Monday Morning Musings January 11, 2016

In politics it is said, that when not fueled by hope there is a vacuum for fear to fill. Since artists turn to the muses, Clio, Euterpe, Thalia, Melpomene, Terpsichore, Erato, Polymnia, Ourania and Calliope we are exploring what they can offer us for inspiration to have the hope fueling politics.

“We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light.”    
― Plato

Our Deepest Fear
by Marianne Williamson from A Return To Love: Reflections on the Principles of A Course in Miracles
“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”

Let us first turn to Terpsichore’s dance with Calliope’s justice perhaps:
http://www.upworthy.com/a-ballet-companys-response-to-one-football-fans-sexist-insult-on-facebook-was-epic?c=pop
Does it inspire faith and hope when stereotypes get broken?

Continuing with Ourania who might claim this as celestial :
http://www.upworthy.com/15-scientific-breakthroughs-from-2015-that-made-our-world-a-little-better?c=reccon3

Does this inspire you?

Clio (history) reminds us of history in the shape of Calliope’s rhetorical art:
http://www.thenation.com/article/visualizing-the-four-freedoms-fdrs-fighting-artist-arthur-szyk/

Is this history we need to remember?

Let’s Move to one of Euterpe’s instruments (with both text and video):
http://www.upworthy.com/ellen-dared-kerry-washington-to-play-the-tuba-she-had-an-inspiring-reason-to-happily-accept?c=reccon3

Does such desire to help generate hope?

And then with Thalia (comedy video clips)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ru_H1FSwxRM

http://therealnews.com/t2/component/hwdvideoshare/viewvideo/80115

Is this last one on a subject it is better for us to laugh about than cry about?

Sometimes hope is found in goals met and surpassed—especially when those goals are for serving and helping vulnerable others…I think Calliope would claim this one as her justice (hat tip Joanne)…this group set a goal about a decade ago of ending hunger and engaged churches and other groups around the world to commit to it. They not only provide direct aid, but also political advocacy with considerable success…one email last month:
“Subject: Thanks a Lot. You Gave Me My Christmas Present…and It Cost Me $218,000!
“Dear Traveler,

Three weeks ago I issued a challenge, and got a great response. Thanks so much to the 1,659 travelers who responded to my Christmas fundraiser for Bread for the World.
Together, you contributed $218,000. And with my match, collectively, we raised over $430,000 to help power BFTW's work in explaining to Congress the needs of our nation's poor, homeless, and hungry people. We all want to get our fiscal house in order. And BFTW has been very effective in its advocacy work encouraging our government not to balance the budget by cutting vital services to our nation's most needy.

In addition to my personal challenge, I promised to thank those contributing $100 or more with a special Christmas gift of my European Christmas book, DVD, and CD (or my Complete Collection DVD box set). We've mailed out thank you packages to over 1600 of you.

While this beat last year's campaign by $50,000, we're still about $30,000 short of our 2015 goal of $250,000. But there's good news: There's still time to join us. If you'd like to help, donate by noon on December 18. I'll pop your gifts into the mail within 24 hours. With a little luck, you'll get it before Christmas. To learn more and make a donation, visit our website.

Thanks so much for making this a very expensive Christmas for me. Giving like this, in partnership with caring travelers like you, makes my work even more gratifying than it already is. Happy holidays and Merry Christmas to all.

Rick Steves

P.S. My friends at Bread for the World are thrilled! They send their thanks and share their determination to honor your gifts by working hard and smart to transform this contribution into effective action. To learn more about their impressive work, visit www.bread.org. That's the spirit of this season in action.”

Note that the target group was people traveling who may not have even heard of Bread before…does that life your spirits and engender hope?

And for those who need music to soothe their soul, a lengthy video offering from Terpsichore to watch as much or as little as you choose…

http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=classic+dance+on+youtube&view=detail&mid=34B77353A33516122F5E34B77353A33516122F5E&FORM=VIRE16

Thank you dear reader for joining me on this journey of discovery and quest for hope!