Poem - Bended Knee

Sat, 11 Feb 2017 02:32:35 GMT

A friend posted an excerpt from a 1911 book about the virtues to strive in traditional manhood. Included in these were truth, faithfulness, reputation, and steadfastness. My friend was digging the message stated in the language of the time. I brought the message to the present, considering how the same message is presented by some societal groups. Concerns came to mind. Do men have the corner on integrity? Also, it is very difficult to always be in perfect integrity with all of society when you're a member of alternative gender identity / sexual preference / romantic relationship groups. In that space a person can have perfect integrity unto themselves and still an abomination to society as a whole. Ah…. the poem “Bended Knee” follows these thoughts.

Bended Knee

I consider on bended knee
the task how to be worthy
true to the highest goals
put forth by best intents
with integrity as the mark
faithfulness to contracts
reputation prominent
truthfulness targeted

no accuser may confront
a person with honor so defined
this is the theory put to test
yet I wonder where it may rest
when society is split in half
and then again by detail's weight
opinions differ as groups debate
infinium from mobs to self

what is felt as honor is besmirched
by the holiest and most devout
in iron beds all must rest
Procrustes would be made so proud
when the self is stretched to fit
or lopped off to meet the mold
piety will have its say
sanctity all must convey

then there is the greatest sin
that principles are the property
of only those within a group
with all others held in disgrace
be this measured by gender's gauge
religion made to show the way
social class demarcating
or color of skin the measuring stick

be error sourced from standards
or put to groups by prejudice
humanity is too quick to state
which is them and which is they
this is enough to cast to doubt
what it means to be worthy
when paradox is the rule
with equal measure of Catch-22

do not lose hope gentle reader
vaunted beliefs still have a merit
when integrity is held to breast
don't be concerned by detractors
some will turn their eyes away
spit to show their full dismay
just know that the fall occurs
in these critics so self assured

my knee is bent by humility
my knowledge that I can only strive
to be my best, to hold the line
to keep my soul when I’m tried
by a world that holds all others
to higher measures than those leveled
against themselves, the lost ones
I bend my knee and cry for them.

© 2017, Sean Green. All Rights Reserved. 20170210.

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Blast From the Past - Escaping Drama

Fri, 20 Dec 2013 04:00:56 GMT

The following is a portion of one of my first blog posts back in 2006. I post it to both share and ask myself how far I've come with this! I still pretend too much as I resist shifts. Sigh... such a journey!

(an excerpt from 2006...)

How does a person escape from their dramas and embrace integrity through balance? The first step sounds very easy but can be quite difficult. There is help here, but often it is not appreciated. The second step used balance, and the third step takes a lifetime. I will examine the steps one by one.

The first step asks a person to recognize their own dramas. It asks them to be aware of how the world is interacting with them. This is not easy. Dramas can take on a life of their own. The clues to seeing the painted backdrops and worthless props of the drama lay in where we suffer. Being out of sync with reality will lead to suffering. Clothing that is too small for a person will rub and chafe. A car that is underpowered for a steep hill will move slowly and overheat. Life should be examined to see where suffering exists. What makes you feel bad? How do you compensate through the personal dramas to attempt to feel better. The stage of drama seems empty and hollow compared to the richness of reality. The points where the two touch, and are in conflict, are where we will hurt. The suffering will become a companion as the journey to integrity is taken. Here the dramas of life are revealed.

The second step is to achieve balance with people and events in life. Balance places a person in harmonious placement with the environment. The path of balance can be very long or very short. We all pretend to differentiating amounts, and the distance we are from integrated living will determine the suffering experienced as balance is achieved. Awareness of the surroundings is essential to achieving balance. Where is the balancing point? Communication with the self and those around the self are mandatory. The true surroundings of life will be revealed with suffering as the guide. The suffering decreases as balance is achieved. Within the center point of balance is the integrity with life. The journey is not easy. A life very much out of balance will take time to correct. Small steps are made and balance is reestablished each time. Surroundings that are themselves dramatic will be abandoned for the sake of personal growth. Likewise, those who feed our past dramas are left behind. The relation to all the people and events must be examined.

The final step to an integrated life is an ongoing one. The world is an every changing place, and to maintain integrity we must change to stay in balance with the world. Ever vigilant of drama, using suffering as an alarm, the integrated life is aware when pretending seeks to gain a foothold. The world will shift. We will shift, with our center maintained in balance. People will come and people will go. Places will come into our lives and move away. Pretending could be used to hold them there. It will not, as we know the price that is truly paid. The price is a disconnection from those things that are real, and hence a disconnection with the realization of divinity present in ourselves and the world.

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Journey to Ixtlan

Poem - Bended Knee

Blast From the Past - Escaping Drama