(image via flickr user SpiffyHarvey)
One of my favorite poems of all time, and words that I try to live by. Emma Lazarus’s “The New Colossus”
“The New Colossus
Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
“Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!” cries she
With silent lips. “Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”
-Emma Lazarus, 1883
SuperForester Tyrone shuffled off this mortal coil this morning, and the sun came out here in New York city. I was standing on the street corner with SuperForester Baloo, watching the bright, sparkling people walk by, and this poem sprung to mind.
We stood, Baloo and I, soaking in the fresh Sunday sun, surrounded by life. Everywhere life. Humans, animals, plants, stars, bars, stripes, statues. Everywhere I looked I saw the handiwork of my fellow man, whether in the faces of the people, or in the craftsmanship of each building, street, and car.
I thought to myself how remarkable life is, and how we the living are just finite expressions of the same infinite consciousness. The combination of warm sun, happy thoughts, and good Colombian coffee filled my heart with gratitude and joy.
I thought about SuperForest, and you SuperForesters around the world. How we are all together taking those first infant steps into sustainability, and a more just society. How we are bound together, invisibly and visibly, by the shared bonds of our existence.
I thought about fear, and hatred, and negativity, and how big those windmills seemed to be.
Then I thought again about SuperForest, and how many of us there are. With enough Don Quixotes, I thought, the windmills of negativity don’t stand a chance. No matter how big, how scary the challenges and obstacles we face, the peacemakers of the world are now uniting. As one we will tilt at each windmill until it topples, and we will dance and sing together as the wreckage of each is re-used to build something brighter.
I know that I am a dreamer, and an idealist. SuperForest has taught me that I’m not the only one.
Together, brother and sister SuperForesters, let us lift our light by the golden door.
With love and gratitude I say: Love to All.
Be excellent to each other.
-Jackson
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