Sands of Time

A while ago, I read a famous book called “The Prophet” by Kahlil Gibran (I think it was actually Shireen that bought me the book – once again another shining example of my sisters enlightened influence on me!)

In a nutshell, this book was written by the Lebanese poet, philosopher and artist, Kahlil. It regales the story where, in a distant, timeless place, a mysterious prophet walks the sands. At the moment of his departure, he wishes to offer the people gifts but possesses nothing. The people gather round, each asks a question of the heart, and the man's wisdom is his gift.

It is Gibran's gift to us. On the most basic topics--marriage, children, friendship, work, pleasure--his words have a power and lucidity that in another era would surely have provoked the description "divinely inspired." Free of dogma, free of power structures and metaphysics.

Over time, I will post chapters of his writings when I feel they are most relevant to me - with what is happening in my own life, in the lives of others close to me.

Talking of time, that is what I wanted to blog about. Lately I just feel like I am urging time on, looking to the imminent months ahead, becoming impatient at time. I feel like a child sitting under the Christmas tree, staring at my presents, willing time to hurry up so that I may open them! So, I read this passage again, and I feel more relaxed and at ease. Time is really quite irrelevant, when you think that is only really a measurement of sorts, created by man to explain, justify and live out and our existence.

I always tend to overuse the expressions “Only time will tell” or “Everything and/or everyone in their own time”, but we are all on our own paths, walking along with our own clocks, which tick and tock to the individual rhythms of our own spirits. In essence I believe we will all reach the places we are meant to reach, meet the people we are meant to meet, and live the life we choose to lead, all in our own space and time. Time that is ours…making our time, timeless.

This is what Kahlil has to say about Time…

“ On Time

And an astronomer said, "Master, what of Time?"

And he answered: You would measure time the measureless and the immeasurable.

You would adjust your conduct and even direct the course of your spirit according to hours and seasons.
Of time you would make a stream upon whose bank you would sit and watch its flowing.

Yet the timeless in you is aware of life's timelessness,
And knows that yesterday is but today's memory and tomorrow is today's dream.
And that that which sings and contemplates in you is still dwelling within the bounds of that first moment which scattered the stars into space.

Who among you does not feel that his power to love is boundless?
And yet who does not feel that very love, though boundless, encompassed within the centre of his being, and moving not form love thought to love thought, nor from love deeds to other love deeds?
And is not time even as love is, undivided and paceless?

But if in you thought you must measure time into seasons, let each season encircle all the other seasons,
And let today embrace the past with remembrance and the future with longing.”

Timeless Peace, Love and Happiness
Orangeblossom xxx

To Stir Or Not To Stir

Well it only took me five days to write up a posting about last weekend – I have been in “recovery” mode. But I was also waiting for my photos to be developed, even though I know that photos can never truly justify an experience or moment. So you will just have to take my word for it!

So let’s start from the beginning. I arrived in London on Friday evening and met Jo at Baker Street and we headed up to Shazz’s house. We just mellowed out there until Shazz and Justin (who I hadn’t seen since New York two and a half years ago) arrived. We then went out to Brick Lane in the East End. The evening was warm and mild and there were so many people on the street outside 1001 Café that it looked and sounded like a street festival was on.

We met up with Shelly and Kerry upstairs (it was like a New York reunion of sorts!) and stayed for a few hours. We didn’t do an all nighter, as we were preparing ourselves for Saturday night. Upon waking on Saturday morning (after sleeping on the biggest bed I have ever been on!! Seriously it was like a King and Queen put together!), we were entertained by Shazz’s flatmate Nathan and his friend. They had just come back from a night out in Willesden, so needless to say there were pretty mashed. Shazz made us breakfast in bed and we chilled out there until Jo arrived and then we started getting Shazz’s bags together (as she has taken up care work outside of London) and got a cab down to Jo’s place near Canada Water/Surrey
Quays. Pic below of us by the water.

Justin and Shazz then trekked to Camden, while Jo and I lazed at home and attempted to watch The Fifth Element, but we passed out before halfway. I made us dinner, then we got dressed, were joined by Jo’s mate Craig and made our way to Vauxhall (where we met up with Bryony and Mariano). Finding our way to Stir, we entered the Renaissance Rooms. Ill let you read the review:

“Psy Trance and Breaks two of the fastest-growing underground dance music scenes in the UK are set to merge at STIR the new night from a joint venture by Nano records and Breaksday. STIR follows on from the successful merging of the Breaks and Trance crowds at last summers festivals creating an indoor festival vibe, with two banging dance rooms supported by 2 other tripped-out areas, plus an outdoor chill, chai café, markets and lots of colourful nutters for a pre summer hit of festival feeling. There’s not been anything like it before... Make sure you can say you were there for the first one.”

Now to those that are new to the trance music/party/festivals, it is difficult to define or explain what it is, but this guy wraps it up pretty well:

“I think it’s misunderstood, it’s certainly not easily accessible music - you have got to be in the right frame of mind and that can be challenging,” he suggested, “But like so many things that are acquired tastes, once you get it, you’ve got it and it has long lasting rewards. Another great thing about psy-trance is that the people who are into it are some of the friendliest, most creative people on the planet.”

Happy, Shiny People!!

Anyway….yes so the night kicked off, the rooms were all amazing and the music was trancetastic! We ended up staying in one room, mostly, with us drifting to different rooms and outside. The vibe was really comfortable and not invasive. People just going about doing their own thing, chilling out, chatting, dancing, wandering.



Pics (from left to right): Jo and Shazz ripping up the dance floor. Mariono, Jo and Justin. Mariono, Me and Justin. Byrony, Jo and Me.

We ended up staying until 5am, by the dawn had broken. Shazz, Byrony and Justin took a cab home. Jo and Mariono stayed on. Which left Craig and I to make our way back to Surrey Quays. Now I had printed off a TFL (Transport for London) itinerary earlier in the day, so that we would know which night buses to take. So off Craig and I head on our merry way home, we manage to get two buses to get us to Parliament Square where we had to catch another bus to get us home. That was the plan. Of course, plans rarely go to to plan. So instead of walking all the way round the square to find our bus, we flagged down two lady police offers to guide us the way. Which they did…over the bridge to Waterloo. But hey, I got to see Big Ben and the London Eye on our way – Craig did say we would be doing some sightseeing! So we are standing by the bus stop waiting for about 30 minutes, when we see the bus we want heading in the opposite direction. So off we trot down to Waterloo station, wander along there for a further 30 minutes. Then we see the bus we want, hop on it, head upstairs and rest. About 5 minutes later the bus stops and everyone gets off – but we were in the centre of London – we had got the right bus, just not the right direction!!! So we walk aimlessly for about 10 minutes until we get to Tottencourt Road. By this time we had had enough. And I had run out of change for the bus. So we went into some café and grabbed a juice (which got us going for a few more metres) and finally Craig saw a bus that would take us to Surrey Quays. Which we did and we walked back to Jo’s – finally arriving back at 7am. Two hours later!! Our own little mini adventure! I made us a cup of good ol Rooibos tea and we sat outside, chatting and listening to the birdies chirp their morning tunes.

Jo arrived back soon after and I showered and then headed to meet my “ex” boss from South Africa at her hotel near Hyde Park. By this time I am running purely on ovetiredness – auto pilot mode. We go to Camden and I showed Ann all the crazy, weird and wonderful sights, people and markets. We had a yummy Thai vegetable curry lunch and then I took Ann back to her hotel. From then I just missioned back to Jo’s and arrived just in time – because my feet were about to fall off and I was going to burst into tears because I was soooo tired (29 hours straight, no sleep) and my brain felt like it was all dryed up and I was going delusional!! After a 3 hour nap, I trekked to Euston to jump on the train back to Coventry.

That night and Monday and Tuesday I was pretty knackered and getting ill – nothing an overdose of Vitamin C wouldn’t cure! But it was all worth it.

And that is the just of my weekend – now I am going to hibernate and relax this weekend!

Ta da !!

Love Orangeblossom xxx

The Truth about Cat and Dogs

My precious fairy, Lobelia, sent me these gorgeous pictures a while back. And I thought I would also include some rather agreeable quotes I found on the species of the animal kingdom. Ok I know I may have displayed my affections for cats so obviously, but I did include other animals too!

Oh and the kitty cat in the clothes hanger is actually my cat, Shandy, who has now joined his brother, Oscar, in Cat Heaven.



“Animals are such agreeable friends - they ask no questions, they pass no criticisms” ~ George Eliot

“The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.” ~ Mahatma Gandhi

“If we treated everyone we meet with the same affection we bestow upon our favorite cat, they, too, would purr.” ~ Martin Delany

“Man is the only animal for whom his own existence is a problem which he has to solve.” – Erich Fromm

“Ever consider what pets must think of us? I mean, here we come back from a grocery store with the most amazing haul - chicken, pork, half a cow. They must think we're the greatest hunters on earth!” ~Anne Tyler, The Accidental Tourist

“Lots of people talk to animals.... Not very many listen, though.... That's the problem.” ~Benjamin Hoff, The Tao of Pooh

Earth from the Air

Hello all you wonderful earthling dwellers!

I have come across a most awesome website (well actually I was given the 2006 diary and saw the amazing pictures and startling facts about the Earth we all inhabit) and thought I would share it with you.

You can have a closer look on www.earthfromtheair.com

I did send this via email a few months ago – but I feel I should Blog it too!

Please take time to read the literature as well (I know it looks lengthy, but it's worth it!), and not just the pretty pictures! It puts things and life in perspective and I think that after reading all the facts, figures and statistics, you might find yourself appreciating your own life and blessings in a new light.

Sometimes we get so wrapped up in our own chaotic lives and worlds, we tend to forget that most of the people in the world are not as lucky as we are. We also don’t appreciate the beautiful planet we live on as often as we should or would like to.

Love the Tree Hugging Wannabee OB xxx

Earth from Air Exhibition – by Yann Arthus-Bertrand

“Our Earth is art, the photographer is only the witness.”

Some facts: how people are living in the world today
This Exhibition presents of aerial photographs show the astonishing beauty of natural and man-made landscapes. Closer up there is a starker reality… illustrated by some facts about humanity at the start of the new millennium:

· If the Earth had formed a year ago, on January 1st, life would have appeared on February 26th, dinosaurs would have arrived on December 10th to vanish 16 days later, and Homo sapiens sapiens would only have showed up very late on December 31st. A few minutes later, in less than a second, he would have drastically altered the fragile balance between land, seas and atmosphere.

· In the last century, the population of our planet has been multiplied by 3, the world fresh water consumption by 6.
· 20 % of the world population lacks access to improved water supplies.
· 20% of the world population living in the richest countries consume 60% of commercial energy.
· 40% of the world population does not have access to electricity.
· World population :1800 : 1 billion1960 : 3 billion (30% urban)2000 : 6 billion2050 : 9 billion (70% urban) projected
· Every week, more than 1 million people are added to the urban population in the world.
· The amount of oil consumed in 6 weeks, half of which is used in transportation, would have lasted 1 year in 1950.
· The decade of the 1990’s was the warmest since 1861.
· Half of humanity lives on less than $2 (£1.15) (AU$2.80) (R12.55) a day.
· Total world military expenditure : $798 billion (£457 billion)
· Official Development Assistance : $53.7 billion (£30.8 billion)
· In industrial countries, the volume of garbage generated per inhabitant has tripled in the last 20 years.
· World available reserves of fresh water :in 1950 : 600,372 cubic feet per capitain 2000 : 275,465 cubic feet per capita
· 826 million people are under-nourished in the world.
· 11 of the 15 major fishing zones in the world are in decline today.
· One out of five adults is unable to either read or write ; 98% of them are in developing countries and 66% of them are women.
· Average temperature has increased by 0.6 °C in the last century; it could increase by2 to 6 °C over the next 100 years.
· CO2 releases due to human activities are responsible for over 60% of the increase in greenhouse effect.
· The average thickness of the Arctic ice field has dropped from 3.12 m in the 1960s to 1.8 m in the 1990s.
· During this century, ocean levels should go up by 50 cm *5 . Holland could see 6% of its lands disappear under water, and Bangladesh, 17%. The evacuation of the Tuvalu archipelago in Micronesia has already started.
· The frequency of climate related natural catastrophes has more than doubled between the 1970s and the 1990s.
· From the 1980s to the 1990s, the number of people affected by natural catastrophes has increased by 50%, and the related costs have multiplied by 10.
· The death toll of a natural catastrophe is 47 times greater in developing countries than in rich developed nations.
· Every year, there are 15000 to 20000 casualties due to antipersonnel land mines and other unexploded devices.
· Throughout the world, over 300,000 children, both boys and girls, are soldiers. Many of them aren’t even 10 years old.
· Over the last 10 years, public aids to development have dropped by 29%.
· On average, an American draws 600 litres of water per day, a European, 250, an African, 30.
· 80 countries, accounting for 40% of world population, suffer from serious water shortage.
· 70 % of fresh water are used to irrigate cultivated farmland.
· A third of the world landmass suffers from desertification.
· In developing countries, 80% of farmers do not need to alter their production methods to be certified organic.
· The making of a personal computer necessitates 8 to 14 tons of non-renewable raw materials.
· In the course of his or her life, a child born in an industrialised country will consume more and generate more pollution than 30 to 50 children born in a developing country.
· 40 million people die of starvation every year in a world that produces 356 kilos of cereals per person.
· The food industry spends $40 billion a year in advertising. Children are the first victims: 10% to 30 % of children in developed countries suffer from overweight. At the same time, 500,000 children throughout the world become blind each year for lack of vitamin A.
· At harvesting time in Kenya, 30% of coffee pickers are children.
· The sales of fair trade products in Europe are going up, but they account at best for 3.5% of purchases on their leading product – coffee.
· 600 million people throughout the world live in the insalubrious shantytowns around big cities.
· Some 140 countries out of 200 worldwide now hold pluralistic elections.This is more than at any other time in History. However, 82 countries only, accounting for 57% of world population, are fully democratic.
· Nowadays, dire famines only appear where there is no democracy.

Amazing Art Work

Just thought I would place these amazingly different pieces of art on my blog (thanks to Lobelia fairy!)

They are awesome - great to place is some frames, something different.

OB xxx

Soldier of Africa

My sister, Shireen, sent me an email this week, which included info on OCHA (the UN Office for the Coordination Humanitarian Affairs). I have researched OCHA and other NGO’s as part of my Disaster Management research. It is not just the amazing efforts by these organizations that strengthen the response to both complex emergencies and natural disasters. But by the soldiers on the ground, from all over the world, united as one movement to help aid those in need.

Werner is a South African soldier, working as an infantry captain and is also a UN/AU military observer in Darfur, Sudan. Please check out his blog “Soldier of Africa”

http://rsasoldier.blogspot.com/

His pictures are truly amazing and heartbreaking. It really puts the truth of the situation into perspective.

My admiration and awe at people like Werner cannot be fully expressed in words, and I hope one day (after I finish my degree) I can join in their league of people doing extraordinary things. Like Werner says in his blog: “This is my world and I could not imagine doing anything else”.

It’s simply...a calling.

PEACE, love and safe travels (esp to Werner!)
Orangeblossom

Shiny Happy People

After my last blog of unhappiness, I thought I’d balance it out with a blog of happiness!

What is the definition of happiness anyway? It is probably impossible to objectively define happiness as we know and understand it.

Here are some happiness quotes and some happy thoughts:

“True happiness is not attained through self-gratification, but through fidelity to a worthy purpose.” - by Helen Keller

“Happiness is man's greatest aim in life. Tranquility and rationality are the cornerstones of happiness.” - the meaning of happiness according to Epicurus

“A happy person is not a person in a certain set of circumstances, but rather a person with a certain set of attitudes.” - by Hugh Downs

“Happiness is the meaning and the purpose of life, the whole aim and end of human existence.” - by Aristotle

"If you want happiness for an hour -- take a nap.
If you want happiness for a day -- go fishing.
If you want happiness for a month -- get married.
If you want happiness for a year -- inherit a fortune.
If you want happiness for a lifetime -- help someone else.” - Chinese proverb

"Until you make peace with who you are, you'll never be content with what you have." – by Doris Mortman

There is also Positive Psychology in happiness or doing things that make you and others happy. Martin Seligman in his book Authentic Happiness gives the positive psychology definition of happiness as consisting of both positive emotions (like comfort) and positive activities (like absorption).

He presents three categories of positive emotions:

past: feelings of satisfaction, contentment, pride, and serenity.
present (examples): enjoying the taste of food, glee at listening to music, absorption in reading, and company of people you like e.g. friends and family.
future: feelings of optimism, hope, trust, faith, and confidence.

There are three categories of present positive emotions:

bodily pleasures, e.g. enjoying the taste of food.
higher pleasures, e.g. glee at listening to music.
gratifications, e.g. absorption in reading.


There are so many ways to find happiness. What makes you happy? What brings you happiness?

I will leave with a song from REM that automatically popped in my head when I wrote the subject line.

Shiny Happy People – by R.E.M

Shiny happy people laughing
Meet me in the crowd
People people
Throw your love around
Love me love me
Take it into town
Happy happy
Put it in the ground
Where the flowers grow
Gold and silver shine
Shiny happy people holding hands
Shiny happy people laughing
Everyone around love them, love them
Put it in your hands
Take it take it
There's no time to cry
Happy happy
Put it in your heart
Where tomorrow shines
Gold and silver shine
Shiny happy people holding hands
Shiny happy people laughing

Peace, love and HAPPINESS
Orangeblossom xxx

Zuma Circus

On the way to work today, I picked up the Metro newspaper andfound myself looking at the laughing face of Jacob Zuma after the not guilty verdict was read out. Then I saw pictures of his fanatical and die hard supporters, cheering him on. I need to vent out my anger, frustration, and arrrgrrgrggrrrrgggg!!!

As a fellow South African, I can say that it is indeed a sad day for South African politics and the nation. How can a man who faces corruption charges, be reinstated as deputy president of the ANC. It’s shocking. And how can he placed in such a high position of power, when he is not even educated in the basic prevention of Aids. He is living in a country with the highest rate of AIDS infection in the world - yet he is so ignorant and arrogant about the fact that he had unprotected sex with a women with Aids and thought he would "wash himself clean" in the shower! Where is his logic? Where is his common sense? And this coming from a man set to be the next president.

There will never be fair justice in South Africa for the politicians that continue to corrupt and be corrupted. He may have been found innocent of rape charges, but what next? Now all his supporters will use this verdict as a campaign to ‘prove’ that Zuma is the man to take the next presidency. Where is the logic and common sense of these people – seriously if they can support a man who is still facing corruption charges - corruption of the very people he claims to ‘love and would die for’. It’s a joke.

Not to mention that its the tax payers who gets to foot his entourage of lawyers' bills for both cases. Good to see our nations money is being so well spent not by the politicians, but FOR the politicians.

I saw a documentary on channel 4 last week about the appalling conditions in Kenya. In one scene you saw almost a million people living on the biggest rubbish dump in the world, trying to exist in a country that will not even acknowledge their existence. Then in the next scene you see the ministers of Kenya all decked out in suits outside the parliament, driving away in the latest Mercedes Benz’s.

The investigator made such a startlingly accurate observations that if the African leaders would get over their insatiable lust for money and power, only then will the African people they ‘serve’ be truly served.

I vented my anger on the www.bbc.co.uk/news website and found these comments from people all over the world.

“What saddens me more than anything about not only the trial itself but also the circus that surrounded it (both media and various groups) trivialised not only the right to due process but also the courts ruling in this regard. This trail (circus) has set womens' rights in South Africa back 20 years, and any good that had so far been done in terms of educating the masses about HIV/AIDS and rape is now laid to waste.”

“What i can´t find an answer to yet,is this educated leaders who are suppose to bring about changes, goes about having unprotected sex and enriching themselves with public funds.”

“Guilty or not guilty, the whole episode is a serious indictment to Africa. We have leaders who say one thing and practice another. What makes this whole saga sickening is the fact that we have gullible men and women who blindly follow leaders just because they are from the same tribe. Zuma is morally dispicable and has shown a weaknesses that are unbecoming of a future leader. Zuma's supporters have nothing whatsoever to celebrate. With leaders of Zuma's calibre, South is headed for disaster. Just look to the north of Limpompo to see what a reckless leadership can do to a country.”

“Just a thought. If the complainant has to go into exile what will happen to the judge who takes the corruption case should he not rule in Zuma's favour.”

“Its a sad day for SA. Being black, I had hoped that we could have shown we are not like the rest of Africa, where power means you can do what you feel like and get away with it. Anyone with some common sense know what Zuma is, powercrazed and corrupt. I'm sure he'll be freed of the corruption charges even if anyone can see that his earnings could never pay for his lifestyle and property buys.Sadly the masses are easaly led and education is lacking, this makes it easy to corrupt these people.Now I can only see SA go the way of Zimbabwe - shame on us.”

“As a South African living abroad I felt this trail a least brought to light the evidence that he is not fit to be deputy or ever president. His poor knowledge of Aids , something that is affecting millions is unacceptable!”

Balance, Love and Life

I feel I have been neglecting my little blog, but I guess I have just been feeling ‘not with it’ for the last couple of days. Like my mom always said “If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say it at all.” I have just been having days when I am frustrated, irritated, anxious – and even more annoyed because I cannot pinpoint the exact reason why I am feeling like this…arrgg!! Ok breathe…no its all good. Ups and downs. Highs and lows. Such is the cycle of life.

But anyway so I figured I would just try to stop analysing people and situations, because it was just creating negative energy around me.

It seems like a lot of my friends are going through a bit of an emotional time right now. And even though you try to give them the best advice or motivation, they just can’t see past their pain and confusion. You just want to cocoon them in a bubble of love and warmth and tell them that everything will be alright. Everything will work out for the best. Then there is the reversal of this, like when friends fall hopelessly in love, and they tend to neglect their friends and consume all their time with a partner. I know they don’t do this intentionally, but still you can’t help but feel slightly brushed aside. Balance. I guess we all need a bit of balance in life, and I am trying to consciously be aware of that in what I do and also with who I am and around.

Anyway my good friend, Lee-ann, sent me this passage from Kent Nerburn’s “Letters to My Son” and I thought it was so beautifully expressed and written. And I thought I would share it too. It is titled “Falling in Love” but I think it applies to other relationships, friendships and life experiences as well.

***

Falling In Love

It is a mystery why we fall in love. It is a mystery how it happens. It is a mystery when it comes. It is a mystery why some love grows and it is a mystery why some love fails.

You can analyze this mystery and look for reasons and causes, but you will never do anymore than take the life out of the experience.

Just as life itself is more than the sum of the bones and muscles and electrical impulses in the body, love is more than the sum of the interests and attractions and commonalities that two people share.
And just as life is a gift that comes and goes in its own time, so too, the coming of love must be taken as an unfathomable gift that cannot be questioned in its ways.

Sometimes, hopefully at least once in your life - the gift of love will come to you in full flower, and you will take hold of it and celebrate it in all inexpressible beauty. This is the dream we all share.

More often, it will come and take hold of you, celebrate you for a brief moment, then move on.

When this happens to young people, they too often try to grasp the love and hold it to them, refusing to see that it is gift that is freely given and a gift that just as freely, moves away.

When they fall out of love, or the person they love feels the spirit of love leaving, they try desperately to reclaim the love that is lost rather than accepting the gift for what it was, then moving on.

They want answers where there are no answers. They want to know what is wrong in them that makes the other person no longer love them, or they try to get their lover to change, thinking that if some small things were different, love would bloom again.

They blame their circumstances and say that if they go far away and start a new life together, their love will grow.

They try anything to give meaning to what happened. But there is no meaning beyond the love itself, and until they accept its own mysterious ways, they live in a sea of misery.

You need to know this about love, and to accept it. You need to treat what it brings you with kindness.
If you find yourself in love with someone who does not love you, be gentle with yourself. There is nothing wrong with you. Love just didn't choose to rest in the other person's heart.

If you find someone else in love with you and you don't love her, feel honoured that love came and called at your door, but gently refuse the gift you cannot return. Do not take advantage, do not cause pain.

How you deal with love is how you deal with you, and all our hearts feel the same pains and joys, even if our lives and ways are different.

If you fall in love with another, and she falls in love with you, and then love chooses to leave, do not try to reclaim it or to assess blame. Let it go. There is a reason and there is a meaning. You will know in time.

Remember that you don't choose love. Love chooses you. All you can really do is accept it for all its mystery when it comes into your life. Feel the way it fills you to overflowing, then reach out and give it away.

Give it back to the person who brought it alive in you. Give it to others who deem it poor in spirit. Give it to the world around you in anyway you can. This is where many lovers go wrong. Having been so long without love, they understand love only as a need. They see their hearts as empty places that will be filled by love, and they begin to look at love as something that flows to them rather than from them.

The first blush of new love is filled to overflowing, but as their love cools, they revert to seeing their love as a need. They cease to be someone who generates love and instead becomes someone who seeks love. They forget that the secret of love is that it is a gift, and that it can be made to grow only by giving it away..

Remember this, and keep it to your heart. Love has its own time, its own seasons, and its own reasons for coming and going. You cannot bribe it or coerce it, or reason it into staying. You can only embrace it when it arrives and give it away when it comes to you. But if it choose to leave from your heart or from the heart of your lover, there is nothing you can do and there is nothing you should do.

Love always has been and always will be a mystery. Be glad that it came to live for a moment in your life.
If you keep your heart open, it will come again.

***

Love and Balance!
Orangeblossom xxx

My Matrix May Day May Day

Another long weekend come and gone, this one seemed to escape quicker than the others though.

I was blessed to have Jo and Sharon visit me in Coventry this weekend – how wonderful! We spent our days lazing and grazing in Memorial Park chatting to each other and listening to the birds singing their own songs. We roamed a bit around the cathedral and cathedral ruins – then went to this Spirit Fair in the church – it was refreshing to see Christianity mixing and merging with other holistic and alternative spiritualities.

Looking back on my weekend, there was a theme that kept running and resurfacing through, and I am not sure how to delve into the topic, so I will do as I usual do and just let the words flow onto the pages in whatever random order they wish.

Rebirth.

Rebirth or resurrection or awakening or whatever you may call it. Seeing something or someone for the first time in all its truth, even though it was right in front of you the whole time.

It’s like you don’t often fully appreciate the freedom that most of us have had since our childhood. Until we reach a certain age, we are dependant on our parents for nutrition, clothing, safety and love. When we start developing our own personalities, our own curiosities and our own opinions, our parents allow us to explore all these different things. We are allowed to fall, so that we can teach ourselves to rise. We are allowed to hurt, so that we can teach ourselves to heal. We are allowed to play, so that we can learn the importance of connecting with others and ourselves.

I guess sometimes our parents never full explain themselves in the way that we would understand. This is no fault of their own, they are just trying to do the best for their children. As adults and we think about some of the things our parents taught us, suddenly make sense and we can laugh about it, or cry about it, and most importantly appreciate it.

So what happens when you have not had freedom in your life? What we call freedom, could be another persons prison.

Which ‘world’ is the right world to exist in. The West and East continue to fight about this debate today. The West sees their world as one of freedom of expression and speech, democracy, just and full of opportunity. The East sees their world as one of tradition, spirit, discipline and faith. Both East and West see each other’s worlds as suppressing, controlling, corrupt, and faithless.

What is comes down to, is that everyone should be allowed the freedom…of choice.

And when you come across another that has not been able to share in this gift, you are astounded as first, but then a sense of deep sadness overcomes you. Ignorance is, indeed, bliss. We see it on tv, but it remains an image on a screen, it does not become real because the reality of it would overwhelm us too greatly. When it does become a reality – your reality – then it sets off little alarm bells in your head. You are taken back in time to your memories to reflect, remember and appreciate the good in your life.

I saw the Matrix again last night, and every time I see it, I see it in a new light. On a literal level, it seems quite straightforward. But scratch the surface, free your mind, and you will discover that the Matrix is like a metaphor for the world we live in. The Wachowski brothers probably scribbled a little P.S. note when they finished the script saying: “THINK FOR A MOMENT ABOUT YOUR EXISTENCE. What is the Matrix, you ask? Something that's closer to reality than you think.”

One of my favorite verbal exchanges is between arch enemies and nemesis’s Agent Smith and Neo when they are finally having the fight that will end all fights.

Agent Smith: Why, Mr. Anderson? Why do you do it? Why get up? Why keep fighting? Do you believe you're fighting for something? For more that your survival? Can you tell me what it is? Do you even know? Is it freedom? Or truth? Perhaps peace? Yes? No? Could it be for love? Illusions, Mr. Anderson. Vagaries of perception. The temporary constructs of a feeble human intellect trying desperately to justify an existence that is without meaning or purpose. And all of them as artificial as the Matrix itself, although only a human mind could invent something as insipid as love. You must be able to see it, Mr. Anderson. You must know it by now. You can't win. It's pointless to keep fighting. Why, Mr. Anderson? Why? Why do you persist?

Neo: Because I choose to.

So I will end this rambling of thoughts with something from Mother Teresa:

Life is an opportunity, benefit from it.
Life is a beauty, admire it.
Life is a dream, realize it.
Life is a challenge, meet it.
Life is a duty, complete it.
Life is a game, play it.
Life is a promise, fulfill it.
Life is sorrow, overcome it.
Life is a song, sing it.
Life is a struggle, accept it.
Life is a tragedy, confront it.
Life is an adventure, dare it.
Life is luck, make it.
Life is life, fight for it.

Then there are days when I feel that sometimes we need to stop analyzing the past …stop planning the future…stop trying to figure out precisely how we feel…stop deciding with our mind what we want our heart to feel and sometimes we just have to go with "whatever happens…happens".

How I love contradiction !!

Thanks Dimple Boffin and Lobelia for another inspiring and energetically, spirit fused weekend!

Peace, love and safe travels
Orangeblossom xxx