Brazil & Seeing Differently
- At September 17, 2017
- By admin
- In Annes Letters
0
September 17, 2017
Dear Family and Friends,
Last week I was in Brazil. I had not been in a Latin culture literally for decades. It was a welcome return, thanks to the effervescent expansiveness of Brazilian warmth and their embrace of the immediate, of life itself. Coming from the tidy restraints of Japan, I found myself literally staring at the voluptuous physicality on proud display everywhere.
Dear Family and Friends,
Last week I was in Brazil. I had not been in a Latin culture literally for decades. It was a welcome return, thanks to the effervescent expansiveness of Brazilian warmth and their embrace of the immediate, of life itself. Coming from the tidy restraints of Japan, I found myself literally staring at the voluptuous physicality on proud display everywhere.
I was taken aback by the breakfasts with huge slices of cake gobbed with thick, rich icing, the enormous slices of meat, and surprised by the easy availability of organic produce and natural remedies.
I was very impressed by the famous wall art.
And I loved the cool spring air, the beaches, the palm trees.
And of course, the colorful markets and traditional houses dotting the city center with historical dignity and grace.
The conference I attended was themed “Seeing Differently”. We were invited, indeed challenged, to put ourselves into the minds and hearts of others, especially those entirely opposed to our own solid stance in the world. We struggled to do this, not so much by using the intellect, but primarily by vividly imagining and feeling different perspectives from our own. Needless to say, this exercise was very challenging, but crucial. Crucial because of today’s polarized war-raging / war-threatened world. Crucial, too, because mental and emotional flexibility add grace and potential to our own lives and to those around us. For better or for worse.
Sadly, upon my return I was greeted by news of North Korea’s latest flaunting of power, its assertive drive to display even more threatening capacities of self-protection / self-destruction. That immediately evoked the necessity of practicing what the Brazilian conference was all about: seeing differently. But can we stop wars by compassionately putting ourselves, as fully as we are able, in the place of those who most oppose us or whom we most resist?
“Seeing Differently” Yes. We must if we wish to survive. But how does that skill eventually become an integral part of us, so innate we use it as our primary tool for relating to others? How can that ability actually change, even save, the world?
How much do our beliefs influence the world? And if they do, how can we truly live what we say we believe?
Love,
Anne
Sadly, upon my return I was greeted by news of North Korea’s latest flaunting of power, its assertive drive to display even more threatening capacities of self-protection / self-destruction. That immediately evoked the necessity of practicing what the Brazilian conference was all about: seeing differently. But can we stop wars by compassionately putting ourselves, as fully as we are able, in the place of those who most oppose us or whom we most resist?
“Seeing Differently” Yes. We must if we wish to survive. But how does that skill eventually become an integral part of us, so innate we use it as our primary tool for relating to others? How can that ability actually change, even save, the world?
How much do our beliefs influence the world? And if they do, how can we truly live what we say we believe?
Love,
Anne
