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Where the Mind is Without Fear

“Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high
Where knowledge is free
Where the world has not been broken up into fragments by narrow domestic walls.
Where words come out from the depth of truth,
Where tireless striving stretches its arms toward perfection. Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way into the dreary desert sand of dead habit.
Where the mind is led forward by thee into ever widening thought and action.
Into that heaven of freedom, my father, let my country awake!”

― Nobel Prize Winner Rabindranath Tagore, Gitanjali

Laura Nyro // American singer-songwriter Laura Nyro died in 1997 at the age of 49. She released her debut album in 1966 at the age of 19. “Unusual” was a word often used to praise Nyro’s talent and her personal style. Although “goth” was not yet a prominent cultural movement, Nyro often dressed in black and wore purple lipstick in performance. She is well known for her many compositions and lyrics, covered still by popular artists internationally. “And When I Die” is ever-fresh today, cutting through with her perfected sound, distinctive vocal phrasing, and surprising rhythmic musical changes.

“And when I die and when I'm dead, dead and gone,
there'll be one child born and a world to carry on, to carry on.”
You can listen to the full song here…

The Womanist Reader // Bilphena Yahwon was inspired to start The
Womanist Reader in order to create a place that would offer Black women the solace of literature and language when they found themselves facing grief and despair. It is an Instagram account that functions as a free online library where Yahwon's vast collection of voices from the international African diaspora are archived and showcased.

You can find an article about her here, and the Instagram here.

Ida Saki and Marc Cardarelli // Here is a beautiful duet danced by Ida Saki and Marc Cardarelli to J.E. Sunde's haunting song "I Will Smile When I Think of You" advising us "... to drink the day in, Weighing all that it costs you to maintain belief in the face of the grief that finds its way in"

Read the full lyrics here.

Mark Rothko // Mark Rothko was an Abstract Expressionist painter known for his immersively engaging color block paintings. They were offered as an expression of the basic conditions of existence - tragedy and ecstasy.

The Rothko chapel, a collaboration with Philip Johnson, opened in 1971. In her book detailing the full scope of the project, Susan J. Barnes describes it as ".... the world's first broadly ecumenical center, a holy place open to all religions and belonging to none. It became a center for international cultural, religious, and philosophical exchanges, for colloquia and performances. And it became a place of private prayer for individuals of all faiths" [3]

A short bio of Mark Rothko can be found here

And you can find more info about the chapel and 'the stillness that moves' here

Avatar: the Last Airbender // originally aired on Nickelodeon from 2005 - 2008. Recently relaunched on Netflix, the series has consistently appeared in their top 10 most-watched shows for months. During these trying times, it has resounded with its fans as a grounding force. The title character is 12-year old Aang, the sole survivor of a nation of Airbenders; those possessing the ability to “bend” or manipulate the element of air. Aang’s mission is to restore the balance between the elements, against a backdrop of teamwork, war, group trauma, and corrupt governments. Read more about the show here…

watch the series here…

Rainer Maria Rilke // Rainer Maria Rilke is considered by many to be the twentieth century's most compelling poetic voice of spiritual questing and romantic transformation. Most know him due to the book "Letters to a Young Poet" however it is his Duino Elegies and Sonnets to Orpheus that call us here.
We point you to Joanna Macy's incredible book "A Year with Rilke: Daily Readings from the Best of Rainer Maria Rilke" here.

A very insightful essay by Maria Popova on her Brainpickings site here

In Rilke's words: "Death is our friend, our closest friend, perhaps the only friend who can never be misled by our ploys and vacillations. And I do not mean that in the sentimental, romantic sense of distrusting or renouncing life. Death is our friend precisely because it brings us into absolute and passionate presence with all that is here, that is natural, that is love… Life always says Yes and No simultaneously. Death (I implore you to believe) is the true Yea-sayer. It stands before eternity and says only: Yes."

Please feel free to forward this newsletter to anyone you feel might benefit from these resources and articles.

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Interested in collaborating?

On a final note we’d like to issue a call to collaborate in building our online community. Please let us know if you’d like to participate as a guest blogger - you can find us at info@exitstrategyfordying.com

EXIT STRATEGY FOR DYING