Love Drunk
Fear Is The Mind-Killer
All the peacemakers in history have been blamed for causing chaos and violence, and can still be blamed: the prophets, movement leaders, rabble-rousers, protesters. The civil rights movement unleashed an upheaval, it polarized society, brought out huge crowds of angry people. Some got killed. MLK was the most unpopular man in America. But the established order needed to be challenged, and today MLK is arguably the most celebrated figure in American history. The peace of Jesus brought a sword: centuries of murderous persecution and horrifying executions, a peace, a love which was weaponized by the state to create some of the most vicious dictatorships in human history. But the established order needed to be redesigned, and today Jesus is arguably the most influential person in history. Resistance to oppression, like MLK and Jesus did it, call it what you will, is the egregore of the saints, a finger pointing at the moon: a miracle in action.
“Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.”
—Frank Herbert, Dune
Love Drunk
The room is spinning, but I take another drink from that bottle. I feel like a perfect circle; the taste of my Love is divine. She is the ocean, I am a wave. She is the forest, I am a tree. We're a Venn diagram, and where we overlap is absolute bliss. She is a handshake with karma, She’s a whirlwind and a flower. She makes me want to sell everything, clothe myself in sackcloth, and refuse to eat. To know Her, I bartered my name. My brother hasn't spoken to me since. But Her love is a bird flying over a prison; she has my brothers wings. Her lovers know what fate awaits us: eternal fraternity with all those old free-thinkers, rebels, saints who paid for their freedom by suffering. And if they start erecting pyres on the National Mall lawn for those who wouldn't lobotomize themselves to forget Her, I will gladly dance with the fire.
“The Beloved is not in the mosque or the synagogue—nor in doctrines or rituals, but in the marrow of your longing.”
—Rumi
Resilient Uprising is cofounded by a group of international nonviolent movement leaders, including a founder of Otpor!, the organization which overthrew Milosevic in Serbia in 2000. Below you can sign up for the upcoming presentation on May 11th: