The Sun also Rises

I think I’ve mentioned before how much I love the sunrise; I never thought I’d be in this position- one where I’m up to watch the sunrise more days than I’m not. Yesterday was a particularly spectacular one. It caught me off guard; a beauty so elemental that it touched my soul at its very core.



The pinks and the purples seemed to battle for dominance over the darken grey sky, slowing pushing their way out, like arms of the universe gently caressing the morning, reassuring the day that it was not alone.



That although the sun had risen every day for the last 5 billion years, this day, would not go un announced in to the cosmos. Its dawning would not go un noticed and without fan fare.



By the time I reached work this morning the sky had mellowed, the vibrant pinks and purples had given way to a gentle golden glow, bathing the landscape. It was beautiful. It reminded me in this grey and often difficult world, that there was beauty. Beauty that is free to all, elemental and right.



This feeling stayed with me for the rest of the day. There is a word to describe this kind of feeling- numinous. A feeling of spiritual awe at the incomprehensible. I could look up the scientific explanation for why sunrise causes the sky to take on different colour, and this would explain to the how. But it would not touch on the why.

Yesterday I stopped to worship at the alter of beauty and nature. I complain about getting up early for my job all the time, and yesterday I was reminded to count my blessings. I live in a beautiful albeit sometimes difficult and dangerous cosmos. It is stunning and inexplicable to me in equal measures. Yet that is the attraction. I love the sunrise precisely because I cannot explain it. A daily reminder that somethings do not need to have a purpose, and that some feelings are worthy because of their innate existence.

Happy Thursday my friends.

Lindy xxx

(Of course I didn't have my camera with me yesterday so these pictures are ones I've taken over the last year of various mornings.)

Christmas Spirit

Hi guys.

If you want to be simultaneously heartbroken, gladdened, saddened, angered by the injustice in the world and have your faith in the ultimate goodness of humanity restored please go and read this post and ensuing comments by the incomparable Jenny at The Bloggess.

I think what struck me most when I was done crying my eyes out (on a train no less) was the amount of people who were struggling because of medical bills or lack of medical insurance. Living in a country with universal healthcare has made me complacent when it comes to the great gift which Clement Attlee's government gave me in 1946. Complacency is dangerous, and reading all of those stories in the comments has made me far more grateful for what I do have this Christmas season.

I thought back to what one of my Sixth Form philosophy teachers once told me. We were debating in class about the problem of evil, and one of my clearest memories is him calling me naive for believing that people were inherently good. I thought that the majority of people operated from the belief that they are doing 'good' (whatever it may be that they define as 'good'), and it is this act of striving for goodness which fuels most of what humanity does and aims for. (No matter how obscured these aims can become with other trivial matters such as materialism etc...) My teacher through this was an incredibly naive perspective and lambasted me as such.

I have thought about this difference in perspectives many times since that day. The fundamental difference that there is in thinking that we are born good and strive to fulfil this intrinsic aspect of our nature and believing that we are born with the taint of evil upon us and that we spend a lifetime struggling against this to achieve good against the odds.

Across the years I have been confronted with the unjustness and pain of the world, and the anger which comes from knowing that most of this pain is unnecessary and man made. I have oscillated between what I believed at 16 and what my teacher told me was the true nature of humanity.

But this little corner of the web has made me look at things afresh. Thank you Jenny, today I am returning to me at 16.

Love Lindy xxx

Manic Monday

Today is what counts as a no good, horrible, defiantly bad day. I went back to work to be faced with the prospect of looming redundancies, which for those of us on temporary contracts can only be bad news. I managed to break my nice expensive headphones. I only got two hours sleep last night. This all adds up to a pretty nasty Monday.

Then I found this email in my inbox;

Every compliment, criticism, promotion, setback, good vibe, cough or really long line you have to wait in, Ros, is a gift that was meticulously designed to make possible your becoming more than who you were, and ultimately, happier than ever before, as we dance into forever.
We've only just begun -
    The Universe

Sometimes the Universe really does tell you exactly what you need to hear. I guess I just need to look beyond the bad and towards the good. I think I'm going to try and start counting 7 good things every week, one for every day. I begin today, as an attempt to let go of my self inflicted worries.

1. My newest cousin was born two days ago and he is gorgeous.
2. I have two jobs so if I loose my main one it is not the end of the world.
3. James loves me enough to take time out of his really busy day to spend it cheering me up and finding me alternate jobs to apply for.
4. I have a lovely warm brightly coloured hat to wear.
5. I have a cupboard full of tea.
6. My Dad and Sister came for dinner last night and we had a really good evening.
7. The sunrise was beautiful this morning.

What are the good things in your life?

Lindy xxx

(The above message ones from the TUTs Adventures Club, daily emails designed to make you feel better and think a little more. I love them, and would recommend them without hesitation)

PS: Music credit today goes to The Bangles

The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit...

Somedays 6 am is the most unforgiving time in my day. The mornings are cold, dark and grey now. The darkness is oppressive to me. It traps me in a quiet stasis, awaiting the arrival of the day and the ensuing noise and light.

Sometimes 6am is the quiet moaning of a world not quite ready to face the day. A time which belongs only to farmers, and monks saying Vigils, each worshiping the unforgiving world in their separate but ultimately equal ways.

Some mornings 6 am mocks me, taunting me with my longings for a warm bed and a soft embrace. Forcing reality upon my world, forcing my dreams to flee to the corners of my vision.

And sometimes, at 6am, the universe throws me a bone.







It welcomes the day with a display so brilliant it can bring you to your knees. Your heart soars. You know in this moment that the un relentless, un stoppable universe has shown you a corner of perfection.

And you cry because beauty this vast and this fleeting is beyond you. The eyes and the mind and the heart can only grasp at a scrap of this wonder.

Then as quickly as it came, the universe takes it away from you. Night has handed over the reigns to day and life continues. But a small part of your heart is forever changed by being graced with such beauty upon it.

The universe forgets, but you cannot.

(Psalm 51:17)

Stardust

Today was a good day. Not only was it beautifully sunny but I also scored a fantastic new skirt at a thrift shop near my work. (Photos to come tomorrow!) I’m so happy about it its ridiculous, just my style and a really good fit. What more could a girl ask for?! In addition for the first time in ages I managed to remember my sketch pad when I left the house meaning that I got the chance to exercise my long neglecting sketching skills!

All in all, many good things! Then to top it off, James took me out for dinner. Nando’s is a good way to finish the day methinks! Then if that wasn’t enough James managed to fix the drawing tablet for the computer so i’ve spent all evening messing around with computer art. If only every day could be this creative then I would be one happy lady!

Unfortunately I must now go to sleep, if I want to stand any chance of being coherent at work tomorrow morning. A trait which i’m pretty sure my bosses would appreciate!

So I leave you with this lovely little nugget from Lawrence Krauss:

"Every atom in your body came from a star that exploded. And, the atoms in your left hand probably came from a different star than your right hand. It really is the most poetic thing I know about physics: You are all stardust. You couldn’t be here if stars hadn’t exploded, because the elements - the carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, iron, all the things that matter for evolution and for life - weren’t created at the beginning of time. They were created in the nuclear furnaces of stars, and the only way for them to get into your body is if those stars were kind enough to explode. So, forget Jesus. The stars died so that you could be here today."

I couldn’t stop thinking about this when I first read it!

Stitchery

On a completely different note I thought I would share this wonderful piece of whimsical embroidery I found on the net. I love this, its absolutely beautiful!

It is by the amazingly talented Cate Anevski who can be found at http://www.cateanevski.com/