I am indebted to
Charlene Afremow
who inspired this conversation.
There's something distinct, something unique about the sound of many
human voices singing, cheering, yelling, or speaking at once in unison.
A choir singing in St Peter's Basilica in the Vatican. A crowd cheering
at a cup final soccer match in Wembley Stadium in
London.
A throng of protesters yelling in Tahrir Square in Cairo.
Beyond what's actually being sung, cheered, yelled, or spoken (which
oftentimes is completely unintelligible in large gatherings of people),
the collective expression of many human voices at once, touches a cord
deep within us. To be sure, the distinction
"within us"
isn't powerful, nor for that matter is it real. Yet to say the
collective expression of many human voices at once, touches a cord deep
"within us",
is
good enough for
jazz.
It touches a cord deep within us because it is us. Not the
us like "you and me both, the two of us". No, it's the us like
thousands and thousands and thousands of us. It's the us
which represents all of us. It's the us like the soon to
be seven billion of us. Can you speculate how awesome it
would be if all seven billion of us human voices sang, cheered, yelled,
and spoke at once in unison? Really! Wouldn't that be
awesome? This is the possibility evoked by a choir
singing in St Peter's Basilica in the Vatican, a crowd cheering at a
cup final soccer match in Wembley Stadium in
London,
a throng of protesters yelling in Tahrir Square in Cairo: the "What
if?" possibiity of all seven billion of us human voices
singing, cheering, yelling, or speaking at once in unison.
In an earlier, health conscious time, it was said "You are what you
eat.". In a later, wealth conscious time, it was said "You are what you
wear.". Today with the dawn of
transformation
breaking, it's said
"You are what you
speak.".
You are your
word.
You are what you speak.
Who you are
is
constituted in language.
Can you
imagine
all seven billion of us human voices singing,
cheering, yelling, or speaking at once in unison
who we really are,
declaring the possibilities we invent for ourselves, for our lives, and
for all seven billion of us, with no one and nothing left out? Can you
imagine?
I recently had the
privilege
of being invited to be present as a guest at the
Landmark
Advanced Course
to observe and listen the conversation from the back of the room. Just
as you could say the conversation which occurs in
The Landmark Forum
brings forth
transformation
of the individual, you could also say the conversation which occurs in
the
Landmark
Advanced Course
brings forth
transformation
of the individual in relationships, in families, in communities, in
society as a whole ... indeed, in the world. This is the us
which represents all of us. It's the us like the soon to
be seven billion of us. This isn't us merely singing our
most beloved hymns. This isn't us merely cheering for our favorite
side. This isn't us merely yelling for our political freedom or for our
point of view
to be heard. The conversation which is the
Landmark
Advanced Course
is the energetic, excited, alacritous, animated, eager, keen,
wide-eyed, enthralling conversation about what's really
possible for all of us, for each and every one of the nearly seven
billion of us, for what's really possible for
Planet Earth
and all its denizens.
There's nothing like it. There's nothing quite like this conversation
anywhere. To be in the midst of it, to observe it fully and completely,
to take it all in, indeed to participate in it
fully and completely, to be at this point in time in
history when it's what's now available and therefore it's
what's now possible for humanity, is nothing short of breathtaking,
miraculous, awesome.
It's the
conversation for
transformation.
It's a conversation which makes me profoundly happy. It makes me
profoundly happy, and at the same time it
moves me to tears.
I'm glad we're finally here. I'm really glad we're finally
here. Of all the
words
the us which represents the nearly seven billion of us human voices,
could sing, cheer, yell, or speak at once in unison, the
conversation for
transformation
could prove to be our crowning achievement, our most
catalytic
accomplishment - so far.