I’d been reluctant to watch this film,
owing to concerns that Mel
Gibson may be pushing his pro-Christian/neochristian agenda,
and the possibly gratuitous
nature of the portrayal of violence (some
of it was, but most of it was contextually plausible – and, based on the
comments of those who were there, realistic) … however, the film does
actually portray the moral struggles and terrifying situations quite well.
Bravery comes in different forms, and
moral/ethical bravery is as valid as physical courage.
In the case of the film, Doss’ courage in
insisting on his right to serve as an unarmed medic is moral courage (I’ve generally thought I would volunteer
for bomb/UXO disposal if I was in a similar situation, but there are situations
where I possibly would fight … a point the film “Dances
With Wolves” makes in the context of this flawed world).
Can I recommend the film? Well, it is
graphic enough to be disturbing to some people, who may lose the consideration
of moral aspects in their distress, but for consideration of courage, it could
be a useful stimuli – e.g., something to watch before meditating on the nature
and forms of courage.
(Note:
fearless means an absence of fear, and thus there is way someone who is
fearless can be brave or courageous, in my view … to be brave, you have to
overcome your fear – and suppressing/denying fear is NOT the same as fearless.)
Courage is something that is often needed
in the workplace.
As an example, standing up to pressure to
change a report to something that is less clearly against a development
proposal, or resisting pressure to present information more favourably, rather
than honestly, following proper QAQC procedures rather than creating approvals
after the event, pointing out when restructuring is going to have
disadvantages, etc. Back in the 80s, I even pointed out to one company I worked
for that I would refer a matter to the Ethics Committee of the Institution of
Engineers Australia (they back down, so I
didn’t need to).
What can one lose from that? One’s job, any
sense of belonging (I am getting used to
being a pariah in the workplace), and, in the case of major whistleblowers (e.g., see here, here, and here), one’s sanity/wellbeing. In extreme cases, one can possibly lose one’s
life, as Karen
Silkwood did, – although watching one’s loved ones suffer as a result of
losing a job/pay cuts/etc is probably more distressing. Sometimes the lack of
obvious loss or injury makes the situation harder – as too often happens with
mental illness.
(These
are also situations that I was thinking about when I wrote my post about “lifestyle vulnerabilities”).
I lost the argument about changes in my
workplace in the 80s which was part of the workplace war which led to the
current neoliberal nightmare that afflicts the world now. I suspect the people
I was contending with didn’t realise that their efforts to alter a static
situation would lead to people wanting to take things a bit further than those
who went before (and thus one could say,
perhaps, the economic rationalists led to the neoliberals, as an example),
but in my opinion, they should have had that vision/insight/understanding.
Less obviously, or less directly, perhaps,
failing to stand against decisions that will result in ecological damage could
possibly be a failure of courage, but, in any case, there is a lack of
vision/insight/understanding (on that, I
was appalled to discover that one of my senior colleagues is a climate change
denier).
As an extension of that, arguments that
business is simply “giving people what they want” also do not stack up
morally/ethically/spiritually or, in some cases, environmentally. There are
extreme examples of that, but, more recently, a number of advances in
technology that are considered by many (not
all – when people assume something they like and find convenient is the same
for others, they are showing their lack of life experience and/or stupidity)
have potential disadvantages around loss of privacy.
(There
is also an issue of balance here. I read a comment last year that a manager
didn’t want his employees to be able to do maths in their head/recall things if
it detracted from their ability to think of the big picture. I can do basic
maths fairly easily –f roughly – without a PC or calculator, and I appreciate
the ability it gives me to keep my mind a bit sharper, but it is not a
substitute for allowing a PC to do complex calculations so I can take a step
back and look at the bigger picture.)
Of course, there can be a problem with all
this when the values one are showing courage about are wrong – e.g., spiritually
immature (such as the neochristian
resistance to LGBT rights) or unbalanced (such as neoliberalism, or communism). Another example of that
would be those Germans who supported – or started off supporting – the excesses
of Hitler and his goons, and subsequently found out about the Holocaust (which was generally earlier than the end of
World
War Part Two).
On that, my dreamwork last night included
gaining an awareness of people in families and larger groups who stayed loyal
to the family, no matter what “side” of a conflict or issue they were on. It
left me thinking of how “family values” can, in some ways, be harmful to the Family
of Humanity – and of how contemptible some people’s values can be, when they
make their loyalty to whoever is winning, irrespective of the rights and wrongs
of a situation or issue. (I will be doing
more clearing/healing
work on those people in coming days and weeks.)
Such situations are probably easier to
handle if one hasn’t dug oneself into a moral hole by one’s vehemence ... Arguing
politely has its advantages :)
And, on the topic of change, my partner has
been working on a “self reflection” for her counselling and psychotherapy
masters, based on events in one’s early life that have had a major influence on
oneself.
In my case, the event that came to mind as
having had a major influence on me when I was young was a documentary about the
“Indian
Mutiny” of 1857, watched while we were at my (adoptive) father’s grandmother’s house. She had an old “Queenslander” (see here, although that doesn't fully make clear that this style of house was found throughout Queensland - the one I am referring to was in Rockhampton),
with massive verandahs that our beds were typically on, covered by mossie nets (which made some of the nights even more hot
and uncomfortable). Well, I had nightmares triggered by the brutality and
butchery shown (and that not very
graphically, by today’s standards). However, those nightmares were a key
step in me developing my determination that the world be a better place.
(I
also felt quite a bit of empathy for the depiction of Abraham Lincoln’s son as
having nightmares after seeing photos of slaves in the film “Lincoln”. I also understand the concerns of the
parents that the nightmares not happen, but I can state – from my personal
experience – that, in at least some cases, the nightmares can lead to something
better.)
Another major influence on me, one that I
have written about and critiqued elsewhere, was the very controversial Lobsang
Rampa.
On the topic of change, I have planned for
some time to write an article about “my escape from pugnacity”. The problem is,
I don’t consider I have properly escaped from that way of reacting to
situations.
However, as a result of my increased self
awareness, particularly from the personal growth work I did in the 80s, I am often
able to choose to work with this as a tool, much as I have worked at changing how
I use anger.
I aim to channel anger constructively (as
passion, in a sense); pugnacity tends to crop up when I feel people are aggressively
trying to push/bully/railroad me into their views, and I use it as a defence to
get those people to back off and let me work through things at my own speed –
in that sense, it is about assertive self defence. However, it can also
manifest in a more negative form of defensiveness, and that is where the
comments I made earlier about not having vehemently dug oneself into a hole are
useful.
Courage to accept change, particularly when
one is wrong, can also help.
And finally, I’d like to end with a few
reading links.
- http://www.patheos.com/blogs/johnbeckett/2017/03/spiritual-treatment-no-substitute-mental-health-care.html;
- www.patheos.com/blogs/johnbeckett/2017/03/listening-dead-civil-war-battlefield.html;
- http://www.patheos.com/blogs/johnbeckett/2017/03/re-emergence-fair-folk-ordinary-world.html;
- http://www.patheos.com/blogs/johnbeckett/2017/03/know-magic-worked.html (which is about how know if one’s magic has worked);
- http://www.patheos.com/blogs/johnbeckett/2017/02/gods-test-people.html; and
- What if the Jedi Council found out Anakin was married in “Revenge of the Sith”?
I apologise for publishing these posts
twice, but Blogger keeps changing my formatting. I can either publish it and
then correct it, or save and close the post and correct it when I reopen it,
but that leaves an extra copy in my "drafts" folder ...
Love, light, hugs and blessings
Gnwmythr, Pagan Energy Worker, Wéofodthegn
I am revamping my former website, and getting at least one other underway (pronounced "new-MYTH-ear"; ... aka Bellatrix
Lux … aka Morinehtar … would-be drýicgan or maga
... )
My "blogiography" (list of all posts and guide as to how to best use this
site) is here, and my glossary/index is here. The reasons for my caution when using Wikipedia are here.
I started this blog to cover karmic regression-rescue
(see here and here), and it grew ... See here for my group mind project, here and here for my "Pagans for Peace" project (and join me
for a few minutes at some time between 8 and 11 PM on Sunday, wherever you are,
to meditate-clear for peace), and here
for my bindrune kit-bag. I also strongly recommend
learning how to flame, ground
and shield, do alternate
nostril breathing, work
with colour, and see also here and be
flexible.
May the best in me, my Higher Self,
and those of the Clear Light who assist me,
help me to keep myself grounded, centred and shielded,
to be Balanced and a Fulcrum of Balance,
a centre of Balanced Positivity and Spiritual Maturity,
with my aura continuously cleansed, cleared and closed,
repelling all negative or unwanted energies,
whilst allowing positive, balancing and healing energies in and through.
The real dividing line is not between
Christianity and Islam, Sunni and Shia, East and West. It is between people who
believe in coexistence, and those who don’t.
Tom Fletcher, Former UK
Ambassador to Lebanon
- All of the above - and this blog - could be wrong, or subject to context, perspective, or state of spiritual evolution ...
Tags: about me, anger, change, courage, emotions, fear, growth, moral courage, pugnacity, violence, warfare,
First published: Manadagr, 27th March, 2017
Last edited (excluding fixing typo's,
Blogger's change of my formatting and other minor matters): Monday, 27th March, 2017
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Remember: we generally need to be more human being rather than human doing, to mind our Mӕgan, and to acknowledge that all misgendering is an act of active transphobia/transmisia that puts trans+ lives at risk & accept that all insistence on the use of “trans” as a descriptor comes with commensurate use of “cis” as a descriptor to prevent “othering” (just as binary gendered [men’s and women’s] sporting teams are either both given the gender descriptor, or neither).Copyright © Kayleen White 2007-2024 NO AI
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