The white man's burden

The white man's burden

by Rudyard Kipling

Take up the White Man's burden--

Send forth the best ye breed--

Go, bind your sons to exile

To serve your captives' need;

To wait, in heavy harness,

On fluttered folk and wild--

Your new-caught sullen peoples,

Half devil and half child.

Take up the White Man's burden--

In patience to abide,

To veil the threat of terror

And check the show of pride;

By open speech and simple,

An hundred times made plain,

To seek another's profit

And work another's gain.

Take up the White Man's burden--

The savage wars of peace--

Fill full the mouth of Famine,

And bid the sickness cease;

And when your goal is nearest

(The end for others sought)

Watch sloth and heathen folly

Bring all your hope to nought.

Take up the White Man's burden--

No iron rule of kings,

But toil of serf and sweeper--

The tale of common things.

The ports ye shall not enter,

The roads ye shall not tread,

Go, make them with your living

And mark them with your dead.

Take up the White Man's burden,

And reap his old reward--

The blame of those ye better

The hate of those ye guard--

The cry of hosts ye humour

(Ah, slowly!) toward the light:--

"Why brought ye us from bondage,

Our loved Egyptian night?"

Take up the White Man's burden--

Ye dare not stoop to less--

Nor call too loud on Freedom

To cloak your weariness.

By all ye will or whisper,

By all ye leave or do,

The silent sullen peoples

Shall weigh your God and you.

Take up the White Man's burden!

Have done with childish days--

The lightly-proffered laurel,

The easy ungrudged praise:

Comes now, to search your manhood

Through all the thankless years,

Cold, edged with dear-bought wisdom,

The judgment of your peers.

Kahlil Gibran

Love one another but make not a bond of love:

let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls.

- Kahlil Gibran

Revolution

Don’t waste your whole life trying to get back what was taken away

Untitled by ♥Amy♥x on Polyvore.com

Betrayal

Sometimes there are moments I feel all alone in the world. These times are usually stressful times, when there is no room for mishaps, second-guessing or doubt. I have to trust my instincts, close my eyes and walk down the path chosen. The standard conflict in this setting is the one between my head and my heart; my reason and my conscious. This is when feeling completely tucked away in the land of tug and war; left alone with my shadow. I turn to my shadow for support, comfort and advice, only to realize that it's faded away.

Do you have a faithful shadow?

Patience

To be a Norwegian

When spending too much time watching status updates on Facebook, you're bound to stumble upon something interesting sooner or later. Today, unfortunately, it was later, but worth the wait indeed.

A friend of mine posted a link to an article in The New York Times about the Norwegians' success in the Winter Olympics in Vancouver, claiming nine gold medals. The article in itself is mediocre, but it had none less than 301 comments (which all make it even more interesting to read) and to me it was a small history lesson about one of the great characters of Norwegian history.

Anyway, this unraveled an endless flow of thoughts and questions about what it means to be a Norwegian, and it brought me back to a discussion we had in class around the same subject. In a class filled with about 40 anthropology students and an Argentinean lecturer, not one of us could put down in a sentence what being Norwegian meant. The lecturer asked if it said something in the original Constitution what being a Norwegian was, and to our recon it did not.

Of course the class ended, but the question and the fact that it seemed indefinable would not stop bothering me and it consumed me the entire day. I finally put it to rest when my sleepiness was unbearable and it hasn't awoken until now. The article started up the machinery, but alas it's time to go to bed to recover from the influenza that's hijacking my body. I'll pick up on this lose end some other time, but in the mean time I hope I gave you something to think about.

Ode to...

William Ernest Henley. 1849-1903.

Invictus

Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds and shall find me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.

Congratulations ladies!

Happy women's day!

Today's gift

I spend a lot of time listening to music, whether on my iPod or on the radio. The unimaginable number of songs never heard is so overwhelming that it almost frustrates me. How many great songs have I yet to discover? I simply love the feeling of hearing a song that somehow and in some way touches me and makes me stop whatever it is I'm doing to grasp the journey of carefully chosen notes and words. This happened today as I was sitting in the library cafe studying, and a song by Eva Cassidy was randomly chosen by my iPod. It's called "I know you by heart".

Enjoy. Experience. Listen.

The one with the knee

Stuck on a couch. Indeed, that's what I've been all day. Studying and letting my mind get lost in many of the fascinating programs on Discovery Channel from time to time. I can't let ppl know often enough how underrated TimeWarp is. Amazing! Anyway, I did actually get quite a lot of studying done. I'm reading a book on how the institutionalized project:development has gone terribly wrong in Lesotho during the 1970s. Believe it or not: it's a page-turner.

I've been very lucky this year with the books on my curriculum. Most of them are very well written and keep a nice balance between theory and empirical observations. As I'm studying anthropology I read plenty of strange empirical observations from all around the world and strange doesn't even come close to describing some of the everyday activities that are occurring all across the globe. Sometimes it feels like I'm reading a fairytale book. It's safe to say that I'm in love with my subject of study.

The reason I've been a studying couch potato today is because I woke with an aching, unbendable knee. What changed between last night and this morning, I don't know. Did I do squats in my sleep? Sure feels like it. I rolled out of bed, into my sweats and onto the couch. Good thing the kitchen's close by or else I would be starving.

From time to time it's nice to study at home, but at the same time I know there's a lot of hidden traps I might, most likely, fall into. Of course there's the regular "now seems like a great time to clean the kitchen" or "I feel like organizing my underwear" and not to mention "I deserve a long shower, a facial, manicure and pedicure". Strange how things like this seem like an incredibly good idea when I know that's not at all what I need to be doing. Thankfully (?) this was not an option today since, well you know, I was glued to the couch.

Then there are the other possible pitfalls. The mental ones. They don't involve much movement. Yes, I'll do them instead. Ahh, geez. Time to get analytic, pessimistic, full of expectations and let the mind wonder off to "what-if"-land. Even thou I can tell from early on that this is going to end badly, I still knock on the door with all the stop- and keep out-signs, only to go down a mudslide to upset- and disappointment-land. You never need to ask a girl twice if she feels like analyzing and trying to make sense out of whatever-it-might-be (yes, it usually includes the XY chromosomed human beings). Be warned: BIG MISTAKE!

So now I sitting here, on the couch of course, pretty upset with myself for having to walk down that road, when I knew so very well were it would end. It's Friday night and I was suppose to go to a concert, but instead I'm, tadaa, on the couch feeling blue ready to watch a sad movie (like icing on the cake). Well, I wouldn't be able to attend the concert anyway due to my knee, but hey when feeling sorry for myself I don't pay attention to details.

On the bus with destination grumpy-town and currently inhabiting in the country of pessimism.

Heartsongs

I would like to donate today's post to a very special little guy who managed to touch more hearts then he himself is aware of in the little time he had on earth.

Mattie Stepanek was born with an illness called Dysautonomic Mitochondrial Myopathy which interrupts automatic body functions and is a terminal illness at an early age. Mattie on the other hand was strong in spirit and wouldn't give up that easily and except that death was upon him. He didn't wait around for it, he made the most out of the time he had and he died at the age of 14. In his 14 short years he published seven books of his own poems; he met and became close friends with a number of great ppl including Oprah Winfrey, Jimmy Carter and Larry King. What made Mattie so special they say is that he knew that every day was a gift and he knew he was living on borrowed time and that his opportunity to make a difference was this very moment, because he might not get the chance tomorrow. And he sure did. His motto was: Think gently, speak gently, live gently.

I've read all of Mattie's poems and I've had to dry my tears more than once. To be filled with so much insight, reflection and wisdom is rare in itself, and unique when you're seeing the world from the eyes of a little boy who so intensely wants us to be able to live in a better world he knows he won't be able to be a part of much longer. Of all the wonderfully magnificent poems he's written, this is my favorite:

Momentous Reality

The next century, the next millennium

Is being made, now, Today, each

second.

We could be working towards

World peace, living as one spirit.

Or, we could be working towards

Disaster, chemical and nuclear

wars.

The harmony, and existence of

the future

Depends on the harmony and

existence

Of each individual here, today.

We must be brave going into the

future.

We must remember to play after

each storm.

We must not live in fear of bad

things

Blocking our way or overcoming

our optimism.

If we can work together to face

the future,

If we can unite as one,

The our future will look, and be,

very bright.

Even though the future seems far

away,

It is actually beginning right now.

And while we are living in the

present,

We must celebrate life everyday,

Knowing that we are becoming

history

With every word, every action, every

moment.

Because we, today, are the history

of tomorrow,

We must ask ourselves each day

What we are doing that may have

An influence on the future.

It really won't be for many years that

The future will indicate if something

we said,

Or if something we did or did not do,

Had an impact on a single individual,

Or if it tickled out to touch the

whole world.

February 2000

- Mattie Stepanek

When asked how he would want to be remembered, he always answered: As a "Poet, Peacemaker, and Philosopher Who Played." And he is. Rest in peace little guy and thank you for the heartprints.

I always remember to play after every storm

http://www.mattieonline.com/

Coffee shop window

Today I was sitting in a coffee shop by the window, looking out into the street and at the ppl passing by. I was sipping my burning hot coffee (I never learn that I have to wait at least a few minutes before I give it a taste) and letting my mind go blank. It was wonderful. I haven't felt that peaceful in some time.

When doing nothing but watching ppl I often start making up stories about their lives, where they've been and where they're going. Not to mention what's going thru their minds. I try to read their facial expression. Some look stressed; some have a face of stone; others are smiling; and there are those whose expression is filled with disappointment and sadness. Smiles are contagious and I can't hold mine back and I don't want to either. But just as smiles make my heart all warm and relaxed, the sad faces hit me just as hard and it feels like a needle poking from the inside.

I can't help but wonder what I look like when I'm completely cooped up in my own thoughts dragging myself unnoticed from one street corner to the next. Do I wear my emotions on my sleeve? Is it possible to make out what's going thru my mind when I pass someone sitting by the window in a coffee shop looking at ppl like myself passing by? Sometimes I walk around feeling like I'm the only person in the world at the moment; completely tangled up in my own thoughts and daydreams. Thinking of it makes me smile. At those moments, the world turns slowly.

When I reached the bottom of the coffee mug I got dressed and went outside and walked home. I was smiling. And as I reached the cathedral with snow drizzled all over it, I stopped to look at it bathing in the sun. I was still smiling as I realized something: there are a lot of things in life I could wish for, but there are not a lot of things in life I need.

I'm happy.

The one missing

Death doesn’t just take someone, it misses someone else,

and in the small distance between being taken and being missed,

lives are changed...

dont forget.. by laura. aka. roa on Polyvore.com