November's virtue: calm

Following on from last month's post about the Virtuescope, I come to this month's word, which is calm. There is an affirmation that goes with it:

"I remain steady in the midst of complexity and sure at times of unease."

It couldn't be more appropriate for this month, as I find myself challenged with demanding deadlines on the workfront combined with moving house! Could I make my life any more complicated? So, I will remember to breathe, and to have faith that everything will work out.

I am quite a contradiction when it comes to calm. People think of me as a very calm person and I am good in a crisis (I don't freeze up - just get on with things) and yet I jump out of my skin very easily (!) It is a little embarrassing - as I scream when the doorbell goes sometimes, scaring off the postman. Someone told me it was a signature for phosphorus - and that kind of makes sense.

Are you a calm person? Is your life calm - or could it be calmer? Are you good in a crsis?

Just a thought...

How would it be.....

I mean, how would you feel....

if life was fair ?

Feeling creative?

Take a look at Artsparktheatre , who challenges you to: "Finish the caption and reveal what Anthony sees by November 10 ". Here's what I came up with.

Anthony was amazed when he looked out the window and observed... a total eclipse of the sun!

Night swimming

A track came up on my ipod shuffle today – and I just thought what a beautiful poem/song. So I'm sharing it with you today. It conjures up the carefree days of youth, spontaneity and fun. What things do you remember doing when you were younger? Why don't you do them now?

Here is the song, it's by REM.

Nightswimming deserves a quiet night.
The photograph on the dashboard, taken years ago,
turned around backwards so the windshield shows.
Every streetlight reveals the picture in reverse.
Still, it's so much clearer.
I forgot my shirt at the water's edge.
The moon is low tonight.

Nightswimming deserves a quiet night.
I'm not sure all these people understand.
It's not like years ago,
The fear of getting caught,
of recklessness and water.
They cannot see me naked.
These things, they go away,
replaced by everyday.

Nightswimming, remembering that night.
September's coming soon.
I'm pining for the moon.
And what if there were two
Side by side in orbit
Around the fairest sun?
That bright, tight forever drum
could not describe nightswimming.

You, I thought I knew you.
You I cannot judge.
You, I thought you knew me,
this one laughing quietly underneath my breath.
Nightswimming.

The photograph reflects,
every streetlight a reminder.
Nightswimming deserves a quiet night, deserves a quiet night.

I also think that the writer is having a bit of a joke, with the line 'I'm pining for the moon, and what if there were two side by side in orbit around the fairest sun' – makes me think of 'mooning', you know the naked bum salute!! Still, I think this song is fab!

Image courtesy of freefoto.com

My first Kea ! ... and a Moa??

Today we went up to Arthur's Pass and I met my very first Kea. Isn't she beautiful? I have always wanted to see these cheeky birds, which are found only in New Zealand. They also happen to be the world's only mountain parrot – and the most intelligent bird species. Some have even claimed that Kea are the world's cleverest animal (after humans, although I don't think humans are that smart - look at what we are doing to the planet with climate change!)

When monkeys and kea have been presented with the same complex puzzle, where they have to work out several locks and mechanisms in order to release a tasty treat, the keas outdo the monkeys – and they don't even have hands! Instead they use their long sharp beaks to untie knots and lift up levers, and their extra smart brains to figure out the best way of getting to the reward. Often, researchers have to think very carefully how to devise a 'test' for them because they will think laterally and so 'cheat' to get the reward in a way that the researcher didn't think of! They also work in groups to get the prize - now that is smart. Have a look at this video and watch (at 1.24) how one kea pulls on the string so that the other two can eat the food.

While we were up at Arthur's Pass we also caught sight of an incredibly rare creature. We had thought that the moa was extinct. These prehistoric flesh-eating birds (even larger than an ostrich) roamed New Zealand in the days before the Maori came here. It has always been taught that the moa were hunted to extinction several hundred years ago.... and yet - we saw the sign:

..... and then we caught sight of the beast:

Good job we were in our car and could get away. Looks like we had a lucky escape - don't you think!?

Is the large hadron collider sabotaging itself from the future?

You'd think it was a cool plot for a sci-fi movie – the world's largest and most expensive experiment is being sabotaged by agents from the future! But this is actually a theory put forward by a couple of scientists recently.

The Large Hadron Collider that runs in a huge 27km circuit on the edge of Geneva, Switzerland, was made so that physicists could study the smallest known particles that make up atoms. The idea is to make them zip around the loop of extraordinarily strong magnets, and crash into each other. When they do collide, scientists hope that they will produce the ellusive Higgs Boson particle – otherwise known as the God particle – which could be the key to a whole load of questions we have been asking about gravity, other dimensions and matter.

The machine, which has been made with the utmost care and precision, has been plagued with problems from the start and a year after its completion it still hasn't managed to produce any collisions whatsoever. Some believe the reason may be more than just bad luck. A couple of scientists have suggested that the machine is sabotaging itself – from the future! Their theory is that the Higgs Boson particle may be so "abhorrent to Nature" that if it were to be created, there would be a ripple backwards through time that would stop the Collider before it could make one.

There are many wild theories as to what would happen should the Higgs Boson particle be created – and one of them is that it would cause a black hole that would suck in the Earth and the entire Universe. If true, it is a good thing that something – or someone – is preventing us from making these pesky particles. But it's a shame for the people at CERN – 15 years in the making and over 4 billion Euros, and it ain't never going to work!!!

Image courtesy Large Hadron Collider, CERN.

Ok Universe – what ya got?

Are you someone who gives too much? That's right, it is possible to give too much. Because life is all about balance. Energy must flow – and it must flow in and out. I know about being a giver (now is not the time for modesty). I know how to do it – I easily give of my time, my spirit and material wealth. And I bet lots of you are the same. It kind of goes with following the spiritual path. But what I haven't yet learned is how to receive.

I have often wondered why it is that my receiving channel is 'blocked'. Is it to do with deep-seated feelings of 'It's not 'good' to want things', or 'I'm not really worthy of getting something for free'. All I know is that some people are always receiving 'gifts' and they act like it is no surprise, they seem all cool as though it is kind of deserved, as though it is 'justice'. Is this an inbuilt ability – or does it take practice?

I'd value any insights you have on this. Meanwhile, I'm sending out a message to the Universe that I'm ready to RECEIVE. See, I've even got a radio satellite dish ;o)

Image courtesy of NASA.