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Written by: Kamran Mofid

Published: 19 November 2020

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“I heard a bird sing

In the dark of December

A magical thing

And sweet to remember.

‘We are nearer to Spring

Than we were in September,’

I heard a bird sing

In the dark of December.”— Oliver Herford, “I Heard a Bird Sing”

Remember

Joy Harjo - 1951-

Remember the sky that you were born under,

know each of the star's stories.

Remember the moon, know who she is.

Remember the sun's birth at dawn, that is the

strongest point of time. Remember sundown

and the giving away to night.

Remember your birth, how your mother struggled

to give you form and breath. You are evidence of

her life, and her mother's, and hers.

Remember your father. He is your life, also.

Remember the earth whose skin you are:

red earth, black earth, yellow earth, white earth

brown earth, we are earth.

Remember the plants, trees, animal life who all have their

tribes, their families, their histories, too. Talk to them,

listen to them. They are alive poems.

Remember the wind. Remember her voice. She knows the

origin of this universe.

Remember you are all people and all people

are you.

Remember you are this universe and this

universe is you.

Remember all is in motion, is growing, is you.

Remember language comes from this.

Remember the dance language is, that life is. Remember.

December- A Season of Hope

‘Hope springs eternal in the human breast,’ wrote Alexander Pope in his poem "An Essay on Man."

‘Hope is the belief we hold during tough times that things will get better. Hope is both a verb and a noun. As a verb, it means to want, expect, anticipate or yearn. As a noun it suggests optimism, anticipation, possibility and promise.’-Countway Library

Look all around you, across the globe, what do you see?  Thus, this is why, to my mind, now more than ever before, we need hope. We must not despair, but walk on with hope. 

In Search of a Better Tomorrow: Reasons for Hope In Times of Uncertainty

Photo credit:Countway Library

December is the Month of Hope, Optimism, Joy, Festivals, Celebrations and Connection with Family, Friends and Mother Nature.

Thus, we wish to observe these December moments with a few poems.

The first one from Gus Speth, former Dean at Yale School of the Environment and founder of National Resources Defense Council and World Resources Institute.

“New Consciousness”

By Gus Speth

Photo: Core

'Decades of discourse

led by people like me

lawyers, scientists, economists,

and we are stuck.

They can’t do what must be done:

reach the human heart.

The deep problems are

avarice, arrogance and apathy,

dominant values badly astray.

What we need is not more analysis

but a spiritual awakening to a new consciousness.

So let’s bring on the preachers and prophets!

the poets and philosophers!

the psychologists and psychiatrists!

Let’s bring on the writers, musicians, actors, artists!

Call them to strike the chords of our shared humanity,

of our close kin to wild things!'

~ Gus Speth, It’s Already Tomorrow

Hope is the Thing With Feathers

In Search of a Better Tomorrow: Reasons for Hope In Times of Uncertainty

Photo:Pinterest

Hope is the thing with feathers

Emily Dickinson - 1830-1886

'Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune without the words,
And never stops at all,

And sweetest in the gale is heard;
And sore must be the storm
That could abash the little bird
That kept so many warm.

I've heard it in the chillest land,
And on the strangest sea;
Yet, never, in extremity,
It asked a crumb of me.'

...And Now My Path to a Purposeful Life

Imaging and Building a Better World

A World of Beauty, Wisdom and a New Consciousness and Hopefulness

As it has been noted before, more often than not, we fall into the trap of trying to predict and anticipate the future, forgetting that the future is up to us to envision and create. In the words of the celebrated American architect, systems theorist, author and futurist, R. Buckminster Fuller:

......

But how, exactly, do we create a “good” future? What does such a future look like to begin with? 

Today there is a lot of hopelessness and pessimism. This is so,  because there exists a lot of uncertainties and fear  of the future. 

Yes, there are lots of reasons to be afraid, but all in all, fear disempowers, whereas hope empowers and nourishes our soul to take action in the interest of the common good, showing us the path to our discovery of our humanity.

With all these in mind, below, I  offer our GCGI suggested possible paths to a better world for your kind interest:

Journey to Healing: Let Me Know What is Essential

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Related postings from our archieve:

My Poem of the month (November): Reimagined Garden 

My Poem of the month (October): MORḠ-E SAḤAR (Bird of Dawn) 

Poetry is the Education that Nourishes the Heart and Nurtures the Soul

Finding sanctuary in poetry during lockdown

The Folly and Ignorance of Brexit to Grasp the TRUTH: EU has always been a Peace Project First and Foremost

‘Dom of Barnard Castle’ is gone: This is How I Will Make Britain and Boris Good and Great

The Lesson to Learn from Trump’s Chaotic and Shameful Life Journey: Before Becoming Great One Has to be Good

December is the month of sun-god Mithra and Christmas

Photo credit:National Post

"The birth of the Persian hero and sun-god Mithra was celebrated on December 25th. The myth tells that he sprang up full-grown from a rock, armed with a knife and carrying a torch.  Shepherds watched his miraculous appearance and hurried to greet him with their first fruits and their flocks and their harvests. His cult spread throughout Roman lands during the 2nd century.  In 274, the Emperor Aurelian declared December 25th the Birthday of Sol Invictus (the Unconquerable Sun) in Rome."- Mazda Publishers

See also: Mithra, Mithraism, Christmas and Yalda

Yalda, the Ancient Persian Festival of Winter Solstice: The Triumph of Light, Hope and Goodness over Darkness and Coldness.