Peponi
As Alex Boye twirls on top of a stone mesa, the Piano Guys provide
a powerful musical backdrop to his Swahili words, “Pepo, Pepo, Peponi”. He sings in his language the word, Paradise
which is the chorus of this remix of a Cold Play song named, Paradise. Originally sung in English, it brings a haunting
message of life.
I have returned over and over again to this song. The visual
and auditory message given by its location and this native singer’s energy,
provide a different perspective of the song for me. It wakes me up. The setting of the video presents a vision
of paradise of barren sand mesas, red rocks reflecting the sunlight which
stretches out before them as far as the eye can see. Although beautiful, this image is a stark
contrast to what we in America generally envision as ‘paradise’.
Combined with the native instruments and song, Alex’s
movements in celebration of all that is natural and wonderful, only highlight
the differences and the struggles implied in the original English version. Plus, the word, Paradise, is one fraught with
meaning for many of us. We, consequently
wonder, what makes up our vision of Paradise?
It
seems especially poignant right now as our country is engaged in a fierce
battle against racism that we reflect on our thoughts concerning Paradise. In a sense, we are struggling with original
sin, hubris, one man’s feeling of superiority over another. His ultimate need to have his own way, ends
in his feeling that it is his right to take another human’s life no matter whether
his reason is just or moral. Hubris, in Greek tragedy means, excessive
pride towards or defiance of the gods, leading to nemesis. Nemesis, its very
meaning engenders that once caught in the spiral of a situation we are fated to
be either entrapped or dead.
Notwithstanding, the bad outcome of a man believing that he has the
right to challenge the gods because he can.
Understanding that this piece is in no way an attempt to exegesis
various religions’ views on paradise or the afterlife, most believe that
Paradise is a place to look forward too.
Converts understand that life will always be a struggle, but it will all
be worthwhile. If the highway to heaven
map is followed, it will always end up for the faithful follower in a place
called Paradise. Each religion purports
its own version of what paradise might look like or be, yet no one really
knows. Believers depend upon the
trustworthiness of said religion’s prophets or seers to guarantee their future
life after death. Certainly, it must be
a wonderful place, if one chooses to do/be/act in certain ways all their lives to
get there in the end.
As a young adult, I spent many years thinking that my version of
heaven was going to be a great place. I
willingly traded my decision-making freedom and time for obedience and
adherence to my religions’ practices to obtain the end goal. This meant believing in sin and pledging not
to do it to the best of my ability. It
also included being a nice person and loving others like god would and spending
a lot of time in church…worshiping...because I believed that this too would be
good practice for life in Paradise.
Now, there is nothing wrong with these beliefs…I just wonder now,
why I spent so much time longing for a life in the future in a place that this
VERA would never remember. Isn’t life
better lived when we live it now and are aware of it? Is it not somehow more worthy to live like
this moment might be our last? Living in the moment, implies living with a lot
more accountability. If we know that we
can’t do something later to atone for the negative and hurtful things we always
do, might we all be kinder and more empathetic to the struggles of all our
brothers and sisters? Living in a world
where Paradise is right here, right now, what you make of it…. might living in
an earthly Paradise at this moment be a more fair and equitable place for all?
Truthfully, I do want my Paradise right now… although I understood
then and even in some ways better understand now the usefulness of struggle,
trials and hard times…wouldn’t it be nice if we could have some Paradise right
now? Is it wrong to want to enjoy our lives in this moment in a place of
support and empathy? Can we believe in a Paradise after death and still live
here in the moment now? Is reflecting
what is above yet living here below a concerted part of how one gets to
Paradise?
It has come into the light of our awareness most powerfully now,
that for certain groups of people, in particular people of color, that life in
the here and now is different than for those of us who have white skin. American prosperity and society, as I have
experienced it, isn’t the same for my black friends. Yes, many of them are successful, brilliant,
creatively talented and I am grateful for their friendship and trust. Even more difficult, is the life of an
impoverished black individual. However, all
still walk in America with an extra burden.
Last night, one such friend made a comment concerning how all
black men walk thru life having to deal with racial profiling and being stopped
because they ‘look like someone we’re looking for”. This person is a past Serviceman and an honorable,
gentle man. He would not be one to break
laws. I cannot even begin to imagine the
boundaries he has had to break through both societally and emotionally to keep
moving forward. What a burden! Yet, he is one of the most wonderfully
positive and godly humans I’ve ever met.
Can you imagine having to teach your son from an early age how
to act around police and white people.
The things they can and can’t do so they won’t get jailed or killed? Can
you imagine a world where, you never, ever felt like you could make it as a full-fledged
part of the American culture, simply because your skin was brown? Imagine knowing that you’ve done everything
to become an upstanding citizen according to the societal rules but still the
doors won’t open for you. How would you
go about your everyday life if you always felt that you needed to be vigilant due
to a pervasive societal presumption of guilt?
Let’s take a moment and visualize that, color your skin a shade of brown
and then sit in it for a minute, walk down a street and feel what that would be
like. I know that I cannot get a true
sense of how it would be, because my skin color is white.
Life has never been fair or equitable in the USA for any person
with any skin color other than white.
Since, we came to this part of the world people with brown skin have
either been shamed, lied to, driven from their homes and massacred or brought
here in chains and subjugated. Even when
freed from both sets of chains…life for people of color has not been
‘normalized’. Racism’s very definition
always involves the idea of superiority due simply to the DNA which they
inherited. In this instance, the DNA for
white skin color makes those with it, inherently superior. This brings us full circle back to hubris
because we all should understand that this premise is not true.
The song Paradise seems to echo the feeling that life isn’t’
fair, that one’s genuine belief in the fairness and goodness of the world after
growing up becomes tarnished. One finds that life is not always what we
envisioned. Thus, we look for and long
for a Paradise. Some place where our
dreams will come true.
Some believe that in the original
lyrics of Cold Play’s song, that the girl takes her own life in search of her Paradise. I hope that she comes to realize that she
must find her Paradise right now by choosing to live the kind of life that
makes her feel enlightened, passionate, creative, of service…whatever goal that
makes her feel fulfilled and abundant and causes her to hope and love with
abandon. This goal can become all of
ours. I hope we all can live a life
which allows us to search for our meaning of the word, Paradise.
We stand at a unique place in time where we can begin the work
of creating a paradise which allows abundance, equality, and hope for all. We are living in a riotous, Covid riddled,
shut up society. We’ve been given months
of time alone, closely sequestered in our homes thinking about what works for us
individually…yet we are all in this together.
I wonder if we can emerge from the multiple crisis’s which we are
working thru right now and come together?
Can we arrive at a place where we can pick up the “things” which will
create an equal vision of paradise for people of any color? Can we leave behind those things which
personally and societally don’t work?
Let’s name a few big ones that don’t work, racism, inequality,
xenophobia, misogyny. Can we move
forward and work to abolish racism and establish equal rights for all? Can we pick up fluidity of borders and
women’s rights? Can we begin to create a society with a path to Paradise for
all, not just for a few? Can we raise our neighbor up, who is different in whatever
way, so that we can all rise together?
I can imagine a time, in each of our cities either small or large,
rural or urban, when people of all colors, religions, genders and beliefs come
together at the same time around the world with a diversity of instruments,
voices and beliefs, a just reflection of the diversity of humans inhabiting
this beautiful planet right now, to play and sing into being a song which
reflects a shared vision of Paradise.
Can you envision it…. singing the reality of what is above into the reality
of what is here below…I know I can see it….
“Pepo, Pepo, Peponi
Pepo, Pepo, Peponi
Pepo, Pepo, Peponi
Oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh”
Please
Now
Credit
goes to The Piano Guys, Jon
Schmidt, cellist Steven Sharp Nelson, videographer Paul Anderson, and music
producer Al van der Beek and Alex Boye for inspiring me through music.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cgovv8jWETM
