Rise up and Salute the Sun

Quote for Today: Suzy Kassem

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I have been finding treasures in places I did not want to search. I have been hearing wisdom from tongues I did not want to listen. I have been finding beauty where I did not want to look. And I have learned so much from journeys I did not want to take. Forgive me, O Gracious One; for I have been closing my ears and eyes for too long. I have learned that miracles are called miracles because they are often witnessed by only those who can can see through all of life’s illusions. I am ready to see what really exists on other side, what exists behind the blinds, and taste all the ugly fruit instead of all that looks right, plump and ripe.
―Suzy Kassem, Rise Up and Salute the Sun: The Writings of Suzy Kassem

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Quote for Today: Suzy Kassem

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Men Protest Road People Street Walking Rally

We must all work in harmony with each other to stand up for what is right, to speak up for what is fair, and to always voice any corrections so that the ignorant become informed and justice is never ignored. Every time a person allows an act of ignorance to happen, they delay our progress for true change. Every person, molecule and thing matters. We become responsible for the actions of others the instant we become conscious of what they are doing wrong and fail to remind them of what is right.
―Suzy Kassem, Rise Up and Salute the Sun: The Writings of Suzy Kassem

Public Domain Image via MaxPixel

Quote for Today: Suzy Kassem

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A flower with no smell to it is just something to look at. However, a flower that emits a beautiful fragrance is the one we want in our homes and on our walls. Your mission as an artist, is to become the best-smelling flower in the world, so that when the day finally comes when you are plucked from the ground, the world will cry for the loss of your mind-stimulating fragrance. Be different. Be original. Nobody will remember a specific flower in garden loaded with thousands of the same flower, but they will remember the one that managed to change its color to purple.

―Suzy Kassem, Rise Up and Salute the Sun: The Writings of Suzy Kassem

Public Domain Image via Pixabay

Quote for Today: Suzy Kassem

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Cultural and religious traditions that forbid cross-cultural unions prevent peace on earth. Instead of rejoicing that our sons and daughters are heart-driven and love other humans outside of their familiar religious, social or cultural domains, we punish and insult them. This is wrong. Honor killings are not honorable by God. They are driven by ignorance and ego and nothing more. The Creator favors the man who loves over the man who hates.
–Suzy Kassem, Rise Up and Salute the Sun: The Writings of Suzy Kassem

Public Domain Image via Pixabay

Quote for Today: Suzy Kassem

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When gorillas smell danger, they run around and call out to the rest of the primates in the jungle to warn them something evil is coming. And when one of their own dies, they mourn for days while beating themselves up in sadness for failing to save that gorilla, even if the cause of death was natural. And when one colony is mourning, their chilling echoes migrate to other colonies — and those neighbors, even if they are territorial rivals, will also grieve with them. When faced with a common danger, rivals turn into allies. And when faced with death, the loss of just one gorilla becomes the loss of the entire jungle.
 –Suzy Kassem, Rise Up and Salute the Sun: The Writings of Suzy Kassem
Image: Sorrow © Ian Enchiladas with CCLicense

Dedicated to the memory of Chris Welsh, a dear friend and brilliant thinker. Our jungle is filled with howls tonight as you embark on to that journey into the deep unknown. I hope you are delighted as you flow with the current of the universe into mysteries we do not yet understand. Love always.

Quote for Today: Suzy Kassem

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SONG OF THE STAR

I am nothing but
Oxygen and hydrogen,
A luminous sphere of plasma
Held together by helium and gravity,
And like a balloon I float on earth,
Waiting to be released back into the sky,
Waiting to go back in the reverse direction
From which I came,
Traveling through a warm tunnel of light,
And out into a dark, cold abyss
Where I will explode into a thousand pieces.
I shall leave behind my body,
Just like air abandons the skin of
A shattered balloon,
And the magnetic dust that carries my
Heart and spirit will lift us back
To congregate and shine
With the stars.
Home again,
In the fluorescent
Kingdom of the constellations,
I will once again be called by
My soul’s true name.
And my heart,
It will flicker again,
With every memory
From its many
Lifetimes,
And with every wish
Made by a child.
―Suzy Kassem, Rise Up and Salute the Sun: The Writings of Suzy Kassem

 

Public Domain Image via Nasa, ESA and G. Bacon

Quote for Today: Suzy Kassem

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Depiction of the James Caird nearing South Georgia from Ernest Shackleton's book South, 1919. Public Domain Image.

Depiction of the James Caird nearing South Georgia from Ernest Shackleton’s book South, 1919. Public Domain Image.

If man could write his own fate, he would have designed his journey to be without obstacles. Yet all obstacles come with valuable lessons designed just for you and only you.
―Suzy Kassem, Rise up and Salute the Sun: The Writings of Suzy Kassem