One day while in my dorm in college, I, Elizabeth Richie, did something I very, very rarely did. I turned on my roommate’s television. I don’t really know what possessed me! I should have been studying. But I became hooked! What appeared on my screen was the BBC’s production of War and Peace, by Leo Tolstoy. I was in for a sumptuous and thoughtful treat!
A 1972 British television dramatization of Tolstoy’s 1869 novel, this 20-episode series was “an epic story of love and loss set against the backdrop of the Napoleonic Wars.” It took place in the glory days of imperial Russia, when royalty ruled the roost all across Europe and the British Isles.
Anthony Hopkins played the lead role as Pierre Bezukhov, the illegitimate son of one of the wealthiest men in Russia, who had died prematurely. Hopkins played this role masterfully.
Today Pierre, the character, might have been described as a “True Seeker”. He floundered around amidst Russian society wondering what it was all about. He was the brunt of jokes and a good ole boy who liked to drink his share but did not have much of a way with women.
Pierre was awkward, a misfit, kind but clumsy- always fumbling with his glasses. But when he met some wise gentleman –or even a wise farmer who was able to shed some light on the “meaning of life,” Pierre was all in!
While his friends and relatives were focused on the ins and outs and intricacies of the aristocratic lifestyle, on who should marry whom and inherit what– and when the next scandal might occur—Pierre sought to understand how to achieve true happiness.
The women in this era of “nobility” were focused on family, children and what to wear to the next ball or dinner party and who was the most eligible bachelor. Serving in the military was the obsession of most of the men or finding a way to become wealthier. Their uniforms were top notch!
Napoleon’s obsession was to unite Europe (or so some say) while the royalty of the rest of Europe was determined to defeat him, which they did!
That’s it in a nutshell! (Ooops. Did I mention I identified with Pierre?)
I will always have a soft spot in my heart for War and Peace especially when there is snow on the ground. I read the actual book while I snuggled in a blanket beside a wood stove after moving into our new house in West Virginia. (1985?) We had moved out of our little stone cottage and I was pregnant and my husband, a teacher, had taken a job in the local high school.
The BBC’s filmed superb reproduction of Napoleon’s disastrous winter retreat south from Moscow to Paris, in which thousands of men marched through a freezing “scorched earth” corridor that had already been picked clean of food—it chills the human soul!
The irony of it is… I have to ask, What has really changed? People across the earth are still used like cannon fodder by their so-called “rulers”.
There MUST be a solution! So here are lyrics to a song I’ve written to encourage Peace, not War! Pierre, this one’s for you! It’s called “Emanation.” The main theme is that humans are ONE with the ONE Holy, Sacred source we call, for lack of a better word, “God”.
I do not worship idols, I do not worship Fame!
But I acknowledge the Nameless One, who has 10,000 Names…
God is Love and Love is God, by Gad they’re both the Same!
Arise, Arise, Embrace Love and Bring about the Change!
Oh! We are the Emanation, the Emanation, the Emanation!
Oh! We are the Emanation, the Emanation of the Holy ONE!
God’s in me and God’s in you, Believe it, like it or not.
If you’ve tasted the Fire of Love, then you have dwelt with God.
Love’s Fire can burn, Love’s Fire can churn in each and every Soul!
Ignite, Ignite, Be of the Fire—This is humanity’s goal!
Oh! We are the Emanation, the Emanation, The Emanation!
Oh! We are the Emanation, The Emanation of the Holy ONE!
Fan the Flames of the Fire of Love, ignite the Fire in You!
Adore, Adore the Fire of Love, LET YOUR HEART GUIDE YOU!
Hindu, Moslem, Christian, Jew, Black, Pink, White or Blue!
Arise, Arise, you are the ONES; THIS IS YOURS TO DO!
THIS IS YOURS TO DO!
Written by Elixabeth Richie, AKA Du’Tsu
