The "It's Not Valentine's Day" Post...

...where I say "I love you" and "thank you" to life, the planet and all the wonderful beings I share this reality with...

Sending out love and respect for all the people - known and unknown - who are passionate about, and active in, creating a better world for all...

Sending out love to my children - Ellen, Sarah, Callum and Connor...

Sending out love to the two men with whom I brought those children into the world...

Sending out love to my family of origin, especially my sister and her husband and son...

Sending out love to my family of choice - those kindred spirits who love and support me as we walk our pathways in tandem for long or short parts of the journey...

Sending out love and saying "thank you" to all the human angels who have come into my life, for brief moments or for years...

Giving Thanks...

With thanks to all the wonderful beings in my life...

two-legged, 

four-legged, 

the flyers, 

the swimmers,

the crawlers, 

the plant people,

the standing ones,

the grandmothers, grandfathers and children of the earth,

the star people,

all the elements, qualities and attributes of the four directions of the Sacred Circle... 

I love you all...

click on image to read text

‎PS: #thanksgiving #occupy #revolution - Sending love and thanks to all those walking this journey; it's a great time to be alive - I had almost despaired of us reaching critical mass to change and create a more loving, humane world for all beings; let's succeed this time!

 

Sahila Once More...

... is grateful to all her friends who made it possible for her (and the boy and the cats) to have a quiet, comfortable weekend to recover her sangfroid...

and who said lovely things about her in character references...

... she feels almost human again... 

and it's Monday tomorrow...

and, seeing life has not magically resolved the issues in the past two days, it's "once more into the breach, dear friends, once more..."

from Shakespeare's KING HENRY V:

Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more;

Or close the wall up with our English dead.

In peace there's nothing so becomes a man
As modest stillness and humility:
But when the blast of war blows in our ears,
Then imitate the action of the tiger;
Stiffen the sinews, summon up the blood,
Disguise fair nature with hard-favour'd rage;
Then lend the eye a terrible aspect;
Let pry through the portage of the head
Like the brass cannon; let the brow o'erwhelm it
As fearfully as doth a galled rock
O'erhang and jutty his confounded base,
Swill'd with the wild and wasteful ocean.

Now set the teeth and stretch the nostril wide,
Hold hard the breath and bend up every spirit
To his full height.  On, on, you noblest English.
Whose blood is fet from fathers of war-proof!
Fathers that, like so many Alexanders,
Have in these parts from morn till even fought
And sheathed their swords for lack of argument:
Dishonour not your mothers; now attest
That those whom you call'd fathers did beget you.
Be copy now to men of grosser blood,
And teach them how to war.  And you, good yeoman,
Whose limbs were made in England, show us here
The mettle of your pasture; let us swear
That you are worth your breeding; which I doubt not;
For there is none of you so mean and base,
That hath not noble lustre in your eyes.

I see you stand like greyhounds in the slips,
Straining upon the start.  The game's afoot:
Follow your spirit, and upon this charge
Cry 'God for Harry, England, and Saint George!'

although, perhaps she might try a less aggressive approach...

And While We're On The Subject Of Gratitude...

Every time I think we have it bad, that life sucks, I remind myself of this absolutely awesome movie...

 

We Don't Know How Lucky We Are...

Seriously, we don't know how lucky we are...

Despite some challenges, we  - my son and I - still have a warm, dry roof over our heads, healthy and plentiful food on the table, clothes on our backs, transport, access to education, medical care and technology to gather information and to communicate with others...

I am grateful for these blessings as well as:

• my healthy, happy children
• our friends 
• our cat companions
• relative peace
• relative freedom of thought, movement and speech
• relative choice
• time to use as I please

We are some of the relatively few fortunate human beings on the planet...

If you're reading this, you too are one of the privileged...

What are you grateful for, in your life?

What do you take for granted, as your right?

If it's your right, surely it's also the right of every man, woman and child alive?

New Zealand comedian John Clarke as his alter ego Fred Dagg, addressing the United Nations...
(the clip contains cameos from some of New Zealand's better known personalities, including a Prime Minister...  brownie points - and a chocolate fish! - if you go to the comments section and name as many people as you can)

Lyrics:

The New Version

Source: Album: Fred Dagg (Anthology) Released 2000

At the dawn of the day, in the great Southern Ocean
Where the world’s greatest fish was being landed
And the boat they were pulling it into was sinking
And the sea was quite lumpy, and the weather was foul
And the bloke with the map was as pissed as an owl
And the boys called out “Maui, ya clown, let it go”
In the noise he reached down for his grandmother’s jawbone
 and he winked at his mates and he said
“Boys, we don’t know how lucky we are”
“I have a feeling I have stumbled on something substantial.”

 

We don’t know how lucky we are
We don’t know how lucky we are
We don’t know how lucky we are
We don’t know how lucky we are

I was speaking to a mate of mine, just the other day
A bloke called Bruce Bayliss who, lives up our way
He’s been round the world on an 8th army do for a year, more or less
I said “Describe the global position, Bruce”
He said “Fred, it’s a mess.
We don’t know how lucky we are in this country.
We don’t know how lucky we are.

We don’t know how lucky we are
We don’t know how lucky we are

There’s a guy I know who lives in town
I see him about once a year I suppose
He’s had a coronary since Easter
He’s got a haemorrhage in his ear
He went bankrupt a couple of weeks back
And now his wife’s left him too
I said “You’re looking hot mate,
You’re looking clear, what are ya gonna do?”
He said “We don’t know how lucky we are
To live in this joint mate"

We don’t know how lucky we are

We don’t know how lucky we are

So when things are looking really bad
And you’re thinking of giving it a way
Remember, New Zealand’s a cracker
And I reckon come what may
If things get appallingly bad
And we’re all under constant attack
Remember, we want to see good clean ball
And for god’s sakes, feed your backs

We don’t how fortunate we are to have that place
We don’t know how propitious are the circumstances.

We don’t know how lucky we are, mate
We don’t know how lucky we are

We don’t know how lucky we are, get it right
We just don’t realise how fortunate we are
We have no idea, the luck, we possess, collectively
We just don’t know how lucky we all are. Full stop.

 

The Original Version

Source: "Fred Dagg Live", performing at the Christchurch town hall, about 1975.

I was speaking to a mate of mine
just the other day
A guy called Bruce Bayliss actually
who lives up our way
He's been living in Europe
for the year, more or less
I said "How was Europe, Bruce?"
He says "Fred, it's a mess"

We don't know how lucky we are, mate.
We don't know how lucky we are!

I was down the Plough and Chequebook
the night before last
There's a guy down there on the floor
with his brain at half-mast
I said "You're looking really bad mate
your eyes look like strings"
He says "Get me an eight will you please
I can't see a thing"

We don't know how lucky we are, mate.
We don't know how lucky we are!

Me stock agent's got a beach place
where he spends most of his days
His wife bit the dust down there last year
got eaten by a couple of crays
And his two littlest daughters
got killed by a whale
I said "Are you going down there this year mate?"
He says "Fred, right on the nail"

"We don't know how fortunate we are to have that place
We don't know how propitious are the circumstances Frederick"

So if things are looking really bad
you're thinking of givin' it away
Remember New Zealand's a cracker
and I reckon come what may
If things get appallingly bad
and we all get atrociously poor
If we stand in the queue with our hats on 

we can borrow a few million more
 

We don't know how lucky we are, mate
We don't know how lucky we are

We don't know how lucky we are, mate.
We don't know how lucky we are!

 

Mum... Are We There Yet?

It's Thanksgiving here in Seattle... and I'm thankful for many things... 

I'm grateful for the snow and ice that has allowed us to stay home the past three days and ignore everything beyond the walls of this house that is demanding my attention... 

And I acknowledge and regret that the snow and ice has caused hardship for many, many people...

And I'm grateful to have a warm house, warm clothes, food, safe and loving children, two cat companions, wonderful friends and LIFE...

Despite what I choose to see as "hardships" and "challenges" in my life, I am one of the lucky few on this planet...

And I am grateful I still have a voice and the means to write and say what I think...

For how much longer will I have those rights?