Love this short and inspiring clip from the Occupy Love documentary. We are on the threshold of something truly amazing… Let us have no resistance to change and realize what a blessing it is to take part in these epic and exciting times.
Source ~ Films for Action
“Art isn’t only a painting. Art is anything that’s creative, passionate, and personal. And great art resonates with the viewer, not only with the creator. What makes someone an artist? I don’t think is has anything to do with a paintbrush. There are painters who follow the numbers, or paint billboards, or work in a small village in China, painting reproductions. These folks, while swell people, aren’t artists. On the other hand, Charlie Chaplin was an artist, beyond a doubt. So is Jonathan Ive, who designed the iPod. You can be an artist who works with oil paints or marble, sure. But there are artists who work with numbers, business models, and customer conversations. Art is about intent and communication, not substances. An artist is someone who uses bravery, insight, creativity, and boldness to challenge the status quo. And an artist takes it personally. That’s why Bob Dylan is an artist, but an anonymous corporate hack who dreams up Pop 40 hits on the other side of the glass is merely a marketer. That’s why Tony Hsieh, founder of Zappos, is an artist, while a boiler room of telemarketers is simply a scam. Tom Peters, corporate gadfly and writer, is an artist, even though his readers are business people. He’s an artist because he takes a stand, he takes the work personally, and he doesn’t care if someone disagrees. His art is part of him, and he feels compelled to share it with you because it’s important, not because he expects you to pay him for it. Art is a personal gift that changes the recipient. The medium doesn’t matter. The intent does. Art is a personal act of courage, something one human does that creates change in another.” ~ Seth Godin, Linchpin: Are You Indispensable?
“We have the opportunity now to join in the celebration of possibility, to align ourselves with the forces of life. We’ll need to become skilled at walking the line between urgency and hope, maintaining our balance in a world out of balance. I’m convinced that out of the crucible of crisis, the greatest love story on Earth could be born.” ~Velcrow Ripper, director of Occupy Love
“Let others lead small lives, but not you. Let others argue over small things, but not you. Let others cry over small hurts, but not you. Let others leave their future in someone else’s hands, but not you.” ~Jim Rohn
“YOU ARE AN ARTIST OF THE SPIRIT. Find yourself and express yourself in your own particular way. Express your love openly. Life is nothing but a dream, and if you create your life with love, your dream becomes a masterpiece of art.” ~Don Miguel Ruiz
“The ultimate weakness of violence is that it is a descending spiral, begetting the very thing it seeks to destroy. Instead of diminishing evil, it multiplies it. Through violence you may murder the liar, but you cannot murder the lie, nor establish the truth. Through violence you may murder the hater, but you do not murder hate. In fact, violence merely increases hate. So it goes. Returning violence for violence multiplies violence, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.” ~Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Comic by Jay Larsen
25 years ago on this date, the Baltic independence movement, called the Singing Revolution, reached a peak when the Latvian People’s Front joined with its counterparts in Estonia and Lithuania to form a 373-mile human chain (600km) connecting the three capitols, Tallinn, Riga and Vilnius with 2 million people united in a call for democracy and an end to Soviet control. The Singing Revolution lasted more than four years, with various protests and acts of defiance. Lithuania was the first of the three Baltic states to start the movement. In Estonia, on the Tallinn road, they sang national songs and hymns, which had been strictly forbidden during the years of Soviet occupation, while rock musicians played. In 1991, as Soviet tanks were rolling throughout the countryside in an attempt to quell the Singing Revolution, the Estonian Soviet Legislature together with the Congress of Estonia proclaimed the restoration of the independent State of Estonia and repudiated Soviet legislation. Estonians stood as human shields to protect radio and TV stations from the Soviet tanks. As a result of the revolution, Estonia won its independence without any bloodshed. Additionally, when the USSR invaded the already independent state of Lithuania, thousands of people stood against the tanks and machine guns without fighting, but singing, emphasizing the idea that peaceful action can lead to victory.
Thanks to the Good News Network for this post.
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