So much of real life is like this world of blogging; isn't it?... Flashy images and pretty, simple, easy to read words. Image hit, image hit, hit image ... hit? Are we all really that tired? Have we lost touch with substance, deep meanings and beauty that goes beyond surface deep? I just wonder sometimes ... just wonder ... shake my tired head and wonder ...
In the arms of the angel may you find some company ... find some peace tonight ...
@Copyrighted Photograph, 2011: Isabelle Black Smith.
All Rights Reserved.
God Bless all the people in the Middle East. They are people just like you and me for the most part, but people who have lived in fear ... lived without freedoms that we in the West too often take for granted. May Peace enter their lives, touch their hearts and way of thinking ...living.
Back on February 2nd, I wrote a piece about the protests for an end to the Mubarak oppressive regime in Egypt. I posted a song at that time, by the artist Sting: "When the Angels Fall". I had said that I would later write what that song meant to me ... So I guess, it's now "later" and here is what this song means to me ... Maybe why it seemed a good fit for the protests in Egypt and what the people of that country, and now other parts of the middle east, are trying to express.
"When the Angels Fall" ... A soul stirring and intriguing song. What first drew me to this song was the title. Angels aren't supposed to fall, are they? This notion intrigued me. Angels are supposed to be glowing white guardians of truth and righteousness, right? The notion that any angel, other than Lucifer, had ever fallen flew in the face of all of the Catholic doctrine ... dogma ... that I had crammed down my throat throughout my childhood.
At first, I just listened to this song, "When the Angels Fall", as a song .... but then I found myself drawn further into the song, captivated by the soulfulness of its lyrics. As I listened to this song, I began to ponder what Sting's powerfully moving, lyrical ballad truly meant. I discovered that the song could have many different meanings depending upon your perspective. Over the years, as I've listened to this song again and again, this song has taken on many different meanings for me depending on where I was at in my life. But standing here today, I see this song as song of liberation; it's about embracing one's freedom to control one's own destiny.
The Angels are the established Truths of our world, Guardians of Right and Wrong (though, in truth, 'right' and 'wrong' depend upon your perspective), watching over all who labor (and sleep) in this land.
What are these established Truths? ... Well the truths differ from country to country, culture to culture, society to society, family to family, individual to individual ... They can be as profound as the assumption and belief that "the color of one's skin or one's gender decides how successful one will be in life" ... or as simple as the belief that "if I protest or speak out against my government, I will lose my life and endanger the lives of my family and those that I love." ... They can be as complex and distorted as "All Catholics are going to hell" ... "The only way to heaven is through Jesus." ... "Believe the way our religious system dictates or die...." I, personally, hold NONE of the latter to be truths, but so many in this world, perhaps even you, do hold the latter as truths. Sadly, until we cast these "Angels" ... established Truths ... from our sight, we as a common people on this rapidly spinning blue planet will never be free ...
When these Angels fall, the established Truths of our societies fall ...the unthinkable happens and the whole world (relative to the given truth) is shaken to its core. When the world is shaken by such profound, life changing events some individuals are awakened from their slumber ... they finally realize that they were lost in a world of slumber and that the dream of the established Truths was dreaming them, using them, limiting them.
Eyes now wide open, arisen from their slumber, these awakened individuals now step forth with their own feet and hands, their own ambitions ("my children"), they are ready to assume ownership and responsibility for shaping their own lives, controlling their own destinies. Free at last from the dream of established Truths, they are ready to dream their own dreams. The "Angels" can't control them anymore..."You can't control us ... You can't control us anymore."
"These are my feet ... These are my hands ... These are my children. This is my demand: bring down the angels. Cast them from my sight! Never want to see a million sons at midnight. Your hands are empty. Your Streets are empty ... You can't control us ... You can't control us, anymore."
"When the angels fall ... Peace on Earth ... When the angels fall. Joy to all mankind.... When the angels fall.... When the angels fall... When the angels fall."
And standing here today, Sting's soulful ballad is still captivatingly beautfiul song to me, regardless of the angle one happens to be gazing upon it from. "Peace on Earth and Joy to all mankind" ... Wow, what a world that would be to live in.
I wonder: Are you still lost in slumber, dreaming the dream of established Truths?
Here is a music video with Sting singing, "When the Angels Fall" in concert ...
A word of caution: be careful that you do not free yourself from one established Truth only to become the pawn of yet another. There will always be those living in this world who are consumed with power, worldliness, materialism ... They are blind, insecure and they have not the vision see beyond the here and now. They would use you as a means to their ends and sadly, you are expendable to them.
But fear of becoming used by yet another established Truth should not stop you from seeking liberation. Change often comes at a price and the balance of power will shift ... Let us pray then, and act to ensure that it is a shift for the better.
Well, I still have not heard from my Iranian friend. But I did some searching on the net and found the name of the student who was killed in the riots on the streets of Terhan earlier in the week. The name that I found is not a match for my friend, nor is the university. So for now, I can breathe a sigh of relief that my Iranian friend is alright. I will still continue to pray for his safety though. I can only assume that he is focused on events currently transpiring in his homeland and that he will write to me again when things settle down a bit for him. So for now, I will take the stand that no news is good news.
Here is a photo and accompanying news article ... blog post? ... related to what is going on in Iran at the moment.
As anticipated by many, protests for freedom from authoritarian governments has begun to spread to other middle eastern countries. Today, I heard on the news that protesters are now demonstrating in the streets Terhan, Iran. Apparently one demonstrator has been killed in these protests ... although the details surrounding this death are unclear.
I have just recently ... in the last few weeks ... made a new friend and penpal who is a university student in Iran. When I heard the story on the news about protests in Iran, my first thought was to wonder if my new friend is out on the streets with these protesters and if he is safe. Well, hopefully I will hear from him again soon and know that he is safe and well. In the meantime, I can continue to pray as always.
The world around us is changing indeed ... Hopefully for the better, but change often comes at a price.
4/14/2011 I did finally hear back from my penpal. He wrote at the beginning of April that he had been injured in the protests. Apparently, he had sustained a head injury (not sure what type or extent) and had been hospitalized these past few weeks. I have been praying for him these past several weeks and for his family ... I felt that he was alive, but was not sure what was going on with him. It is good to know that he is, in fact alive, and that he is well enough to write to me in his English. I will, of course, continue to pray that he makes a full recovery from his injuries. God Bless, my friend Fxxxxx.
