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I'm kind, friendly, your worst enemy.
Charming, crass, and potentially.
Dangerous, have you ever heard of such?
I'm invisible and impossible to touch. - Mr. Lif:
Phantom
This paradoxical line from Mr. Lif’s 2002 album Emergency Rations leaves a lot of space for exploration.
If there were a person who could hold all of the qualities that Lif lists (kind, friendly, charming but also crass, your worst enemy and potentially dangerous) what would be the use of such a person? Who would even want to hang around someone so unsure of themselves? They don’t even seem to know who they are, AND they’re outwardly telling me that they may be bad for my health? Nah B, i’m good.
However, as bad as that person may be I have to ask myself what’s the healthiness of seeing that person as undesirable, an enemy or as dangerous? What does it do to me when I freeze my perception of others or quickly label them? Does it improve or hurt how I think? Does it help me to see others and the world with more clarity or more confusion? And who is it that’s doing all this “perceiving” and how much have I evaluated that? Much of my time has been spent trying to answer this question.
We live in an age where kindness and friendliness are not only undervalued but threatening. When we don’t trust in our own goodness we become enemies to ourselves. When we don’t trust in the goodness of others we become enemies in our society. When and how did we develop this allergy to our goodness and how can we experience it again? We are not confined to being enemies to ourselves or others. It is a matter of mistaken perception. We have forgotten the feeling of the experience of well being and because we are not relaxed within ourselves we are not relaxed with others and are constantly identifying threats to our egos. We don’t have to do that. We can make a different choice and practice being through meditation and contemplation.
Being charming, crass and potentially dangerous are the means which if used wisely can help to forge relationships, resolve conflict, illuminate hidden resources and destroy unnecessary obstacles to success. When used unskillfully they bring personal and societal defeat and foster division. May we practice resting our bodies and mind in order to naturally bring about skillful action.
When we rest in the invisible (that which is impossible to touch) we find that which is impossible to die, be defiled, be removed or to change. We find what is ultimately reliable, safe and trustworthy. It has been with you since before you were aware of a “you”. It is the ground of our kindness, friendliness towards ourselves and others, wise action and mystery. It is the source of our power and locus of our liberation.
May we contemplate Mr. Lif’s lyrics through the eyes of our nature and afterwards, practice formless meditation resting in the felt meaning of the words.
Hiphop Alive
Justin F. Miles is the founder of Hiphop Alive and pioneering practitioner, theorist and educator at the intersection of Hiphop culture, mindfulness and contemplative studies. He is the leading voice championing the use of Hiphop infused contemplative modalities to foster resilience, emotional intelligence, and community empowerment.