“Changing people.  Transforming our world.”

We’ve all heard the expression: “Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should?”.  Well, when it comes to  ‘vision’ – the power to make an idea happen - the opposite is true.  When you want to do something amazing in the world, and something that most people tell you just can’t happen, then the best answer you can give them is: “Just because we can’t, doesn’t mean we shouldn’t!”. 

Think, for a minute, about all the situations in which this is true.  Think about South Africa becoming a country with equal voting rights for citizens of all races without the predicted bloodshed.   Think about the first test-tube baby, now a mother herself.  And, the first man on the moon – whenever that was (it’s debatable, apparently).  What about the first black president of the United States of America and justice for Stephen Lawrence, a young British boy stabbed to death on the streets of  London, England.  Stephen’s parents are change-makers, just as much as every American who voted for Barack Obama is.  That’s the thing about being change-makers.  Often, we become one, without ever having had an intention to do so.

Often, we become change-makers, without ever having had an intention to do so.

I don’t suppose that Doreen and Neville Lawrence ever imagined that they would become change-makers when they sought justice for Stephen.  They were simply parents wanting the killers of a much-loved son to be punished for the crime they had committed.  Most of us would feel the same, if we lost a member of our family in that way.  Yet, they are change-makers none-the-less.  The double-jeopardy laws of the UK, which said that you could not be tried twice for the same crime, were changed for Stephen Lawrence.  Now, who would have imagined that?  Could anyone ever have predicted that?  Unlikely. 

I once met the Lawrence’s lawyer, Imran Khan, in the kitchen of an office block in which he had his law firm.  Someone told me who he was.  He was a quiet, unassuming man.  But, clearly passionate about the law and willing to step up when the law did not deliver justice.  The next time I saw him there, I thanked him.  He was quite embarrassed (can’t say as I blame him, having a complete stranger thank me in such circumstances would have made me a little embarrassed too).  But, I felt it was important to say it.  Out loud, if only so that I could hear it.  Stephen mattered and the justice sought in his name mattered too.

Stephen Lawrence was the first man of colour in the UK to be treated by the British press as a real person, rather than a caricature of a ‘bad guy’ in a Hollywood movie.  He was a young man with ‘prospects’.  Parents who were pulling together to give him a future.  Parents who had expectations of him, of the person he would grow up to be.  Of the contribution he would make to British society.  Strangely, he made that contribution, possibly more powerfully from the grave than he ever might have in life.  Because ‘Stephen Lawrence’ refused to die.  He just kept coming back and demanding his justice.  That is what change-makers do.  They keep coming back and demanding  to be heard.

An English woman sitting opposite me was reading a newspaper, openly weeping

Stephen rests in my mind for another reason.  I was once sitting on a train heading home.  An English woman sitting opposite me was reading a newspaper, openly weeping.  Now, I don’t mean that she had silent tears rolling down her cheeks.  I mean she was crying as if someone she loved had just died.  This was the middle of the rush hour and the evening train was packed.  Standing room only.  Everyone was ignoring her.  Well, I guess we were all embarrassed and feeling very inadequate.  We did not know how to respond.  No one teaches you how to deal with public displays of emotion – your own or other people’s. ( However, I digress.)  When she got off the train, the woman left her newspaper behind.  I pounced on it; I wanted to understand what had distressed her so.  It was an article about the presumed killers of Stephen Lawrence, making the most appallingly vile racist and violently abusive comments.  Really foul stuff.  I found it upsetting, but nowhere near as distressing as my fellow passenger.  Perhaps because I already knew such people exist.  Perhaps because I wonder how sad it must be to live your life from such a place of hate.  Hate for something you can never defeat.

These young men too have a vision.  A vision of a world in which people are treated differently because of the colour of their skin.  A world in which people can expect to access or be denied justice based on that skin colour.  The Lawrences’ vision was the opposite.  One in which all citizens of their country can walk the streets of their home towns in safety.  And, if they are attacked, then they can expect justice.  Quick and relentless.  Regardless of race.  Small comfort, but necessary all the same.  That happened just recently when a gentle Asian man, Anuj Bidve, was brutally killed on the streets of Manchester.  The British justice system did not make the mistake it made 18 years ago.  It apprehended the suspected killer and it is seeking justice for Anuj and his family, just as it did with the killers of Ben Kinsella in 2008.  That these attacks happen still may be seen as a failure of the Lawrence vision, but I don’t think so.  We have free will as human beings.  It is what sets us apart from all other species.  The choices we make in any given moment are ours and ours alone. 

“Not in our name.”

We may not all like each other here in the UK nor wish to share each other’s life-styles.  But, we are no longer indifferent to the common humanity that unites us, beneath the superficial differences of skin colour.  All three families are grieving for their sons; one black, one Asian, one white.  And, we can all imagine just how terrible that would feel, if it had happened to us.  Where 18 years ago, British society turned its back on Stephen, indifferent to his rights, to his family’s pain, to the life he would never have, it now, finally, has turned to face him.  To acknowledge him.  “Not in our name.”  This was the message of the young people who marched on the streets when Ben was killed, demanding an end to knife crime.  It was the same message on the lips of the people of Salford at the killing of Anuj.  “Not in our name.”  It may take a while for some of our citizens to hear it, but hear it they will, eventually.  This is the true legacy of Stephen Lawrence.  He has made us question our values and create a better, stronger, more demonstrably compassionate society in his memory. 

 Thank you,

Stephen Lawrence

Rest In Peace.

Amara~Isis

www.amaraisis.com

© 2011 Heather Salmon and Amara Isis Ltd

“Changing people.  Transforming our world.”

I always thought, when looking at the beautiful Amy Winehouse, with all her talent and all her troubles, that she lived her life as if she had been born without a skin.  As if all the pain and sorrows of the world poured directly into her; and out again in the form of her amazing songs.  All great artists, creative types, have this quality in common - an emotional porousness that can, if not carefully managed, overwhelm and consume them.  This, I think, is what happened to the beautiful and talented Amy. 

For people like Amy, it is essential that the flow of their prodigious talent finds a continuous outlet. 

Her genius was so great, her talent so prodigious, how could she help but be overwhelmed by it?  Indeed, deep down inside, I think that Amy knew such talent was given to her as a gift.  It was never ‘Hers’ in the way that something we work for is ‘Ours’.  She had been blessed, ‘chosen’, and who would not struggle to feel worthy of such a blessing.  Who would not be drawn to counter-balance the weight of it, the pressure, the expectation, with its polar opposite?

The paradox of Amy’s life is that she was at once desperately attracted to being brilliant and to being ordinary, both at the same time; she acknowledged the light and the darkness within her.  She just did not know what to do about them.  Had she been older when her talent blossomed, more mature, she might have survived.  Might have learned to harness her brilliance, riding it like a crest of a wave, releasing it into her music.  There was more, so much more, that her voice had to give.  Yet, she could not make the transition from ordinary person to superstar in a way that did not destroy her.

The contradictions of Amy’s life remind me of a diamond covered with mud to obscure its brilliance.  So that it does not shine too brightly, does not attract too much attention, to allow itself to retain something of itself, for itself.  But, this is impossible.  A magnificent diamond is what it is; beautiful, brilliant, eternal – with the power to move people in ways that they do not themselves understand.  The late Diana, Princess of Wales, too had this unusual quality.  Such people take us out of our comfort zone, particularly emotionally.  But, in a way that we feel safe to ‘feel’.  We experience our own emotion through them.  Through their moments of glory; through the depths of their despair. 

Like the proverbial rabbit caught in the headlines, the more brightly they shine, the less they can find their way out of the tunnel

In the end, they get hit by a fast-moving train or the light they shine consumes them – returning them to the brilliance from which they came. To us, it can feel like a waste.  Yet, is such a life wasted?  I do not think so. 

When Amy died, many female musicians credited her with making their own creative journeys possible.   Her success enabled their success.  She had changed the landscape of music for female artists forever with her honest lyrics.  Amy was not afraid to be a 21st century woman, giving a different perspective on the female experience – in all its beauty and its ugliness.  Amy changed the world’s expectations of female artists.  Made it acceptable to show our intelligence in our art.  Allowed women with a story to tell to speak their truth in song, without needing to wrap it up in sugary words, all frills and pretense.

Amy was real.  And, in sharing her reality, she allowed women to be more real too.  Those who come after her honour her, and this is as it should be.  She will never be forgotten, because her songs continue to tell her story.  And, we will continue to love her through her words.  Whilst we might not wish to emulate some of her life-choices, we aspire to her humanity.  Amy understood the human experience.  She loved people and people loved and felt loved by her.  This was, in the end, her greatest gift.

2011 is now at a close and we have entered 2012.  Is there a difference that we want to make in the world?  Perhaps it is a difference only in our own lives or in the lives of the people we care about.  That does not make it any less significant.  Or less important.  We may not have the talent of an Amy Winehouse.  But, the gift we have to share in the lives of others may touch them as much as Amy touched us.  For the people whose lives we touch, the change may be as great as the transformation that Amy brought to women in song. 

I have always loved the New Year and I feel very excited about the one we have just entered.  “2012″.  It has something of a ring to it.  The ring of change.

Wherever you are, whatever you are doing, I wish you a happy, prosperous, exciting and wonderous 2012.

With love and blessings,

Amara~Isis

www.amaraisis.com

© 2011 Heather Salmon and Amara Isis Ltd

“Changing people.  Transforming our world.”

What can I share with you about Inspiration?  You either have it or you don’t.  You know when you have it and you know when you don’t.  You cannot force it.  You can only invite it into your life.  But, all this I don’t have to tell you.  All this you know already.

Yet, there is something that I can tell you about inspiration.  Inspiration comes from the Soul.  That is why we cannot evoke it at will.  That is why so many creative people live in fear and awe of it.  They know that inspiration will grace them with her presence, if and only if, she finds them worthy.  If she finds them ready.  I know that I am adopting that irritating habit of referring to anything that we find illusive, evasive, difficult to fathom as female.  Yet, for me  inspiration is a feminine quality. 

The voice of the heart and of the Soul are quiet yet insistent

That is not to say that men, too, do not have it.  That would be silly.  But, inspiration has that illusive quality that all qualities falling within the spectrum of the Divine Feminine seem to have.  It is light, clear, ephemeral.  It is powerful, yet intangible.  It can profoundly change the world, yet never been seen, felt or touched.  Ideas are inspirational.  Change is inspirational.  Inspiration calls to us with the quiet, insistent voice of the Divine Feminine.  If the voice of the body and the mind are loud and demanding; then, the voice of the heart and of the Soul are quiet yet insistent.  That is what fools some people.  And, leads them to a frantic life of distractions – designed to keep them from the call within to do something magnificent with their lives.  Something that they will be proud to leave behind them.  A legacy that has nothing to do with progeny.

Yet, we resist this with a force of nature close to an emotional Tsunami.  Why?  Because embracing our inspiration is simply the most terrifying thing that we humans can do.  No other creature on earth worries about its greatness (or lack thereof) as we do.   The greatest and smallest of the world’s creatures reflect their full glory without any self-consciousness at all.  Therein lies the challenge.  The challenge of self-consciousness. 

At the heart of all self-consciousness lies the illusion of ‘separation’ as a concept.  When you feel at one with the world, you do not feel separation between yourself and your environment.  This may be but a slither of a second in time.  A moment in which everything is perfect.  Where, if time were to stand still, you would know yourself to be completely at peace.  That feeling of oneness is as close as I get to experiencing a sense of wonder that some call God. 

Inspiration, like divinity, has to be trusted implicitly

But, what has all this to do with inspiration?  Well, everything actually.  Because, inspiration, like divinity, has to be trusted implicitly.  Inspiration chooses us.  We do not necessarily deserve it.  Certainly, we have rarely done anything to deserve it.  To focus on its blessing is actually to miss the point.  There is nothing more futile than the question; Why me?  Why not You?  Inspiration visits us because it wants us to do something with it.  To use it to make a difference in our world.  We are surrounded by inspiration, yet often we do not see it. Every single man-made thing that exists in the world was the result of someone’s inspiration.  Intended or otherwise. 

Think about that.  Every single thing.  Even the happy accidents (Post Its spring to mind) were created as a result of someone’s inspiration.  The experiment went wrong apparently.  Yet, there is nothing to say that, had the experiment turned out as intended, it would have been as big success.  In this case, not only did an inspiration generate the original product, but when it turned out ‘wrong’, a second inspiration turned it into something extremely useful.

Imagine how little change there would have been in the world if people only innovated when the outcome were guaranteed.  Almost none would be my guess.  Imagine if all creativity lay dormant inside us until there was absolute certainty of  success.  Again, not much innovation would be generated in these circumstances.  So, if you are looking for change in your life or in our world, what’s stopping you?  What guarantees of success do you need to bring your change into the world?  And, why do you need them?  Is your inspiration not gift enough?  If not, why not?  If you only ever travelled to a place you had already been, would you ever travel anywhere at all?  No, I suspect not. 

What guarantees of success do you need to bring your change into the world? 

Yet, think of the great works of creative genius we have enjoyed through the ages.  The incredible music, art and writing.  The medical and scientific breakthroughs.  The works of stunning spiritual beauty.  The amazing feats of human endeavour.  The difference people, ordinary people like you and like me, have made in the world.  Because they trusted their inspiration.  Followed its guidance.  Were willing to honour it, no matter the cost. 

Then, ask yourself the question: what inspiration are you ignoring in your life?  What difference might you make in the world if you were to honour it?  To trust it implicitly.  How does that saying go: “Please do not die with your song unsung within you!”  You don’t have to, You know.  The choice is yours.

Amara~Isis

www.amaraisis.com

© 2011 Heather Salmon and Amara Isis Ltd

“Change people.  Transforming our world.”

I promised Phil that I would write my first blog today. 

I don’t always keep my promises, although I do try.  In this case, I really want to keep my promise, because Phil is a really good guy.  People say that there are no good guys left in the world, but they are wrong.  Phil is a really good guy.  He cares.  About me and about you.  He cares.  He cares enough to put himself out there to make a difference in the world.  In that, amongst other things, he inspires me.  I love to work with him.  Or, perhaps I should say, I love that he choses to work with me.

Once you decide to write a blog, you have to decide what to put in it.  For me, that was easy.  I am passionate about Change.  And, about people who make Change.  Change that makes a difference in the world.  Our world.  

It sometimes feels as if we have given up on Change; simply stopped believing it can happen.  We used to expect our politicians to do it for us, but most of us don’t expect that anymore.  We’ve been too disillusioned.  Or maybe, we just expected too much of them – expected them to do it all for us, so that we could get away with hanging out, not doing our bit.  We have seen the folly of this.  That is not the way to do Change. 

Change happens when ordinary people do extraordinary things. 

Change happens when ordinary people do extraordinary things.  When ordinary people refuse to accept the way life is, just because it has always been that way.  This is what we call ‘innovation’.  Every time there is innovation, someone decided not to accept the status quo.  Someone decided to be open to the possibility that things can be different.  If we dared to imagine, to believe and to act on our inspiration.

I have done that many times in my life.  Dared to believe that life could be different and reached out for that other life.  I have done this for myself and I have done this for others.  And, I’ve loved it every time.  I have learned that the only thing stopping us from making a world that we love to be in is our own belief that it cannot be that way.  Because it can absolutely be that way.  It can be any way that we want it to be.  We just have to believe. 

Add a vision to our inspiration, cloak it in faith and take action to make it happen.

So, this first blog is for all you Change-Makers out there.  All you who have not given up on this sad old world of ours.  If I were writing President Obama’s opening speech for his next election campaign, I would not abandon his “Change. Yes, we can” message.  I would enhance it to: “Change.  Yes, we must”.  Because, the world has changed and we must change with it, if we are to have a hope of surviving in it.  This is not optional.  The world will not stop and wait for us to catch up.  Or, decide that we want the Change.  It does not matter whether we want the it or not.  It is simply here.  And, it is not going away. 

All we can decide is how we are going to live it.

All we can decide is how we are going to live it.  Ride it like the crest of a wave.  Or, drown in it.  Be swamped, dragged under, by it.  But, why should we?  We have a choice.  A glorious, empowering choice, that is ours to make.  The only question is: Do we have the courage to make it?  Do we have the courage to stop blaming everyone else for the stuff we don’t want in our lives and start holding ourselves accountable for making things different?  That was my moment of freedom.  The moment I realised that I had a choice.  Not just intellectually, but emotionally, spiritually and physically too. 

I have spent the last several years embodying that choice and now I am ready.  I am ready to help you in whatever way that I can.  To recognise your choices.  The changes you want to make and the power you have to make them. 

I have written a story for you.  It is called: ‘NewBorn: A Modern Fable’.  I will be posting it soon.  But, in the meantime, let me know how you are doing.  What change are you wanting to achieve?  What is your inspiration?  Do you have a vision and the passion required to drive it?  Are you in action around your vision?  Or, are all your distractions getting in the way?  We have all been there.  Write to me.  Share with me your dreams of a different world and what you are doing to make this happen.  I believe in you.  I know that you can do it.  Make a difference, where it really counts.

The only question is: do You believe it too?

Amara~Isis

www.amaraisis.com

© 2011 Heather Salmon and Amara Isis Ltd