If you buy into the notion that life is a journey, you might also have noticed that apparently, not all travellers are created equal.

There are some who carry a heavy load, dealing with what they are dealt, dreaming of what they are not, all to avoid drowning in the stormy seas of desperation and disappointment that separate the truth from fantasy.

Then there are those whose effortless motion and confident action confront us all, causing our jaws to slacken and eyes to widen, and forcing the sharp intake of breath that we then hold while the spectacle unfolds. These people display bravery beyond question, and their actions reveal the limits that are, for them at least, imaginary.

For these extraordinary individuals, even gravity seems to pause a while and possibility floats as they do – a beguiling vision seemingly within reach of us all, if only for a moment. These masters follow their elegant arcs to a chorus of acclaim through 360, 720, 1080. It’s a mastery by degree.

But then there are those of an altogether different order. In a realm beyond even the masters, we find the Artists.

At their most straightforward, the Artists are special, not because they are somehow more gifted than the masters, but because of their passionate disregard for convention, their deep awareness of what it takes to succeed, and an unnatural compulsion to explore whatever lies beyond reach. They are obsessed with the pursuit of their goal, giving everything they have, overcoming all obstacles, and as they chase down their visions of perfection, we ourselves are rewarded with something truly beautiful, something measured not in degrees, points or awestruck gasps, but in soul.

They are individuals and they are often misunderstood. While others may follow them, recording and commenting on their every move, they remain solitary, driven figures, undeterred by the subjective opinions and surface assessments of others, cutting words from those who cannot yet see the beauty, the soul. While the Artists carve new shapes and textures on the face of the world, not everyone respects or understands them: they don’t know what it takes, or even what it is. Undeterred, the Artists keep going further in every every respect, cutting through the dark and fearlessly lighting for the rest.

They change the way things are and, as they do, they change us. So what is the essential difference? What name shall we give to sheer defiance? Its Artistry.

Artistry is not the preserve of the supremely gifted or the technical master. There are many talents and technicians who will never be Artists. Artistry demands something more. It belongs to those who make all necessary sacrifices to relentlessly direct every atom of themselves towards their passion, to those who suffer for their Art.

And while all of this may sound grand and inaccessible, everything that is required to transform us into Artists is present inside every one of us. Artistry is born of attitude, not genetics or resources. Yes, in some people it shines brighter than in others, but only because they make it so. So remember this as you read on and consider the Artists of here and now, of then and there:

Artistry is open to all. Provided you are prepared to earn it.

source: relentless

I discovered Sun Ra last week on a cosy saturday night in with one of my favourite people completely randomly. We were getting ready to go to bed as it was 2am but ended up staying up til 6 just laying there, travelling through space, seeing through time through the psychadelic trumpets and crazy eclectic R A N D O M sounds. Its certainly not the type of music you can just skim through, u truly have to give it some time and let go as the music takes you to another universe. I’ve never taken acid but I felt like I was on it.

So I decided to do a bit of research on him and the more I read the more intrigued and curious I became. Sun Ra was a jazz composer, bandleader, piano and synthesizer player, poet and philosopher known for his “cosmic philosophy,” musical compositions and performances. He spent a lot of his time walking around dressed as an Egyptian pharaoh with a sidekick by his side dresses as Thoth, the Egyptian God of wisdowm, the moon, magic and writing.

Claiming that he was of the “Angel Race” and not from Earth, but from Saturn, Sun Ra developed a complex persona of “cosmic” philosophies and lyrical poetry that made him a pioneer of afrofuturism (other artists of afrofuturism include Kode9, Jimi Hendrix, Afrika Bambaataa, Alice Coltrane, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Bootsie Collins, Digable planets, DJ Spooky, George Clinton, Janelle Monae, Kool Keith, Herbie Hancock, Miles Davis, and Ras G) as he preached awareness and peace above all. He abandoned his birth name and took on the name and persona of Sun Ra (Ra being the ancient Egyptian god of the sun)

His mainstream success was limited, but Sun Ra was a prolific recording artist and frequent live performer, Sun Ra’s music ranged from keyboard solos to big bands of over 30 musicians; his music touched on virtually the entire history of jazz, from ragtime to swing music, from bebop to free jazz; he was also a pioneer of electronic music, space music, free improvisation, and was one of the first musicians regardless of genre, to make extensive use of electronic keyboards.

I look forward to exploring his sound further…

AGENT WHITE

Today I watched a Robin Red Breast being torn asunder by our cat, casually he sauntered in laid out the bird before me on the tiled floor, a gift. As i looked into the Robins eyes, I saw myself.

With the natural order of things being what they are the cat was just doing what it was programmed to do, survival of the fittest, keeping the balance. Even in the jaws of fate the Robin seemed so at peace with what was to be his final journey. I knew at any given point I could have freed him, yet I didn’t.

For it was a symbol. A symbol of what has been and what is to be. At this time of year one reflects on the journey thus far and usually we drink and eat too much to somehow make it seem worth while. The Hope through Sufferance that the next year will bring about a change in our luck, a change in our ultimate fate.

As I watched him take his breath before the jaws of fate clamped down for the final time i could only hear one song in my head, i closed my eyes and with a nod of my head in salute, sent him off in my heart back into the cycle of life.

For there is but Sufferance through Hope.

The king’s taken back the throne
The useless seed is sown
When they say they’re cutting off the phone
I’ll tell ‘em you’re not home

No place to hide
You were fighting as a soldier on their side
You’re still a soldier in your mind
Though nothing’s on the line

You say it’s money that we need
As if we’re only mouths to feed
I know no matter what you say
There are some debts you’ll never pay

Working for the church
While your family dies
You take what they give you
And you keep it inside
Every spark of friendship and love
Will die without a home
Hear the soldier groan, “We’ll go at it alone”

I can taste the fear
Gonna lift me up and take me out of here
Don’t wanna fight, don’t wanna die
Just wanna hear you cry

Who’s gonna throw the very first stone?
Oh! Who’s gonna reset the bone?
Walking with your head in a sling
Wanna hear the soldier sing

Working for the Church
While my family dies
Your little baby sister’s
Gonna lose her mind
Every spark of friendship and love
Will die without a home
Hear the soldier groan, “We’ll go at it alone”

I can taste your fear
It’s gonna lift you up and take you out of here
And the bone shall never heal
I care not if you kneel

We can’t find you now
But they’re gonna get their money back somehow
And when you finally disappear
We’ll just say that you were never here

Been working for the church
While your life falls apart
Singing hallelujah with the fear in your heart
Every spark of friendship and love
Will die without a home
Hear the soldier groan, “We’ll go at it alone”
Hear the soldier groan, “We’ll go at it alone”

AGENT Bu

“The Wolves Within”

An old Grandfather said to his grandson, who came to him with anger at a friend who had done him an injustice, “Let me tell you a story.

I too, at times, have felt a great hate for those that have taken so much, with no sorrow for what they do.

But hate wears you down, and does not hurt your enemy. It is like taking poison and wishing your enemy would die. I have struggled with these feelings many times.” He continued, “It is as if there are two wolves inside me. One is good and does no harm. He lives in harmony with all around him, and does not take offense when no offense was intended. He will only fight when it is right to do so, and in the right way.

But the other wolf, ah! He is full of anger. The littlest thing will set him into a fit of temper. He fights everyone, all the time, for no reason. He cannot think because his anger and hate are so great. It is helpless anger,for his anger will change nothing.

Sometimes, it is hard to live with these two wolves inside me, for both of them try to dominate my spirit.”

The boy looked intently into his Grandfather’s eyes and asked, “Which one wins, Grandfather?”

The Grandfather smiled and quietly said, “The one I feed.”

AGENT B

What you’ve made crooked you can’t make straight, it’s the price that you gotta pay.

William-Adolphe Bouguereau

And you’ve paid it over and over my brother, my sister.. now is the time of the Letting Go, we must all find it in ourselves to let go of our transgressions and failures in this life and the past. We must learn the lessons and find their meanings, for they are all but a gift and this life but a dream, a ride if you will.

Hell to me is the act of forgetting how to stand, forgetting how to find your feet in the quicksand of the immediate. The human mind is a twisted maze of systemic emotion, relating to every part of your body, ultimately controlling your every action. Emotion based on environmental shifts in comfortability. The reality of the uncontrollable elements, elements that shape our journey on this planet.

Herrad von Landsberg

Hope Sufferance is the standard we all carry and we are all guilty of letting it slip. But there isn’t and never can be a reason for us to let our Fear out weigh our love. Love for self, love for our global neighbor and Love for this gift of a life we live, Live being the operative word.

Live

We get one chance at this

one chance to experience the grace of the soul.

Dante’s rings of Hell

Inner Love
Inner Strength
Inner Peace
Honesty and Harmony

This the mantra i had tattooed to myself to remind me of the strength and focus that can an be found in Inner Fortitude. Recently i let my mind become clouded with despair subsequently forgetting my code of Honor, my Armour for the sticks and stones of misfortune.

Not that I’m here to preach my personal take on the current global emotional breakdown, but i think we are all reverberating with the same energies, we are in a sense all feeling the same weights and lifts, we need to focus and heal.

Rise up my friends

This is our life.

AGENT B