Andrea J. LeeAndrea J. Lee
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Nov 5, 07 04:36 PM | Posted by Andrea

Thank you to Richard Tarnas, author of The Passion of the Western Mind and the new Cosmos and Psyche: Intimations of a New World View for his talk at the ICF Conference this past Saturday. I'm in awe of great deep swaths of thinking behind this work; it echoes of Ken Wilber and Joseph Campbell. Not for the faint of heart.

Here's a crumb I caught and enjoyed immensely. It's a poem called 'To Be of Use' by Marge Piercey which Richard quoted at the end of his presentation. All ye seekers of money and meaning, I think you'll find a smile here.

greekamphora.jpg

To Be of Use

The people I love the best
jump into work head first
without dallying in the shallows
and swim off with sure strokes almost out of sight.
They seem to become natives of that element,
the black sleek heads of seals
bouncing like half-submerged balls.

I love people who harness themselves, an ox to a heavy cart,
who pull like water buffalo, with massive patience,
who strain in the mud and the muck to move things forward,
who do what has to be done, again and again.

I want to be with people who submerge
in the task, who go into the fields to harvest
and work in a row and pass the bags along,
who are not parlor generals and field deserters
but move in a common rhythm
when the food must come in or the fire be put out.

The work of the world is common as mud.
Botched, it smears the hands, crumbles to dust.
But the thing worth doing well done
has a shape that satisfies, clean and evident.
Greek amphoras for wine or oil,
Hopi vases that held corn, are put in museums
but you know they were made to be used.
The pitcher cries for water to carry
and a person for work that is real.

Marge Piercy

How are you a Greek amphora, and what water are you crying to carry? Comment below.

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Comments

Thanks for asking the question, Andrea. I'm happiest when I carry water of the soul -- the water of wellness and meaning, which fills me up -- and I'm at my best when I can encourage others to carry the water that fills them up, too.

Posted by: Erica Ross-Krieger at November 10, 2007 10:18 PM

Thoughts on reclaiming the beauty of "strain"....

(from the poem's: "Strain in the mud and the muck to move things forward")

Ah, to strain into the wind,
the beauty of being the sail of a boat
harnessing that 'useful' crux
between wind and sea.

Not to be confused with
the grabbing
grasping
forceful
effort
of busy furtive minds...

but a full bodied
leaning into...

leaning into the very thing
that moves
and calls our keels
ever deeper into being.

Posted by: valerie green at November 13, 2007 8:09 PM

I love this question Andrea. The picture that I'm getting is an amphora with an artesian well of kindness and compassion inside - so that as I share kindness and compassion with others, more flows in to replenish.

Posted by: Barbra Sundquist at November 13, 2007 9:48 PM

A Greek Amphora for wine and oil.

Wine is more astringent but full of flavor as it sensitizes the tongue to the promise of joy, comradeship or romance. Oil coats and soothes with a hint a flavor that enhances our cuisine of choice.

Within me is the sharp edge that can sensitize people to the desire to lead a more fulfilling life with it's promise of happiness and good relationships. My oil is the zeal to reach out to people where they are at, guide them to discover how much more they can be and help them set their own path to get there.

The water I carry is the water of wellness that dribbles here and there, spills out to those who are more receptive and provides a full shower to those who are ready to wash away their unhealthy habits and enjoy the effervescent luminosity of a life full of health.

Posted by: Jan Barosh at November 14, 2007 5:40 AM



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