As we live through these strange unsettling times, we find our thoughts taking us down surprising and different avenues of reflection. Those of us who are not working on the main line of general emergencies (all those people involved are doing a really outstandingly fine job caring for everyone who has need of their services) have more time and as such new notions come scurrying into our heads leading on from one idea to the next. As these thoughts rush though our minds with mercurial speed, sometimes we are able to catch one and develop the theme as with a piece of music. We who are in self-isolation are having this time to reconsider who we really are and what helpful roles we may be able to play at this time of world-wide and national need.
I do believe that many of us find this isolation difficult and so if we can get in touch with friends by telephone or other social media this can give a valuable lift to our days.
I find that I have so much to do that it is easy to let my mind flutter like a butterfly from one thing to the next without achieving anything. At the moment I am tackling my filing cabinet that has remained untouched and neglected for over 20 years, thus the thought of doing anything about it was becoming increasingly more and more less likely. Now I have no more excuses and in order not to make it into a manageable project, I have allotted myself a folder to go through each day. I have now finished the entire top drawer and the sense of achievement is fantastic!! I am not giving up—I am resolved that I will not be led astray.
Friends have been sending me the most marvellous jokes and other attachments which in turn I pass on to others. How lucky we are that it is this time of year - the days are getting longer and lighter and the weather is getting warmer - just imagine how gloomy it would be if it were the other way round and winter was setting with short, cold days. I know that I am a born optimist and for this I am eternally grateful, but I do understand it is not the same for everybody, and for those who are not so fortunate, this is when they need uplifting the most.
I am sending you two links, sent to me by friends, that I feel you will enjoy:
This song is from Italy's most famous band in the 70's. They have donated the copyrights to Bergamo Hospital. Every click on the video means a gift, because YouTube pays the owner of those copyrights per click. In Bergamo hospital, 800 people died yesterday alone. So share this video as much as possible. Grazie!
The second one - Jinjing The Penguin - Swims 5000 Miles Every Year To Visit The Man Who Saved Him
This is a story about Jinjing the South American Magellanic Penguin, that swims 5,000 miles each year to be reunited with the man who saved his life. The rescued Penguin was saved by João Pereira de Souza, a 73 year old part-time fisherman, who lives in an island village just outside Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Joao found the tiny ...
New Times
In this strange new time, I find myself looking more and more towards the beauty of the natural world and all it is trying to tell us and give us. Professor James Lovelock who was a friend of one of my cousins, taught us about the Gaia concept, (he named the idea after Gaia, the primordial goddess who personified the Earth in Greek Mythology).
He tells us how the Earth is a living, breathing organism and how we should revere, treasure and care for her, like any other living being.
I have always left a wild spot in my garden where I find all sorts of treasures and just recently I found two so-called ‘weeds’.
The etymology of ‘honesty’ is interesting and I read that ‘The Latin name lunaria means "moon-shaped" and refers to the shape and appearance of the seedpods. The common name "honesty" arose in the 16th century, and may also relate to the translucence of the seedpods.’
It is interesting to think about the guilt of dishonesty leading, eventually, to truth. The next time you see an Honesty, try to contemplate whether or not you’ve been living your most honest life, and pursue it with renewed vigour!`
My next find was borage. We read that ‘Its flowers and leaves, as well as the oil from its seeds are used as medicine. Borage seed oil is used for skin disorders including eczema (atopic dermatitis), red, itchy rash on the scalp (seborrheic dermatitis), and a type of skin condition called neurodermatitis.
Pliny the Elder and Dioscorides say that borage was the 'Nepenthe' mentioned in Homer, which caused forgetfulness when mixed with wine.[18]
Francis Bacon thought that borage had '...an excellent spirit to repress the fuliginous vapour of dusky melancholie.' John Gerard's Herball mentions an old verse concerning the plant: "Ego Borago, Gaudia semper ago (I, Borage, bring always joys)". He states that 'Those of our time do use the flowers in salads to exhilarate and make the mind glad. There be also many things made of these used everywhere for the comfort of the heart, for the driving away of sorrow and increasing the joy of the mind. The leaves and flowers of Borage put into wine make men and women glad and merry and drive away all sadness, dullness and melancholy, as Dioscorides and Pliny affirm. Syrup made of the flowers of Borage comfort the heart, purge melancholy and quiet the frantic and lunatic person. The leaves eaten raw engender good blood, especially in those that have been lately sick.'
Last but not least, an abundance of primroses in my bank joyously announcing their arrival.
They also represent new life, rebirth and new beginnings - so symbolic of the new beginnings we will find when all this is past and behind us and we are moving forward once more with new and invigorated feelings for humanity and the natural world. But even as I write, new beginnings are all around not just with the flowers but with the birds. Friends have got a bluetits nesting box with a camera rigged up inside and I am going to show pictures of the nest (you may think it is a bit untidy but it is work in progress) and will try and keep you up to date as the eggs, fledglings and finally the little birds all ready to embark on their new adventure of life and independence.
Breathing Space
Whereas many people are suffering and may continue to suffer quite dreadfully economically and many small and treasured businesses may be forced to close down, the upside, and there always is an upside to any darkness, is the reduction in pollution, planes grounded, factories closed down, majority of cars off the road, restaurants and hundreds of other facilities no longer in operation giving the planet a breathing space to restore itself.
This is a time to appreciate our friends and nature - a general overall opening of our emotions and our eyes as we see the beauty of our gardens in a different way and watch the resurgence of wildlife right down to the smallest little beetle or insect scurrying around going about its daily life unaware of the epidemic surrounding us but also appreciate of their quality of life changing for the better as the footfall of human beings diminishes from their world.
Air quality improvements have been seen in nations around the world from Italy to China, as much transport and industry has ground to a halt.
One small example that I read in the paper today being the increase in the number of puffins arriving on Skokholm Island off the Welsh coast where they have reached the highest April count since 1953 due to the lack of pollution in the Irish sea.
Our planet is being given a Breathing Space.
I would like to thank Therese Harper Blackwell who sent me this wonderfully uplifting poem with her message.
New World
As I sit and listen to the song of the trees
They give me their strength and valuable keys
To solutions of problems and everyday strife
While the flowers share insights on their view of Life
Birds sing to me in their ancient tongue
“There will be Peace when It is done”
All is well with the Ancient Plan
This grand and glorious evolution of man
When time has dissolved the spell that we’re under
The only thing left will be magical wonder
So each day think of all that can be
Think, “what if” and you might see
The World I see of Beauty and Grace
Rainbow rivers and Queen Anne’s Lace
Shimmering beings who radiate Light
With powers of healing and prophetic sight
Come with me - let your fears abate--
Together we’ll let our thoughts create
That wondrous World right here on Earth
And then there will be an explosion -- a Birth
Of knowledge and wisdom like never before
It’s all around us -- just open the door
To this magical place where no one mourns
Where the children play with their Unicorns!
Where nature spirits are no longer shy
Where little children no longer cry
A World with integrity and no more lies
No longer distorted through opaque eyes
Where Hearts are filled with joy and Light
IMAGINE --it’s all within our Sight!
Man’s thought and Heart recreates The Plan
Just as the Creator’s Thought created man.
Therese Harper Blackwell c.1994
In the End — Love is all there is.
Hang in everyone
xx
Pink Moon
Other events are happening at this moment , we have recently had a Pink Moon. It was the Algonquin North Americans who named it. A super moon occurs when a full moon happens on the same night the moon reaches perigee or the closest point to Earth in its orbit. ... Though the moon is called a ‘pink moon’, its colour won't be any different than normal. It will be golden orange when low in the sky, and brighten to white as it rises.
‘Pink is the colour associated with new life, represented in often light pink buds waiting for the slow and steady warmth of the sun to turn them green through photosynthesis. The Pink Moon ushers in the energetic theme of rebirth, occurring in all forms of life.’
Also at this time, those of you who are interested in and knowledgeable about astrology will have been looking into and reading about the effects of the planetary connection at the full moon between Saturn and Aquarius and I am sending you another link that might prove helpful in relation to what is happening at the moment and which our ancient forefathers would most certainly have known about.
The moon also represents powerful feminine energy. It signifies wisdom, intuition, birth, death, reincarnation, and a spiritual connection. Moon cycles are similar to the cycle of a seed: the seed grows into a flower, then blooms, and then dies. ... The moon also represents our deepest personal needs.
Being at its closest to Earth there is strong gravitational pull on the planet and events such as volcanic activity, effects on the tides and other major earth events are taking place.
Different Energy?
Maybe we are seeing a readjustment of the planet - I see a more compassionate, kind and thoughtful world emerging in which we value and appreciate our fellow beings and our wonderful natural world surrounding us.
Whereas the world may never be the same again can we use this time to expand our thoughts towards not just ourselves but our fellow human beings? Not all of us are able to leave our home and help in active ways but maybe there are other ways in which it is possible to contribute? I am thrilled with all the wonderful videos that people have sent me and which I have been able to forward, some hilarious, some poignant.
I am sure that I am not alone in sensing a new, different and powerful energy surging through many of us at this time almost as though this is an energy that will not be silenced by the terrible events we are witnessing. I sense it as I speak to people via social media; they are using this time with positivity and resolve. We sense this vibrant energy all around us as we witness the extraordinarily wonderful compassionate and selfless work by all the emergency services, so often regardless of their own safety. This is an inspirational time in our lives, this giving of ourselves in any way we possibly can. The help being given to those in total lockdown. Just as Light banishes the darkness so the Light radiating from these people is prevailing. It is as though this is a time of Transition in Consciousness.
Time of Reflection and for Finishing off things you have started!
(Please don’t take the below literally!)
Heard a Dr. on TV saying in this time of Coronavirus staying at home we should focus on inner peace. To achieve this we should always finish things we start and we all could use more calm in our lives. I looked through my house to find things I'd started and hadn't finished, so I finished off a bottle of Merlot, a bottle of Chardonnay, a bodle of Baileys, a butle of wum, tha mainder of aliumum srciptuns, an a box of chocletz. Yu haf no idr how feckin fablus I feel rite now. Sned this to all who need inner piss. An telum u luvum. And two hash yer wands, stafe day avrybobby!!!
So much of our normal lives is spent rushing around and now maybe this is time we should treasure, a time of reflection about our ‘other’ life? It is a time of Opportunities.
A time for clearing our - clearing our not just our minds but if possible, physically clear out our clutter! I am in the process of going through my filing cabinet untouched for 20 years or more and becoming increasingly daunting as the years went by and the files got fuller and fuller and the folders were more closely jammed together - now what happens - no more excuses, I am tackling one folder a day. I have found that setting myself tasks that are manageable is the best way to go about this thereby there is considerably more chance that they will be tackled.
Maybe we can appreciate this time as hopefully it may never happen again in our lifetime, and put it to good use one way or another.
A time of getting to know and appreciate the great kindness around us; the willingness of people who go out of their way to give to others in a manner that maybe they would have previously felt to be intrusive but is now so very much appreciated by many.
This is a challenging time and I am sure we will all try to meet this challenge head-on with the best of our endeavours.
I would like to conclude with another lovely message sent to us all by my special and much loved friend.
Living in the Light
As we are experiencing a different way of life at the moment, we are being asked to look at ourselves with new eyes.
We, in human form, have always held the tools within ourselves to change energy and attract the conditions we need. Firstly, we have to understand that we are in fact, energy bodies. We are not the solid structure that we believe ourselves to be. This whole world is an energy world vibrating at many different frequencies which is why we can observe the numerous forms, colours and sounds that surround us.
With this in mind, we can use our powerful minds to infuse our own being and the world around us with the greatest intensity of light that we can imagine. This is no wishful thinking, it is a reality. This is how we heal ourselves and the world. When we truly FEEL this radiance of light we open the heart centre and transmit love, peace and harmony. It is a very powerful way of protection.
We are never alone. We came into this world from a vibrant world that is only invisible due to the different vibration from which it operates. That world consists of many different levels of existence where every being dwells that has passed from the earth. They are still connected to us through love and service. They long to see us well and happy. Therefore as soon as our thoughts reach out to a higher power, light or love we receive the help, healing and guidance. We can never die. We are pure energy which merely transforms.
The earth itself is going through transformation and as we are here at this time, which is no accident, we can play our part in radiating the most powerful light imaginable. Even one or two people working like this makes a difference. Let us see the darkness quickly passing through. It is a wakeup call to appreciate life, to give thanks for everything around us and to bless it. We are not helpless and hopeless. We just have to keep the mind in control and not allow any negative thought to register. As soon as a fearful idea enters we have to change it immediately into something beautiful. The more this becomes our normal way of thinking and reacting we will build a new world.
With my love and best wishes and I am keeping my fingers, toes and eyes (if you can) that my tours will go ahead.
Lucy.