Thursday, February 17, 2011

Working on doing nothing

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Now we will count to twelve
and we will all keep still.

For once on the face of the earth
let's not speak in any language,
let's stop for one second,
and not move our arms so much.

It would be an exotic moment
without rush, without engines,
we would all be together
in a sudden strangeness.

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Fishermen in the cold sea
would not harm whales
and the man gathering salt
would look at his hurt hands.

Those who prepare green wars,
wars with gas, wars with fire,
victory with no survivors,
would put on clean clothes
and walk about with their brothers
in the shade, doing nothing.

What I want should not be confused
with total inactivity.
Life is what it is about;
I want no truck with death.

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If we were not so single-minded
about keeping our lives moving,
and for once could do nothing,
perhaps a huge silence
might interrupt this sadness
of never understanding ourselves
and of threatening ourselves with death.
Perhaps the earth can teach us
as when everything seems dead
and later proves to be alive.

Now I'll count up to twelve
and you keep quiet and I will go.

Lifesize figurative paintings by David Jon Kassan, poem by Pablo Neruda, film from Marcia Ong

17 comments:

Chrisy said...

At last a hello to you readers. I've moved to Toowoomba and into a new home. It's been a strange year as I suppose most are in retrospect. I'll be posting more often than I have over the last six months, but less often than I did while living in Brisbane - I need to spend more time doing nothing. My love goes out to you all...

GlorV1 said...

Beautiful post and video. Thanks so much for sharing. Enjoy your time.

Rose said...

So nice to have you back Chrisy!
Was Toowoomba in the floods? My uncle is in brisbane and the end of his street was blocked off, luckily he is on the top of a hill.
I think I should take more time to do nothing too, I would love to spend more time crafting but Im always drawn to the computer unfortunately. Those photos are really great, very raw.
Looking forward to your future posts :)

Rose

Couture Carrie said...

Beautiful post, darling!
What a fabulous translation of Neruda's poem!

xoxox,
CC

SoCalWendie said...

Great post and so glad to see you on here again :)

Trish Goodfield said...

Welcome back. I've missed your posts.

Joanna Jenkins said...

Yeah! Welcome back Chrisy. It's good to see you and your beautiful blog again.

Cheers, jj

Chasing Snails said...

Beautiful post Chrisy, as always ;)

Enjoy your time and your new home.

Unknown said...

i like this post
very inspiring and beautiful word forming

Cathy {tinniegirl} said...

A beautiful post Chrisy. I hope your new home brings much peace, happiness and health.

Stephanie Suzanne Designs said...

Hi Chrisy,

So glad to hear from you...yes, I can say the same about how the past year has been quite different and a real challenge at times. I keep moving forward but do take more notice {of the moments} in my life. Enjoy your new home and please come back to visit anytime.

Hugs,
Stephanie ♥

wobblinbetty said...

very intense!
love xxx

Imogen said...

It is so good you are back and I'm looking forward to more posts. I hope everything works out for you with the move.

Unknown said...

Welcome back! I missed you. :) And those paintings are amazing. Wow. So sad and realistic. I love them.

Artsnark said...

Fantastic post all around :D I do hope life is treating you well & "doing nothing" is wonderful. Be well & enjoy! ((hugs))

elena nuez said...

simplemente genial!

susan said so said...

SO glad to see you back! I've been checking in every so often, and today I drop by to find not one but TWO posts!

Go love your life, and visit us when you can. :)

xox,
susan

p.s. I will likely be re=blogging this magnificent poem. Thank you foe sharing it with us!