the new lothlorien

i was pondering 30bad today. it's been about a year that i've been here because of an invitation extended by my good friend bigG. within that year, much has happened. some friends have departed. new friends have appeared. many initiatives have been undertaken.

some recent events triggered ideas i hadn't viewed in quite the same way as before. i often wondered why people here are so passionate about this place. why do they find this an oasis of sanity? why do they regard dr and freelee in such high esteem? even when they can't handle the obvious nobility here, why do they view it with envy from a distance and keep wanting to come back, or at least lurk clandestinely?

i think people view 30bad the way they do because of a yearning deep within from the best in us, to be the best we can be as individuals and as a species.

similar societies existed in the past, but i think one that may illustrate ours would be tolkien's wonderful and mystical lothlorien.


what lothlorien was

it was the golden wood of mallorn trees - a place of beauty, peace and learning where time seemed to stand still protected by celeborn and galadriel through her ring nenya.

when frodo first came there he described it thus:

It seemed to him that he had stepped through a high window that looked on a vanished world. A light was upon it for which his language had no name. All that he saw was shapely, but the shapes seemed at once clear cut, as if they had been first conceived and drawn at the uncovering of his eyes, and ancient as if they had endured for ever. He saw no colour but those he knew, gold and white and blue and green, but they were fresh and poignant, as if he had at that moment first perceived them and made for them names new and wonderful. In winter here no heart could mourn for summer or for spring. No blemish or sickness or deformity could be seen in anything that grew upon the earth. On the land of Lorien there was no stain.

lothlorien was the waking dream of the elves that would fade forever from middle earth.


look at yourselves

it hasn't faded forever, it has only been reborn.
yes look at yourselves as did frodo look on lothlorien!

you'll see light and shapes of health, fresh and poignant in the bodies of the inhabitants. you'll see truths that are clear cut, conceived in ancient times and enduring forever in their minds. you'll see no true heart ever mourning, because the way of this life has no blemish or sickness or deformity.

you kill no creature, you abuse no being. rather you defend the right of the weak and helpless to exist. you protect their interests as though these were your very own. there is no stain.

i am always amused when i see a thread like hottest guy/gal popping up here.
why do we need celebrity - when we already have celeborn's likeness here.
why do we want galas - when we have galadriel's image and power all around us.
go here and you'll see what i mean.


what lothlorian is

how is it that such beauty in thought and body and action continues here?

the answer is that here there are worthy values maintained and nurtured through commitment and vision.

here there is honesty instead of compromise.
here there is dedication instead of convenience.
here there is education instead of ignorance.
here there are the highest of standards instead of self-deception.

lothorian is indeed reborn here.
    
we have our celeborn - but he rides the earth by the name of dr.
we have our galadriel - but she humbly disguises herself as freelee.

and nenya is our commitment and connection to each other and the timeless values of health and compassion.

the power of this ring will repel the abscess and abyss of mordor and all of that ilk.

the woods remain golden and eternally so.

in friendship,
prad

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  • both.

    here is the part from the book:

    “And you, Ring-bearer,’ she said, turning to Frodo. ‘I come to you last who are not last in my thoughts. For you I have prepared this.’ She held up a small crystal phial: it glittered as she moved it, and rays of white light sprang from her hand. ‘In this phial,’ she said, ‘is caught the light of Eärendil’s star, set amid the waters of my fountain. It will shine still brighter when night is about you. May it be a light to you in dark places, when all other lights go out. Remember Galadriel and her Mirror!’

    http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/galadriel

    i've been thinking about prad meaning a horse. i suppose it may be appropriate to contemplate shadowfax:

    Shadowfax ("Sceadufæx" in Rohirric) was the Lord of all horses. He was a descendant of Felaróf, of the race of the Mearas, the greatest horses of Middle-earth. Shadowfax was capable of comprehending human speech and was said to run faster than the wind. Originally belonging to the House of Eorl, Lord of Rohan, Shadowfax was too wild to be tamed by the Rohirrim. Eventually he was given to Gandalf the White by Théoden, the then-king of Rohan.

    Shadowfax's coat is described as silvery-grey in daylight and hardly to be seen at night.

    http://lotr.wikia.com/wiki/Shadowfax

    although here we could have it as pradofax.

    in fiendship,

    prad

  • which has been one of my "lights when all other lights go out" many a time.

    (ah! that beautiful line from galadriel!)

    most kind of you!

    and interesting too since my full name (pradip) in bengali means "light".

    (mind you in english, prad means "a horse", so i don't know how that applies :D)

    in friendship,

    prad

  • yes aragorn took a while to drop the ranger and become the king.
    welcome back to him indeed! ;)

    in friendship,
    prad

  • Wow :D What an amazing post...you are such a giver...you're heart is plain for all to see in your beautiful words. Your kindness and love sings in others hearts. I don't think anything lovelier could exist :'( ...happy tears. YOU make the beauty continue! And it certainly is 'an oasis of sanity' here on 30BaD :) 

    • i am glad to see you on this thread georgia!

      many of your posts on 30bad exemplify the spirit of this forum. here's just one of them:

      You shouldn't have the right to do what you want if it hurts another being in the process ... Also surely a bit of activism is all our responsibility...to stand up for those who are abused but do not have a voice to do so for themselves

      http://www.30bananasaday.com/xn/detail/2684079:Comment:4089464

      here you write:

      I wanna live to 150 also! When people hear that they say I am crazy ;/ I don't get it! Life is such a gift

      http://www.30bananasaday.com/xn/detail/2684079:Comment:4115334

      it's important that those such as you do live to at least 150, because you understand that life is indeed a gift. so we should honor this gift with the respect that is due.

      furthermore, life being a gift for one, is also for all other beings and so their lives deserve the same consideration we give to ourselves. hence your activism for those without a 'voice' is supported by an irrefutable logical foundation.

      i am aware that your values don't get much family support except from your mother. so may the conviction both of you share find significance in this (slightly modified) quotation:

      To the world you may be one being, but to one being you may be the world.

      in friendship,

      prad

      • Gosh...thank you so much for your kind words...you gonna make me cry :'( My ma and I think the same...we are each others' vegan companion...she is on 30BaD more than me...loves the place :D Sometimes we put our heads together to really word our thoughts properly when we comment...putting words together to get across what the heart wants to say is hard sometimes...

        All the health stuff is secondary benefits to us...the 'doing no harm' to innocents is paramount in our minds. Our motto here in Mission Beach, Australia is "Leave only footprints"...we want to do the least amount of harm to every living creature and the earth. And yeah...not much support around here with such radical ideas (sheesh :/) so 30BaD is a sanctuary :)

        We are both looking forward to reading more of your contributions with open hearts. 

        In friendship,

        Georgia and Nick 

        • Sometimes we put our heads together to really word our thoughts properly when we comment...putting words together to get across what the heart wants to say is hard sometimes ... We are both looking forward to reading more of your contributions with open hearts.

          then you may find this sequence helpful:

          30badigo HQ - discuss strategy here!

          (particularly the last two items "despair and anger", "feeling bad for doing good" which were written for a couple of activist friends of mine on 30bad).

          in friendship,

          prad

          • 'so when you advocate for the downtrodden, when you defend the weak, when you scream for those whose screams cannot be heard, you are actually practising the only love that exists, and therefore, don't feel bad when you are doing something good.'


            Prad, you write so beautifully...thank-you so much for the link...enjoying it greatly :D

            Kindest regards,

            Nick :) 

  • greetings samiksa! and welcome to 30bad!

    thank you for your kind comment and the upanishad quote on your profile. indeed, food being the eldest of all creatures, should warrant that it be respected by us as such and chosen judiciously so as not to cause harm to sentient beings.

    in friendship,

    prad

  • neet,

     

    i remember you wrote me a clever and delightful poem a long time ago.

    then you left and the poem was gone.

    but you came back and i asked for another ...

     

    and you joined my arissues elist which you had avoided in the past, with these words:

    thanks for checking with me,but yes,i am sure,and i know it will make me cry,but that's ok more of us need to be aware of the nasty stuff that goes on in the world to our beautiful animal friends. I have changed alot in the last year Prad,my thinking and what i want and don't want to be a part of.

     

    that was the nicest poem i could receive from you.

     

    in friendship,

    prad

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