Headline, December 24 2024/ ''' NATURE'S EXHAUSTED NATIONS* '''

''' NATURE'S EXHAUSTED 

NATIONS* '''

!WOW! WISHES MANKIND A VERY HAPPY CHRISTMAS and prays for peace and prosperity and every well being, for every human. This all around slump in greatness and goodness should waken and lift !WOW!.

Martin Luther King Jr, in his address to students in 1965, said, '' There is nothing more tragic than to sleep through a revolution.... Anyone who feels that we can live in isolation today, anyone who feels that we can live without being concerned about other individuals and other nations is sleeping through a revolution.''

He quoted the poet John Donne : '' Any man's death diminishes me / For I am involved in Mankind ' Therefore, send not to know ' For whom the bell tolls / It tolls for thee.''

And as the year draws to a close, many experience an end-of-year fatigue, as !WOW! assesses the year's sufferings, losses and gains. This year is dominated by the exhaustion of nations.

It has been a year of protests by the affronted - the inaction over the Palestinian genocide, the panic of US citizens over the recent extremely polarised elections, or Syrians reeling with relief over the macabre spinning of events.

There is a contest of '' who will blink first '' rather than the glorified ideals of right and wrong. All around the world - it has reached a point of no surrender, as each side is in a fight for survival, unable to concede defeat as the stakes are too high. There will be regrouping, debriefings, reassessments of strategies, and new plans of action.

Stephen Van Hook, Executive Director at the Meta Centre for NonViolence, says it is not about putting a different kind of person in power - it is about awakening a different kind of power in people.

We are witnessing spontaneous uprisings rather than managed revolutions. For it to not be the lighting of a match that burns out quickly but a sustained movement to make lasting change, requires turning attention inward :

'' Away from our conditioned responses that we have developed over time to maintain some kind of order in our minds.''

Martin Luther King Jr warned against '' outbursts of anger '', insisting that, instead anger must be '' harnessed under discipline.''

How does one take time out in a crisis to think deeply and prevent burnout? Restlessness and unrest imply their opposite - rest.

The Journalist Elena Bilheimer, in her article ' What is the Role of Rest in the Revolution ?', says urgency thinking is what caused the present crisis : ' Rest isn't an excuse to do nothing, but rather a chance to reflect and engage in the issues with more creativity and flexibility..

' The idea of rest is a growing field of study.' Seven types of rest are contemplated : physical, mental, sensory, emotional, social, creative  and spiritual. Rest is a fertile state.

When the mind is not occupied with a specific task, it is not inert but active. The parts of the brain that deactivate when responding to external stimuli allow introspective processes during periods of rest.

The novelist John Steinbeck wrote, '' A problem difficult at night is resolved in the morning after the committee of sleep has worked on it.''

The Quran mentions night as a means of rest and the day a means of revival.

Subh-e-Nau [ a new morning ] is often presented as a cornerstone of hope. The Sufi Khanqah is a retreat essential for receiving knowledge, as was the Egyptian desert for Christian monks, or the forest for Buddha.

Rest of the mind can also be achieved through activities like sports and walking. The camaraderie that develops as thousands walk om protests, listening to inspiring music, seeing to each other's needs during roadside stops or during confrontations, is a less acknowledged opportunity to reflect, listen and  deepen understanding.

The prolific creator Leonardo Di Vinci revealed : '' Every now and then, I go away, have a little relaxation, for when you come back to your work, your judgement will be surer....... Go some distance away, because the work appears smaller and more of it can be taken in at a glance, and lack of harmony or proportion is more readily taken.

The World Students Society thanks Duriyya Kazi, a Karachi based artist.

With most respectful dedication to Mankind, Leaders of the World, Parents, Students, Professors and Teachers. See You all prepare for Great Global Elections : wssciw.blogspot.com and Twitter X !E-WOW! - The Ecosystem 2011 :

Good Night and God Bless

SAM Daily Times - the Voice of the Voiceless