaphors, and mixed metaphors.  After my second major hunger strike to avert environmental Armageddon ended, just about a year ago, June 2011, 50 days in front of the White House, oh, I realized that I was doing the best I knew how to avert environmental Armageddon, and that I was not doing well enough.  I don't remember what hit me first - the realization that I finally knew enough to design a tool, a personal trainer to increase the odds I would become what the world needed of me; I don't remember if that came first, or if the notion of burning at blue hot flame came first.  Maybe sometime I'll have a chance to retrace that, and I would be able to do so because of the various postings of such ideas on the Start Loving blog. SL

But quickly they became hand-in-hand, and the notion that I needed to burn hotter, I think it came on the second to last major hunger strike, the one in the November-December timeframe, 50 days again. I think the notion of burning at blue hot flame came then, and I wasn't.  I was smoldering.  I was anywhere between minus numbers and 3,3.5.  And the notion that unless I learned to burn hotter, whatever that meant, but it meant a lot to my nervous system, and I was correct, that I was no hope in igniting others, unless and until I hit blue hot flame.  Profoundly correct. 

There is a delightful, important expression - the fish are the last to discover water.  So after seeing a hundred and four characteristics of history's high impact unviolent warriors, 105 presents itself to me, the last, and the one that most makes sense of them all.  Unless I'm burning hot enough, unless you are burning hot enough, you can't bring the fire that Jesus spoke of.  You can't be the extremist for Love, you can't bring about extremists like Dr. King spoke of.  Water boils at, is it 120°, so the flame underneath can be in 119° forever, or for a few seconds it can get to 120 and then drop below, and the water will never boil.  The flame must stay at 120 deg or higher, for the water to boil.

It is so immensely tempting for the most promising of us - 'well I'm doing better than anyone else today.' 'I did well yesterday.' 'I did well last week, it's okay that I'm down now.'  Well, in some sense it's okay.  We can't do better than we can do. 

But if what matters is giving a decent life to the next 200 billion people - I'm blue hot flame long enough, intense enough, for others to catch fire, or I might as well move on, because all depends on enough people burning at blue hot flame, which is the heart in charge; the heart fully engaged and accountable to the global neediest - living up to the characteristics of the INSHE warriors throughout history; or not.  "Love as I have Loved," means, be like Me, Christ Jesus told us.  105 Characteristics.  On fire.

Back in September if you look at this jpg, far right, Loving was smoldering, never conceived of getting to blue hot flame, was sure he could not.  And in inventing much of this tool along the way, and in capturing many of the characteristics from history's great unviolent warriors, he finally arrived at blue hot flame. It took about 8 months (and 59 years).  

When I think of the very most promising people I know, they are about where Loving was in September, far right, smoldering, which is a lot more than all but 100 in a million, but hasn't a prayer of lighting the world on fire.  But they do have the potential.  Luke Skywalker had the potential.  Anakin Skywalker had the potential.  In each case I see the opportunity to progress as far and as fast as I, or maybe faster than I since last September (JPG). 

EXCEPT, the desire is missing, in all but maybe one case, from what I can see.  Too many temptations.  Oh, how I pray I'm wrong, about the others. 

Jesus, King, Gandhi, Alice Paul, Loving, the 105 characteristics… came for those literally dying for a world better than the status quo.  That is why, that is why the 'gate is narrow, and few shall enter in.'  All but the 1 in a million can and do live with the status quo.  They will take the blue pill, they will kill Truth, God, the Creator, Hope (all replaced with shiny new Idols made in their own image, to their own liking)… every time, to stay within the status quo – 'I'll kill for no change, if need be,' the status quo of the right; 'no fundamental personal risk; I'll not Fundamentally put myself in harm's way for anything,' the status quo of the left.  And no one dying to be the middle way – a world better than the status quo, regardless of personal risk, not if I have to die for it for every day, every decade... I'm given.

You don't have that much time.  The Personal Trainer has given you an opportunity to get there more quickly.

You can't say you didn't know.

Will you be the 'seed' on the path, on the rock, among the thorns, or on good ground? 

The odds, the world, is totally stacked against you.

And you, are the world's only hope.

CRUCIAL. Comments? 105. When I'm not blue hot flame, I'm no hope. I can't bring others to that

105. When I'm not blue hot flame, I'm no hope. I can't bring others to that

'We are all extremists.  We are ere extremists for love, or extremists for hate,' to paraphrase Dr. King.   To paraphrase Jesus,  'I came to bring a fire and oh how I wish it were blazing already.' 

Possibly the hardest to defend academically of all these essays, quite possibly the most important of all these essays, among the most difficult and important of the metaphors, and mixed metaphors.  After my second major hunger strike to avert environmental Armageddon ended, just about a year ago, June 2011, 50 days in front of the White House, oh, I realized that I was doing the best I knew how to avert environmental Armageddon, and that I was not doing well enough.  I don't remember what hit me first - the realization that I finally knew enough to design a tool, a personal trainer to increase the odds I would become what the world needed of me; I don't remember if that came first, or if the notion of burning at blue hot flame came first.  Maybe sometime I'll have a chance to retrace that, and I would be able to do so because of the various postings of such ideas on the Start Loving blog. SL

But quickly they became hand-in-hand, and the notion that I needed to burn hotter, I think it came on the second to last major hunger strike, the one in the November-December timeframe, 50 days again. I think the notion of burning at blue hot flame came then, and I wasn't.  I was smoldering.  I was anywhere between minus numbers and 3,3.5.  And the notion that unless I learned to burn hotter, whatever that meant, but it meant a lot to my nervous system, and I was correct, that I was no hope in igniting others, unless and until I hit blue hot flame.  Profoundly correct. 

There is a delightful, important expression - the fish are the last to discover water.  So after seeing a hundred and four characteristics of history's high impact unviolent warriors, 105 presents itself to me, the last, and the one that most makes sense of them all.  Unless I'm burning hot enough, unless you are burning hot enough, you can't bring the fire that Jesus spoke of.  You can't be the extremist for Love, you can't bring about extremists like Dr. King spoke of.  Water boils at, is it 120°, so the flame underneath can be in 119° forever, or for a few seconds it can get to 120 and then drop below, and the water will never boil.  The flame must stay at 120 deg or higher, for the water to boil.

It is so immensely tempting for the most promising of us - 'well I'm doing better than anyone else today.' 'I did well yesterday.' 'I did well last week, it's okay that I'm down now.'  Well, in some sense it's okay.  We can't do better than we can do. 

But if what matters is giving a decent life to the next 200 billion people - I'm blue hot flame long enough, intense enough, for others to catch fire, or I might as well move on, because all depends on enough people burning at blue hot flame, which is the heart in charge; the heart fully engaged and accountable to the global neediest - living up to the characteristics of the INSHE warriors throughout history; or not.  "Love as I have Loved," means, be like Me, Christ Jesus told us.  105 Characteristics.  On fire.

Back in September if you look at this jpg, far right, Loving was smoldering, never conceived of getting to blue hot flame, was sure he could not.  And in inventing much of this tool along the way, and in capturing many of the characteristics from history's great unviolent warriors, he finally arrived at blue hot flame. It took about 8 months (and 59 years).  

When I think of the very most promising people I know, they are about where Loving was in September, far right, smoldering, which is a lot more than all but 100 in a million, but hasn't a prayer of lighting the world on fire.  But they do have the potential.  Luke Skywalker had the potential.  Anakin Skywalker had the potential.  In each case I see the opportunity to progress as far and as fast as I, or maybe faster than I since last September (JPG). 

EXCEPT, the desire is missing, in all but maybe one case, from what I can see.  Too many temptations.  Oh, how I pray I'm wrong, about the others. 

Jesus, King, Gandhi, Alice Paul, Loving, the 105 characteristics… came for those literally dying for a world better than the status quo.  That is why, that is why the 'gate is narrow, and few shall enter in.'  All but the 1 in a million can and do live with the status quo.  They will take the blue pill, they will kill Truth, God, the Creator, Hope (all replaced with shiny new Idols made in their own image, to their own liking)… every time, to stay within the status quo – 'I'll kill for no change, if need be,' the status quo of the right; 'no fundamental personal risk; I'll not Fundamentally put myself in harm's way for anything,' the status quo of the left.  And no one dying to be the middle way – a world better than the status quo, regardless of personal risk, not if I have to die for it for every day, every decade... I'm given.

You don't have that much time.  The Personal Trainer has given you an opportunity to get there more quickly.

You can't say you didn't know.

Will you be the 'seed' on the path, on the rock, among the thorns, or on good ground? 

The odds, the world, is totally stacked against you.

And you, are the world's only hope.

105. When I'm not blue hot flame, I'm no hope. I can't bring others to that

105. When I'm not blue hot flame, I'm no hope. I can't bring others to that

'We are all extremists.  We are ere extremists for love, or extremists for hate,' to paraphrase Dr. King.   To paraphrase Jesus,  'I came to bring a fire and oh how I wish it were blazing already.'  

This, is what it is to die to head and flesh, and Live in Heart.  This, by different words and name, is what Jesus died to give us – Life, Burning with LIFE, the Light on the Hill, Blue Hot Flame, LIFE ITSELF, or Death.  Those are the only two options.  INSHE Warrior, Truly, not in our imaginations, our delusion, but Honestly, Truly measuring up to those that have been most like our Creator – on all 105 characteristics.

Possibly the hardest to defend academically of all these essays, quite possibly the most important of all these essays, among the most difficult and important of the metaphors, and mixed metaphors.  After my second major hunger strike to avert environmental Armageddon ended, just about a year ago, June 2011, 50 days in front of the White House, oh, I realized that I was doing the best I knew how to avert environmental Armageddon, and that I was not doing well enough.  I don't remember what hit me first - the realization that I finally knew enough to design a tool, a personal trainer to increase the odds I would become what the world needed of me; I don't remember if that came first, or if the notion of burning at blue hot flame came first.  Maybe sometime I'll have a chance to retrace that, and I would be able to do so because of the various postings of such ideas on the Start Loving blog. SL

But quickly they became hand-in-hand, and the notion that I needed to burn hotter, I think it came on the second to last major hunger strike, the one in the November-December timeframe, 50 days again. I think the notion of burning at blue hot flame came then, and I wasn't.  I was smoldering.  I was anywhere between minus numbers and 3,3.5.  And the notion that unless I learned to burn hotter, whatever that meant, but it meant a lot to my nervous system, and I was correct, that I was no hope in igniting others, unless and until I hit blue hot flame.  Profoundly correct. 

There is a delightful, important expression - the fish are the last to discover water.  So after seeing a hundred and four characteristics of history's high impact unviolent warriors, 105 presents itself to me, the last, and the one that most makes sense of them all.  Unless I'm burning hot enough, unless you are burning hot enough, you can't bring the fire that Jesus spoke of.  You can't be the extremist for Love, you can't bring about extremists like Dr. King spoke of.  Water boils at, is it 120°, so the flame underneath can be in 119° forever, or for a few seconds it can get to 120 and then drop below, and the water will never boil.  The flame must stay at 120 deg or higher, for the water to boil.

It is so immensely tempting for the most promising of us - 'well I'm doing better than anyone else today.' 'I did well yesterday.' 'I did well last week, it's okay that I'm down now.'  Well, in some sense it's okay.  We can't do better than we can do. 

But if what matters is giving a decent life to the next 200 billion people - I'm blue hot flame long enough, intense enough, for others to catch fire, or I might as well move on, because all depends on enough people burning at blue hot flame, which is the heart in charge; the heart fully engaged and accountable to the global neediest - living up to the characteristics of the INSHE warriors throughout history; or not.  "Love as I have Loved," means, be like Me, Christ Jesus told us.  105 Characteristics.  On fire.

Back in September if you look at this jpg, far right, Loving was smoldering, never conceived of getting to blue hot flame, was sure he could not.  And in inventing much of this tool along the way, and in capturing many of the characteristics from history's great unviolent warriors, he finally arrived at blue hot flame. It took about 8 months (and 59 years).  

When I think of the very most promising people I know, they are about where Loving was in September, far right, smoldering, which is a lot more than all but 100 in a million, but hasn't a prayer of lighting the world on fire.  But they do have the potential.  Luke Skywalker had the potential.  Anakin Skywalker had the potential.  In each case I see the opportunity to progress as far and as fast as I, or maybe faster than I since last September (JPG). 

EXCEPT, the desire is missing, in all but maybe one case, from what I can see.  Too many temptations.  Oh, how I pray I’m wrong, about the others. 

Jesus, King, Gandhi, Alice Paul, Loving, the 105 characteristics… came for those literally dying for a world better than the status quo.  That is why, that is why the ‘gate is narrow, and few shall enter in.’  All but the 1 in a million can and do live with the status quo.  They will take the blue pill, they will kill Truth, God, the Creator, Hope (all replaced with shiny new Idols made in their own image, to their own liking)… every time, to stay within the status quo – ‘I'll kill for no change, if need be,’ the status quo of the right; ‘no fundamental personal risk; I'll not Fundamentally put myself in harm's way for anything,’ the status quo of the left.  And no one dying to be the middle way – a world better than the status quo, regardless of personal risk, not if I have to die for it for every day, every decade... I'm given.

You don't have that much time.  The Personal Trainer has given you an opportunity to get there more quickly.

You can’t say you didn’t know.

Will you be the ‘seed’ on the path, on the rock, among the thorns, or on good ground? 

The odds, the world, is totally stacked against you.

And you, are the world's only hope.

Comments? 103 - Entropy, evil, decay wins by default, every second that I am not, INSHE warriors are not it's defeat. Every second

103 - Entropy, evil, decay wins by default, every second that I am not, INSHE warriors are not it's defeat.  Every second

 

Have you ever thought about this? I had not till a couple years ago. I'm no physicist, sadly, but the second law of thermodynamics, the law of entropy, is that everything breaks down over time unless an equal or greater amount of energy is expended to prevent that, or to create beyond what's already been created.  A tree will eventually succumb to entropy; the sidewalks and buildings in DC are every second, victims of entropy.  In some cases the buildings and sidewalks, it's very clear that no efforts, no sufficient efforts have gone toward their upkeep, maintenance, or enhancement, and the unopposed ravages of entropy are clear.  And, with some it's very evident that loving care to overcome the ever present entropy has been at work.

 

You know, an activist including yourself, faces this on a daily basis.  A True Activist, is, exactly, the counter to entropy, evil, destruction, exploitation of the global neediest.  'Well, I get tired,' 'I get burned out.' 'I tried, I did an action last month, I wrote a really important blog last week,' 'I undertake a really important project next week....'

 

The true, effective unviolent warriors throughout history were humans.  They were not super-humans, but relative to most of us that are so deformed, so crippled psychologically and spiritually, they appeared super-human; but they're not.  And for years, or decades, or their entire life, they don't burnout.  For most people their hearts, that literally beat in their chest, don't burnout for 60, 70, 80, 90 years; nor do their kidneys; nor do their livers; nor does their skin.  These persist and succeed because at some level the understanding is in them that if they falter, in the case of the beating heart, for a second, it's over.  So, for 50, 60, 70, 80, 90 years - no faltering, constantly and successfully overcoming entropy, and creating anew.  The skin does what it has to including something like 40 billion cells self-terminating per day so that the, I guess trillions of skin cells stay healthy, the body of skin cells stays healthy. 

 

Healthy tissue, healthy organisms are 24/7 devoted to defeating entropy. If you're reading, or listening to this you probably consider yourself an activist.  Is this a correct assessment of you?  Are you a 24/7 counter to entropy?  Were the potent activists throughout history of 24/7 counter to entropy?  Seems to me Gandhi was.  Seems to me King was. 'Oh, but he womanized.'  What, 16 hours a day?  I don't think so.  16 hours a year maybe.  An 80-year-old can have a heart with an occasional arrhythmia imperfection and live effectively. 

 

Perfection is not the issue. Excellence is.

vid - GWD.F. Death Fast - It may not be my time yet

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dll0Z10LrmE

Comments? 102. I’m exactly like a prospector, in a really unpromising stream, prospecting for the least glimpse of Heart(s)

102. I'm exactly like a prospector, in a really unpromising stream, prospecting for the least glimpse of Heart(s)

Creating the largest company in the country by wealth, Apple, was year-by-year, month by month as much a matter of finding the 1 million right employees as it was anything else.  Fortunes were made during the gold rush, some for noble reasons - the child needed an expensive operation, the family refugees in Europe needed funds so that they could come and join their loved ones in the United States; loved ones living in blighted cities and funds needed to bring them to a cleaner better place. 

And hour after hour, day after day, realization of those dreams depended upon painstaking, agonizing, second after second, minute after minute, day after day, month after month... sifting through sand for the glint of gold; with few, if ever, moments of success.

If there's to be a future worth living for the next 2000 generations, that dream will happen the same way.   This dream looks really bad, really low prospects.   The stream of opportunity has been sifted through for the easy stuff, and there is no easy stuff.  There are no obvious glimmers of heart.  Oh, occasional kindness. 'Fools gold,' not to be derogatory; 'fools gold;' not, not the family emergency response. 

But the claim, the stretch of river, of the stream, that the prospector has access to, is what it is.  There's the prospect of giving up, but that's giving up on the prospect of the operation for their child.   And, if they're human, if they're humane, that's probably not going to happen; they'll just keep on trying.   

101. All I want is a clear view of the battlefield so I know how to best fight

101. All I want is a clear view of the battlefield so I know how to best fight

A healthy mother sees her son surrounded by an angry mob about to attack him.  What does that healthy mom want to know - how to escape, herself, to avoid being hurt herself?  She wants to know the battlefield, including what resources are available, how many attackers are around her son, what avenues of attack she has, what avenues of escape he might have.  She wants to know the battlefield.  It's not about her.  It's about him - what help she might call - that's part of the battlefield.  To protect herself?  To protect her son.

If you want to know whether you're an unviolent warrior of hope to the world, or just hope to your own gratification, my brothers and sisters all, if you want to know, then look at yourself.  Are you looking for the way that's safe for you?  Are you looking for the way that your buddies will want to go along with?  Is there anything that is rivaling your interest in simply knowing all aspects, all salient critical aspects of the battlefield - what's the best chance of winning; what's the best chance of winning now; what resources are available; what strategy seems the most promising...?

 

If you're like 99.9999% of the activists, then those are not your key questions.   What can we raise funds for?  What do I like to do?  What would be fun?  Who will go along with it? Will enough people go along with it?  What messaging is popular these days?  What messaging is in vogue?  What will the press think? 

As secondary topics these are not inappropriate questions.   But in the 'activism' of the last 40 years these are never secondary.   They are the central, the only questions. 

And what the unviolent warrior throughout history that has been of any hope has wanted to know - tell me about battlefield, I'll figure everything else from there.  I want to know about the battlefield. I want appropriate intelligence on what's going on - who's on our side; who is the opposition;  who's committed;  who's just 'talking;' what resources might we acquire;  how much time do we have left; and on, and on, and....

Comments? 100. No unviolent army, no hope

100.  No unviolent army, no hope

 

Friends I don't think I'm to be faulted for citing titles, and essays that as you hear them, may seem so obvious, because our behavior as activists indicate that they are totally nonobvious.  The exception being the one in 1 million potent activists, they intuitively or deliberately operate out of the family emergency response, out of the heart.  They don't make the kind of mistakes I'm talking about because the heart doesn't make those kind of mistakes.  

 

The Head and the flesh always make these kind of mistakes. Like this one -

 

A brutal invader attacks part of the world that you care about.  Is there an army in response? Yes. Your son needs a complex operation.  Is there a qualified team committed to your son's operation and recovery? Yes. Your daughter plays soccer, or you did; there is a tremendously important match coming up.  Is the whole team going to be there on your side? Yes.

 

These are natural questions when we're in complete personal solidarity with the issue.  And implicit in all these situations are teams of people in complete solidarity with what they're trying to do.  Deep emotional solidarity.  But when was the last time you asked that question about environmental Armageddon?  Where's the deeply committed, at the cellular level, failure is not an option Army, to go against the army of lobbyists that are totally committed at the cellular level, as hideous as their motivations of greed are?  When was the last time you asked that question? I haven't asked it nearly, nearly as frequently as I've needed to; it's escaped me, too often.  

 

There's no hope of winning a war without an army.  There's no hope of that operation succeeding without a committed team.  There's no hope of that game being won without a totally committed, totally in solidarity from the heart team. 

 

And yet in the most important issues of all time - ending citizens United, averting environmental Armageddon, ending homelessness, ending poverty... we never ask:  "Where is the totally committed, failure is not an option, my life is on the line, I will willingly die for this – army? 

 

We never ask that question.  And never will you or we be a hope until that question becomes something that we ask centrally, every day; and learn to answer, in the affirmative, with our lives.