Sunday Scribblings #55 - Vision

Impossible.
She couldn't describe the flurry of images that only drew breath when she visited that mystical place in her mind.
And she didn't want to.
Nor must she.
Share them, that is.
Still, intriguing.
Such an unusually pleasing dream. Well, not really a dream. Because sleep is not necessary for this slide-show of fantasy.
A hallucination?
A delusionary trance?
Or illusionary whim?
Yes, definitely set apart from reality.
A vision.
A cocktail of real & imaginary.
That is best if shaken, not stirred.
A snow globe of distorted players, invented proceedings and exaggerated magical places.
Fertilized by a lack of gratification with reality.

Sunday Scribblings #54 - Happy Ending

The end is a starting point.
Is that your perspective?
A time of
lounging in
focus.
Dedication
to
locked in
spirit.
Odd
Work backwards.
Look behind
for
the map
to now!
You sure?
Completion
fuels
expansion.
Opportunity
for
metamorphosis.

It doesn't
have to
be
happy
at
the
end.
Joy
in
beginning.

Sunday Scribblings #53 - Guide

Funny that the topic for Sunday Scribblings this week is "Guide".

I've been reading this book that my mom gave me for my birthday (back in March) called "Me to We: Finding Meaning in a Material World".



It's funny that she bought this book for me, because when I taught Nia at The Union, I remember that staff from Save the Children, the organization behind the Me to We philosophy, was right across the street on Carlton (just west of Parliament), and a few staff came to dance with us.

In any case, the topic "guide" covers a lot of what Craig and Marc Kielburg are talking about in their book, Me to We: Finding Meaning in a Material World.

They suggest that helping others is beyond what we need for fulfillment in this lifetime.

To prove it, they cite various world religions Ethics of Reciprocity:

* Hinduism: "This is the sum of duty: do not to others what would cause pain if done to you." (Mahabaratha 5:1517)

* Taoism: "Regard your neighbor's gain as your own gain, and your neighbor's loss as your own loss." (T'ai Shang Kan Ying P'ien, 213-18)

* Native Spirituality: "We are as much alive as we keep the earth alive." (Chief Dan George)

* Buddhism: "Treat not others in ways that you yourself would find hurtful." (Udana-Varga 5.18)

* Islam: "Not one of you truly believes until you wish for others what you wish for yourself." (the Prophet Muhammad, Hadith)

* Judaism: "What is hateful to you, you do not do to your neighbor. THis is the whole Torah; all the rest is commentary." (hillel, Talmud, Shabbat 318)

* Christianity: "In everything, do to others as you wuld have them do to you; for this is the law and the prophets." (Jesus, Matthew 7:12)

* Sikhism: "I am a stranger to no one; and no one is a stranger to me. Indeed, I am a friend to all." (Guru Granth Sahib)

* Baha'i Faith: "Lay not on any soul a load that you would not wish to be laid upon you, and desire not for anyone the things you would not desire for yourself." (Bahu'u'liah, Gelanings)

* Jainism: "One should treat all creatures in the world as one would like to be treated." (Mahavira, Sutravitanga)

* Unitarianism: "We affirm and promote respect for hte interdependence of all existence of which we are a part."

* Zoroastrianism: "Do not unto others what is injurious to yourself." (Shayast-na-Shayast 13.29)


So, this is a good guide for life, yes?

To me, the guiding force is what keeps us on our path. And being fulfilled seems like a great way to maintain a forward-moving journey.

Thanks to these incredible young men who have influenced me through their "beyond-their-years" insights.

Sunday Scribblings #52 - My Nights

How long has it been that I've been remembering my nights?

A perfectly square Kodak memory of my twin sister and I huddled together in a arm chair is my first memory of night.
She in her Ernie hoodie, and me in my Bert hoodie were fan-clubbing a special Sesamie Street episode from the warmth of our togetherness.
Were were maybe 4 or 5 years old...

When I was about 6 years old, giant Holly Hobby's wallpapered around my room haunted my nights.
The magnitude of Holly and her clones came to life in my dreams and were too real for my little brain to handle.

Nearing the pre-teen years, there were the sleep-over nights.
Those times that we smoked newspaper "cigarettes" in the basement,
and then in the summertime snuck out of backyard tents and got caught by Mr. & Mrs. Doudiet.

When that got boring, there was the sneaking out at night to go to the donut shop,
put some money in the cigarette machine, and take a first stab at inhaling tar and nicotine.
Thank god that didn't last...

Then the nights of "I'm sleeping over at Lori Day's house" when really
there were rendez-vous in the making (as I recall, I did get caught for that!).
Thank god contraception was involved...

In my early 20s, the obsession with academic excellence filled my nights.
I'd fall asleep studying, hoping to solidify the day's learnings through my dreams.
Days turned into nights and studiousness was a full-time job...

In my late 20s and early 30s, the obsession with exercise robbed my nights.
I'd will myself to wake up at the prescribed 3 or 4 am (depending on the day).
Careful not to disturb my love,
I'd wear a stop watch with a day-glo light
That I could draw towards my near-blind eyes
to ensure that I wasn't cheating my body of precious work-out time.
Thank god that also didn't last.

And now, in my mid-30s.
My nights are filled a frenzy of work, email, face-booking and reading.

That, in combination with my sleep disorder (Peridodic Limb Movement Disorder) mean that my supine time (i.e., in bed) is not the most restful. And that is why I cannot sleep with my beloved,
and why we have now resorted to a Ward and June Cleaver type of sleeping arrangement.

My nights through the ages.
There they are.

Sunday Scribbling #51 - Curve/Curves

Among other things, I am a curve.



Curve
Blackberry
30 minute fItness centres
Linear regressions
Data plotted on a graph
Curve
Bell
Learning
The snowboarding S
Curve
Distributing information
Bent, deviating from being straight
Geometric arc
Part of a circle or sphere
Curve

cur·va·ceous adj
having an attractive body with rounded hips and breasts