Who's looking at me?

It's happened a couple of mornings this week. I open up my lap top, and there's this tiny green eye shining at me -- the webcam. Now, I didn't leave it on, or turn it on, so what's it doing there? I tell you, this kind of freaks me out. Who would be looking at me??

In the days of apartheid when we lived in Cape Town, our next door neighbour was a retired school-inspector. He was a good neighbour to us, but maybe a little over-interested in our visitors who were not restricted to 'whites' 'European's, whatever you like to call them. What impressed me though, was how, when he came into our home, he'd clearly be taking in every detail of his surroundings. As a writer, it would be useful if I had enhanced abilities like his!

At the moment I'm taking an on-line course on self-publishing, run by a teacher. She comments how strange it is to be doing this, like talking into a mirror with few responses! That's kind of like writing a blog, I guess. But what about Facebook. That's different, isn't it? Yes. But the question still nags at me: 'Who's looking at us?'

Chain mail

I received another of those this morning. You know, some nice sentiments, even true ones about who comes into your life, for how long and what purpose these friends may serve. And then comes the demand to send this on a.s.a.p. to seven others and then, ta da... something good and surprising will happen to you (me). In this case, even a precise time is given! 10.27 a.m. to be exact.

What do I do in such a case? Forward it back to the sender, as requested -- well, usually anyhow -- but I don't send it on. I'm grateful that this particular chain mail didn't contain any hint of a threat, as some do.

So, I'm wondering what lies behind this phenomenon. Mulling it over, a theory came to me. Perhaps we human beings carry a deep, mostly hidden longing for proof that a spiritual world exists and that it can work into and manifest in our earthly world.

Shine on

What's this? So many posts? Well, it's because, having recently finished those two long-term writing projects, I'm now in a different creative space.

Did you see the moon last night, or the night before, or the one before that? Yes, it's the Harvest Moon that's been shining. Before coming to North America I had no idea what that was, although I used to happily sing "Shine on, shine on harvest moon," along with my Dad. Now I have the opportunity to experience it shining in all its autumn glory. Twice I've seen it through a buttermilk sky, those mottled clouds that the silvery disc peeps through. Quite spectacular. If you haven't had a chance to look up at the heavens these last evenings, why not take a minute or two tonight?

Blog action day against poverty

I'm posting today because of blog action day. Having lived in a country that was a mixture of first and third world, poverty was for many years a daily reality for me, a daily ache of guilt and pain. Shopping at a local supermarket, I grew familiar with the sight of a legless man sitting outside, his hat on his lap, begging. Although I've always had mixed feelings about people and even children begging, it felt right to drop a coin into his old brown felt hat. Then one day, he was gone and I never saw him again.

I don't know much about the philosophy of poverty. My feeling, however, is that we won't eradicate it until we change our ways of thinking, behaving and buying. When I return to North America after a visit to Africa I'm always horrified at our level of consumption, at the plethora of clothes and toys our children are showered with. And I think of so many who have practically nothing.

Fall

"October is my favourite month."
"Fall is the season I love best."

I've heard both these comments over the past few days and can say... well, with the colours so spectacular this year, I'm getting into it. But I don't think I could say that autumn is my favourite season, simply because I carry a dread of winter. Being from the south, it's still an effort for me to cope with ice and cold.

On the other hand, I'm amazed to find 15 degrees C quite warm, when just a month ago I thought anything below 20 felt freezing. The body is truly wonderful. Every year (yes, I remember mentioning this in a previous post) I find it awe-inspiring that I can adjust. But like another friend, I found letting go of summer quite difficult this year.

Talking and thinking about the weather is something that interests me. I like to do it. When I lived in England, I felt bad about this because the current attitude was that you only mentioned the weather if you had nothing better to talk about. Then I read in a lecture by Rudolf Steiner that it's a good topic of conversation because the weather is what people have in common. Ever since, I've felt better and even justified.

What I do like about the fall is the particular quality of stillness you can experience. Today, in fact, the air was so still that, as we passed the airport, we saw that planes were taking off in all different directions!

Giving thanks

Yes, I know for us Canadians tomorrow is Thanksgiving Day and we will celebrate the bounty of the harvest festival. However, I can snatch a few minutes from preparation right now, so I thought I'd do it. So often my thoughts flit in and out of my head and never hear the click of my computer keys.

I confess. I don't give thanks often enough. This is something I need to work on because I have so very much to be grateful for. The thing is, I don't make the space in my mind and that means my time fills up with other activities, both inner and outer. So my resolution this Thanksgiving will be to make a conscious effort, every day, to give thanks for all the blessings, enormous, great, mid-size, small and teeny-weeny, that come into my life and sustain me.

For instance, already today: a cup of tea in bed, sunshine, shelter, laundry on the line, the enjoyment of preparing the house for the family celebrations, the chance email gives me to connect with far flung friends... well, you get the gist. Hmm. Seems to me this could get complicated. Maybe I'll go with a suggestion I heard recently: to think of three things every day and give thanks for those.

Back in the world of Blog

Yes, here I am again. No promises for the future, although, having brought two long-term projects to an end over the last few weeks, I'm feeling I can lift my nose from the grindstone before it gets any flatter than it already is.

First, a little song, to be sung to the tune of 'Garden Party'

So I went to a Chinese doctor
To tell him all about my ills
I was tired of aching joints and pains
And taking all those pills...

He said I had too much fire (where, oh where is it??) and put me on a restricted diet. The most difficult for me, was doing without milk in my tea. And in case you're wondering, yes, I can still drink ye olde cuppa, but I've got to get the caffeine out the teabag first. My son assured me almond milk was not so bad and I decided to give it a try. Took the already-opened carton out of the fridge and put some in the mug. The colour of the tea didn't change much, so I put in some more. Still not much difference, but I thought 'what the heck'? I took a taste. Yuck!! What was this? I checked the carton and found I'd taken out the organic chicken stock instead of the almond milk!!

Conclusion: black tea is better than tea with stock.