sábado, 16 de abril de 2011

Charlie Chaplin's 122nd birthday anniversary

Today is the 122nd annyversary of Charlie Chaplin. At the site of Google you can watch a homage to him with a little video made for this special event. They have taken away their traditional logo or 'Doodle' and have posted a little video (one minute and a half approximately).

Picture taken from the USC (University of Southern California) digital libraries.


If you want to learn about him go to this site.

The following interesting text can be found at:

chaplin1
(attributed to) Charlie Chaplin on his 70th birthday: As I Began to Love Myself

As I began to love myself I found that anguish and emotional suffering are only warning signs that I was living against my own truth.
Today, I know, this is “AUTHENTICITY“.

As I began to love myself I understood how much it can offend somebody as I try to force my desires on this person, even though I knew the time was not right and the person was not ready for it, and even though this person was me.
Today I call it “RESPECT“.

As I began to love myself I stopped craving for a different life, and I could see that everything that surrounded me was inviting me to grow.
Today I call it “Maturity“.

As I began to love myself I understood that at any circumstance, I am in the right place at the right time, and everything happens at the exactly right moment, so I could be calm.
Today I call it “SELF-CONFIDENCE“.

As I began to love myself I quit steeling my own time, and I stopped designing huge projects for the future. Today, I only do what brings me joy and happiness, things I love to do and that make my heart cheer, and I do them in my own way and in my own rhythm.
Today I call it “SIMPLICITY“.

As I began to love myself I freed myself of anything that is no good for my health – food, people, things, situations, and everything the drew me down and away from myself. At first I called this attitude a healthy egoism.
Today I know it is “LOVE OF ONESELF“.

As I began to love myself I quit trying to always be right, and ever since I was wrong less of the time.
Today I discovered that is “MODESTY“.

As I began to love myself I refused to go on living in the past and worry about the future. Now, I only live for the moment, where EVERYTHING is happening.

Today I live each day, day by day, and I call it “FULFILLMENT“.

As I began to love myself I recognized that my mind can disturb me and it can make me sick. But As I connected it to my heart, my mind became a valuable ally.
Today I call this connection “WISDOM OF THE HEART“.

We no longer need to fear arguments, confrontations or any kind of problems with ourselves or others. Even stars collide, and out of their crashing new worlds are born.
Today I know THAT IS “LIFE“!
(however, after 1 year since this article was created, there are doubts that this beautiful and wise declaration above does belong to Charlie Chaplin after all  as much was we’d love to believe it – we are on a quest to find once for all :-) )
Today I have received the above message from a friend and I’ve felt right away that is meant to be shared further on .. so we can meditate upon it, and luckily, we start applying some of its (utterly sahaj!!) truth before our 70th anniversary .
Indeed, at that age he managed to remain more firm than ever behind the wheels of his life and all the phrases above are in essence very much imbibed with eternally fresh truths, so I dare to say that his message is totally sahaj.
“The Tramp”  (check it out) and other creations reflect such an universal and complex truth about life that speaks to our heart, any heart .. And has its message fully absorbed…
Also it’s interesting because Chaplin was able to establish his level of peace and to really live up - in his late years of life -  to the wisdom that is transparent in the quote above. Yes, he was even able to know and clearly define himself.
And if Charlie Chaplin has reached to that sincere realization about his Self that gave him the serene comfort of his spirit, we instead, even as recently as this Aprill 2009, are still fighting the futile war of labeling him post-mortem.
As usually one can see the irony: in India he is much respected by movie makers that want to have a statue in his name, maybe the greatest ever dedicated to Chaplin .. while in the same place is a strong opposition for this tribute to happen. The reason?! This genius happened to be officially registered as Christian, though during his life there was another war going on, triggered by the rumors that he might be Jewish or partially Gipsy.
We all fight these wars, of course starting with the ‘civil wars’ that happen inside of ourselves: the heart will generously give us a name, while our mind will try to impose its own “title” and our senses will sneak also all kind of “subtitles” to this entity that either way is known and perceived always differently by others.
So why not start knowing this ‘personal’ being, by simply beginning to love the core of it, the Self. What we love, we know.. That love will bring the peace of integration that delivers the consensus within.
Only then, after knowing ourselves, gaining one distinct voice, we may utter definitions about others ..
charlie2 .. if those will still matter.
OTHER INTERESTING NEWS ABOUT HIM:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/may/17/newsid_2512000/2512129.stm

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,988499,00.html

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