INVICTUS

Image via Wikipedia/Nelson Mandela

INVICTUS

Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds and shall find me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.

Having just watched the movie INVICTUS starring Morgan Freeman as Nelson Mandela, I was curious about the poetry that is referred to throughout the movie.  Wikipedia, as usual, was of help, although I give Freeman more credit for his performance and betrayal than the movie reviewer in the article from Zemanta quoted below.  The poem, written by William Ernest Henley (1849-1903), is said to have been written on a small scrap of paper and kept by Mandela during his imprisonment.

For me the movie was a portrayal of greatness, of forgiveness and for the beginnings of the end of apartheid in South Africa.  Mandela's integral part in teaching forgiveness is astoundingly portrayed in the film.  The greatness in the movie for me was not the actors' performances but the message of hope around which the story was constructed.

.....and a thought regarding the actual poem.....are we the captains of our souls, am I?  .....are you?

Related articles by Zemanta

• DVD: Invictus (12) (independent.co.uk)
• Gordon Brown's last letter: a salute to Nelson Mandela (telegraph.co.uk)
• DVD Review: Invictus (writer.fitzhome.com)

Compassion

Image via Wikipedia

A brief glance through a centering book by Matthew Fox, "Meditations with Meister Eckhart." My eyes fell on this small reflection regarding the soul and compassion -

You ask me what the human soul is?
No human science can ever fathom
what the soul is in its depth.

What the soul is in its ground,
no one knows. But this we do know:
That the soul is where
God works compassion.

Some of my ideas about Soul

Image by slark via Flickr

In my post of April 19, commenter/blogger Roy asked questions of me about what I thought Mr. Moore meant about the soul - "But what is soul? Is it anything separate from my body, my mind, my heart? Or is it the thread that weaves all of me together? I wonder if it's awareness, consciousness, life itself. Is it the journey towards the Light? Is it the call to be whole as the Father is whole? Is it my relationship with God? Would it help knowing who I am first before knowing how to care for whatever soul is? Or is it enough to simply strive to Love deeply, authentically, without reserve, with all I've got?"


Way to go Roy! Thanks for the questions and here a few of my answers (I'd rather not paraphrase Mr. Moore.)

I believe soul is my spiritual presence, manifesting its life through intellect and emotion. I don't think it's separate from body, mind, and heart - nor do I believe that it is necessarily, as you put it, "a thread that weaves all of me together." So yes, I could call it, as you do, "awareness, consciousness, life itself as well as a journey towards the light." Realistically and logically, although speaking of God is not necessarily always realistic nor logical, I don't believe it is "the call to be whole as the Father is whole" - for expecting to be whole as the Father is just doesn't fit into my mind as an achievable personal goal or accomplishment.

For all of the reflection and self-diagnosis I may engage in, yet, I don't think I will ever truly know myself so I don't want to wait for that eventuality prior to attempting to fill my soul with the nourishment I believe it requires for life and growth. I believe that striving "to love deeply, authentically without reserve, with all I've got" is a tremendous goal and would be an amazing accomplishment, although I don't think that only that will grow my soul to its fullest potential.

I believe soul can be separated apart from our wholeness of body and mind. It is what we are and we yearn to be in relationship to our creator. The yearning and then the filling of my soul's space with God-centered living is the light toward soul expansion for me. My yearning needs sustenance in order to keep alive and will and does go from opportunity to opportunity seeking fulfillment. Without attention to the yearning, I fear my soul will remain static or shrink. The filling of the soul i.e. the expansion or growth of it is fed through my intention to savor God's presence with habitual silent listening, and by active study of God-related literature, art, sound and for living a life of love as set forth in the good news of Jesus Christ.

And that is what I think right now about my soul and because of that , I am ever so grateful for the grace of God's love for my soul - whew!

Last week several of you commented with ways that you find nourishment for your soul. Now, please, please, I know both Roy and I would be so happy to hear your comments about what the definition of soul is to you - anyone out there?

More Thomas Moore

Image by pictoscribe via Flickr

"Care vs. Cure (of the soul) - A major difference between care and cure is that cure implies the end of trouble. If you are cured, you don't have to worry about whatever was bothering you any longer. But care has a sense of ongoing attention. There is no end. Conflicts may never be fully resolved. Your character will never change radically, although it may go through some interesting transformations. Awareness can change, of course, but problems may persist and never go away." p.19

Mr. Moore outlines for us readers that just caring for the soul will not guarantee a life of blissful non-conflicting situations, will not erase problems probably still around from time to time or in other words, no promise of radical change to earthly burdens and woes. Whoops, then why would I bother with all of this care stuff?

"If you attend the soul closely enough, with an educated and steadfast imagination, changes take place without your being aware of them until they are all over and well in place. Care of the soul observes the paradox whereby a muscled, strong-willed pursuit of change can actually stand in the way of substantive transformation."

I think this last statement implies that IF indeed I care for my soul with nourishment and steadfastness that if and when existing problems recede and then at a later time return, my soul will have reached the point of "handling" said issues with a strength and courage unbeknownst to me prior to the care expended on sustaining my spiritual self.

This reflection on Mr. Moore's words and upon my own strength and resolve to continue steadfastly in the daily nurturing of my soul - my spiritual self, gives me some courage in my ability to persevere through bad times when they come and with confidence that the good times will return. Of course, with no solid guarantee of any positive future behavioral efficiency......

So, if care of the soul sounds reasonable, logical, possible for me (or you) why would we ever hold back? Is there something in the way of my/your caring for your soul?