I’m having fun talking writing

well well well what cannibals we are

No Fun and Games with Libby….

cos I couldn’t be there yesterday, because aside from my faltering career as the least-read blogger on the net, I am a dutiful mother, and duty called me to the imposing portals of the British Museum, that vast repository of the spoils of colonialism. Absolutely amazing, even with 16 children in tow – casting calls for Maria again? Still, it needed to be suitably immense to compensate for missing what must surely have been the social occasion of the year. Would love to hear/read about it!

While at the BM, decided would write a post about it, trying to stay in tune with the partying bloggers at least in spirit. One of the things that struck me most forcibly, and which I found very moving, was that evidently, for as long as human kind has been able to communicate, that has been of primary importance. Writing was invented 3000 years ago or so. This strange activity that I am engaged in now, has occupied others, just like me, back and back and back in time, typing, pens, quills, scribing on wax, carving on marble or limestone, painting on walls… whatever the technology, there’s been someone wanting to use it, and always for the same reasons, to tell the story, record the moment, share the reality of our existence, because somehow that makes it more real. One picture of an excavated burial chamber had several slabs from the walls hung beside it, each of them covered with the tiniest, most intense hieroglyphics; the urgency with which this man had wanted us to know about his life was palpable, even at such a distance of time, and with so much dislocation of the information. Only connect indeed.

I’ll stop there before I become an archaeological Patrick Moore, bless him. Just to say, if there’s anyone out there, have a fabulous Christmas, full of love and joy and peaceful moments. See you in the New Year!

Fun and games with Libby

Playing with tags, and I don’t mean the country cousins to categories…. look what came up for me!

Universe is fruit. Use.

Paradise Lost?

Homosexual reference?

OK. Fruit. Small, usually, as in easy to use, pace pineapples, a manageable few mouthfuls, not too big an investment of time, effort or culinary awareness. Actually also usually sweet, juicy, ie highly sensual. Except for bananas, but they have their own kind of sensual thing going on, and don’t pretend you don’t know what I mean. So far, so simple, and yet so rewarding.

And all this for free? From trees, that grow pretty much without cultivation, just rain, sunshine – OK, raspberry canes take some handling, but then they are worth it, and hey, it’s all relative.

If this is my instruction for the day, I’m v happy. I may even adopt it permanently. It reminds me of the essential gift of life which is simply – itself – and how amazing is that?

X

Time for some heavy dub, man

Far be it from me to give advice, chaps, but, inspired, as always, by the amazing Libby Davy and her Authentic Blogging sessions, a few things occurred to me on the drive home.

Lots of us are getting (me included) are either getting very cross about the lunacy we see around us, manifesting ever more nuttily every day, or else are sinking into despair, as the sheer unsustainability of such madness dawns on us. And celebrating the collapse of such a manifestly corrupt and unhappy system is a bit Pyrrhic; bit like the captain of the Titanic saying “Good thing if you ask me; crap design anyway”.

We need an exit strategy folks, and we aren’t going to find one while we are stuck in anger/despair – firstly, energetically they are soo negative, and they keep us connected to the very things we are upset about; secondly, they rob us of our own initiative and creative power: both rage and sorrow are reactions to what “they”/”it” have failed to do, for us, that we were expecting them to do, for us, which they haven’t done. We are no longer children – we have to make our own way in the world, and blaming “them” at some point has to stop, however justified/enjoyable it is, if we are to make progress.

This is no kind of prescription for how that progress is made, whether within the ‘system’ or outside it:whatever floats your boat. All I would say is that it’s worth remembering that everybody is doing their best, by their own lights. Even Rupert Murdoch. And that the path to peace is paved with love and understanding.

RFK – again

I’m sorry, I’m obviously having a real 60′s moment here but found this quote from the best President the USA never had, and I don’t mean Al Gore

Each time a person stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others — he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope. And crossing each other from a million different
centers of energy and daring, those ripples build a current that can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance.

— Robert Kennedy

Amen

Sharing findings

Liitle snippets thought might be interesting; first a quote from Robert F. Kennedy (he’d have been 82 years old today):

“The gross national product does not allow for the health of our children, the quality of their education, or the joy of their play. It does not include the beauty of our poetry or the strength of our marriages; the intelligence of our public debate or the integrity of our public officials. It measures neither our wit nor our courage; neither our wisdom nor our learning; neither our compassion nor our devotion to our country; it measures everything, in short, except that which makes life worthwhile.”

The other is from Amma, curiously from her birthday address:

Amma said that India should not gauge its success only in terms of economic power but, more importantly, in terms of education, compassion and culture. “Even if India becomes the greatest economic force in the world, if there are still scores of people starving or lacking proper education, what will be the use of such status? Our advancement should manifest as food for the hungry, homes for the homeless, upliftment of those from the lowest social strata and good spiritual culture amongst the people. Real advancement is the refinement and culture of the human mind. A cultured mind is one in which selfishness has been decreased—a mind that sees others as one’s own Self. That is culture. If that is achieved, material prosperity and peace will happen spontaneously.”

Great minds think alike indeed. Happy birthday to them both.

Who’s going to clean the toilets?

We are, that’s who, and no that’s not just a plaintive cry of cynical despair; after seeing this little film, www.globalonenessproject.org/video/Jayesh-Patel/1, which I implore you all to watch, with the Kleenex handy, you’ll not only be cleaning your own toilets but volunteering to clean your neighbours’.  Ideas are all very well, but it’s not til we start implementing them that things can happen.  Go see, he says it so much better than me.

Love ya!

keeping in touch

Just been rooting around in Leah’s blogroll, which is so incredible and dug out the Global Mindshift site. Really recommend you go there – found this: www.globalonenessproject.org which has on it the most mid-blowing film of a project in India…

Thanks Leah!

Education- ha!

Bit early in the morning for a rant, but woke up with a heart pickled like a walnut with fear, so a bit of anger should free me up a bit… In any case, HAVE YOU SEEN THIS? This is an educational unit at the end of Sainsbury’s, right after the check out. Omigod. That’s right, you park up your car, you drop off your kids for 45 minutes, you fill your trolley with plastic, pay for it with plastic and then collect your children, who’ve been swaddled in earphones and wired up to the monitors in your absence.

Am I alone in wanting to write in capitals, expletives, unfinished sentences about this? What is going on? I can’t even really articulate what it is about this that makes me so upset; it just seems so wrong, so wrong. My son who was with me – and acutely embarrassed at his incensed mother waving her phone around trying to get a shot of the monstrosity – suggested the marketing campaign for Sainsbury’s would get a filip years down the line from smirking adults thanking Sainsbury’s for giving them a headstart. He’s probably right.

Five years ago I joked that since the purpose of education has always been to fit the population for the purposes of its society and since our society is now founded on consumerism there would one day be primary schools with boards outside bearing the banner “Sponsored by Walmart”. Guess what, some schools are now in ‘partnership’ with the Coop….. I never imagined though that the supermarkets would go so far as to take education over so far as to offer it as yet another commodity, branded and packaged in their stores, alongside the duvets, teabags and Christmas decorations.

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