Thoughts on "Thoughts from Within" by Woody Harrelson 5.25.11


This is amazing. This is wholistic poetry! This is a request and an expression of healing for the whole planet, the whole earth and all of the beings who populate it. I knew nothing about Woody Harrelson beyond his ability and brilliance as an actor... but of course you always have to wonder about those people who can step into someone else's shoes and make you believe they are that someone. There has to be (I think) an extreme level of compassion to get inside another person and express their feelings as if they were your own.

Even actors who we judge to have a less than appealing personality in the world- they have something- maybe they can't tap into their own feelings, or maybe their own feelings are so strong that they feel endangered if they were to let them out. So they go undercover as it were, and allow themselves the freedom to immerse themselves in another, maybe an historical person or maybe the extreme figment of someone else's "imagination". And there, that may really be where they can connect with their own essence, in safety. No one gets hurt, and no one sees the vulnerability that lies beneath the surface.

But here, I feel like I have a sense of Woody Harrelson, a strong sense of him, in an unabashed expression of honesty- contempt for all that is wrong with the world and compassion, love and hope for the possibility of who we can be, as individuals and as a collective whole.

This is also a great example of the power of the Internet, to connect us as a whole, in the most meaningful sense of the word- that I can randomly click on someone else's YouTube channel and stumble across this bit of brilliance. And it lit up a place in my mind and in my heart. That is astounding to me. I know I can just as easily get tripped up by triviality and inconsequential bullshit as I muddle through Facebook, my emails, YouTube, you name it... but on the flip side of that there is what I believe to be the Higher Purpose of the Internet and I am so grateful for all the people I have connected with, the ones whom I have re-connected with, and these brilliant bits of illumination that light up my world.

"When a mind has only light, it knows only light. Its own radiance shines all around it, and extends out into the darkness of other minds, transforming them into majesty. The Majesty of God is there, for you to recognize and appreciate and know. Recognizing the Majesty of God as your brother is to accept your own inheritance. God gives only equally. If you recognize His gift in anyone, you have acknowledged what He has given you. Nothing is so easy to recognize as the truth. This is the recognition that is immediate, clear and natural."
~A Course in Miracles~ Text p. 127