Though we are told to mourn the passing of LOVE from humanity’s collective mind, we must continue to know that it was a most Noble Sound. The LOVE that we were awakening to several decades ago (in the 60’s & 70’s) had a deep, potential majesty. It held promise … It held Peace … It held a glimmering destiny of Greatness.

And yet even though the last 4+ decades have seen its dream steadily dwindle & fade, that great LOVE still remains viable; waiting on the fringes of our collective Soul — a still-steady bridge spanning a chasm of violence & chaos; leading to our species’ tenuously trembling Salvation — should we ever choose to make that journey.

And yet on this bridge today sits a great Dragon; a Dragon bloated in the overconfidence of years & years of our massive failings — wars over land &/or oil; insane poverty caused by corporate gluttony, persecution brought on by religious bigotry; acts of terrorism & the acts of terror in response thereto; the needless & brutal massacre of billions & billions of innocent animals; the steady destruction of our planet’s biosphere … The list goes on & on.

And yet all hope need not be tossed aside. Indeed, this dragon has grown so fat on his recent successes that he has become weak & careless. He no longer attempts to hide his evils behind the masks of patriotism or piousness; blatantly trouncing on the innocent and arrogantly crushing the weak right out in the open for all to see.

And this arrogance will ultimately be his undoing … For in his sloth & indolence, our Dragon has drastically underestimated the Noble Sound — the pulsing beat & polyphonic harmony of Compassion & Justice & Goodness that still hums strong, deep within every human Heart.

We all have this Noble Sound still coursing through our veins — we all know that the innocent are to be defended with acts of self-sacrificial courage, we all know that the poor are to be uplifted with acts of selfless generosity, and we all know that the wicked are to be redeemed with acts of bold forgiveness. If we turn off our TV’s and shut down our phones — if we silence our minds and even briefly quell our fears, we can all still hear its smooth & brilliant tune buzzing within our breasts …

And because this Sound forms the essence of who we truly are, we will never know Peace — and we will never rest from seeking it — until that Sound once again comes bursting forth from Heart to mind, from mind to mouth, from mouth back to Heart, and from Heart to hands & arms & legs & feet — until the Noble Sound that is now still but a buzz becomes a whisper … becomes an utterance … becomes a song … becomes a shout — until it becomes real again and re-makes us all into what we were all Born to Be: agents of the Divine … Defenders of the downtrodden … Champions of Peace … Harbingers of perfect LOVE.

So, my Friends, won’t you all pause with me now and Listen awhile?

Can you hear It? … Can you hear your Noble Sound?

Keep listening until you do …

…and then let it ROAR FORTH!

Amen … let it be so.

(~ inspired by Stanley Crouch)

 

“As we gather here to mourn the passing of this noble sound, we should take the pains to remember something. There are some of us who don’t accept the dreams of dragons as their own, no matter how grand those dragons might say they are. Yes, there are some who will refuse to drop the candle even when pushed into a dark cave and locked there behind a stone … There is, you must recall, a kind of serious study that will give you the confidence to strike your match to the mighty wick that will illuminate yet another portion of the darkness. Out there somewhere are the kind of people who do not accept the premature autopsy of a noble art form. These are the ones who follow in the footsteps of the gifted and the disciplined — who have been deeply hurt, but not discouraged; who have been frightened, but have not forgotten how to be brave; who revel in the company of their friends and sweethearts, but are willing to face the loneliness that is demanded of mastery … You have to beware of premature autopsies. A noble sound might not lie still in the dark cave where the dragons have taken it. A noble sound might just rise up and push away the stones that were placed in its path. A noble sound might just rise up on the high side of the sky, it might just ring the silver bells of musical light that tear through the cloak of the dragon’s shadow that blacks the sun. … A noble sound is a mighty thing.” ~ Stanley Crouch

Filed under: Practical Tips for Peace-full Living by Scaughdt