Jonathan Livingston Seagull

“They are saying in the Flock that if you are not the Son of the Great Gull Himself”, Fletcher told Jonathan one morning after Advanced Speed Practice, “then you are a thousand years ahead of your time.”
Jonathan sighed. The price of being misunderstood he thought. They call you devil or they call you god. “What do you think, Fletch? Are we ahead of our time?”
A long silence, “Well, this kind of flying has always been here to be learned by anyone who wanted to discover it; that’s got nothing to do with time. We’re ahead of the fashion, maybe. Ahead of the way that most gulls fly.”“That’s something,” Jonathan said, rolling to glide inverted for a while. “That’s not half as bad as being ahead of our time”.
Richard Bach
Jonathan Livingston Seagull

The Seagull Speaks Creative Commons Copyright

Monday, October 28, 2013

Spider spirit animal


Spider spirit animal: Symbol of creativity

In many cultures, the spider is given credit for its ability to weave intricate webs that are a miracle of organic engineering. If you have the spider as an animal spirit guide, you may have an affinity with acts of creation and the ability to create delicate, intricate things or ideas that are also strong.
As the weaver of the web, the spider symbolizes the spirit of creation. In several traditions, she’s the totemic symbol of the Mother, strong feminine energy. In Ancient Egypt, the spider was used as a symbol to represent the goddess of the Divine Mother, Neith. In some American Indian tribes, it is considered as the symbol for the creator of the world and by extension is associated with the female creative energy.

Patience: The wisdom of the spider totem

Like the spider waiting her prey patiently, the presence of this spirit animal in your life could point to the need to show patience regarding a project or some ideas that you are trying to realize. Giving some time while paying attention to how events are unfolding and acting when the opportunity truly arise might be a lesson of wisdom from the spider spirit animal.

Symbolism of the spider: Life spirit and weaver of destiny

Just like the spider weaves her beautifully engineered web, this spirit animal fosters the integration of all parts and aspects of your life into a whole. When the spider shows up in your life, this spirit animal could guide you to integrate some piece of your personal “puzzle” and gain a more coherent perspective on your life.
The spider is a spirit animal whose purpose is to inspire you to gain perspective on an issue or project you contemplate taking on. Feel free to explore the many facets of the problem you are facing in order to find the appropriate solution. The power of this animal encourages you to count on your ability to view things from multiple angles and weave mental and intuitive flexibility into your daily thinking.
From: http://www.spiritanimal.info/spider-spirit-animal/

Thursday, October 24, 2013

Velvet Paradise


There we played,
Behind the rose bushes,
At the beginning of time,
Living a dream,
Living dreams.

All day long flickering our eyes,
To a world that wasn't there,
To a world that didn't care,
About adults and cruelty.

An innocent place,
Where we could live out our dreams,
Live a dream.

There we knew the trees would never be bare,
We could crawl along roads,
Un-metalled by the drawbacks of worry.

And hide behind walls,
In the velvet paradise,
Within our minds.

Written sometime 1986-1990. This one I guess is about the innocence of childhood, perhaps lost innocence too and escapism to a safe, comfortable place...a velvet paradise.






Tuesday, October 1, 2013

Web of Wonder

Credit: http://wallpaperswide.com/wet_spider_web_2-wallpapers.html
 
I watch her through the window 
As she weaves her web of wonder,
Early in the morning before we're awake,
Flowing with the silk,
Strands stretched from without to within,
Her feet are like a dancer's.
 Translating melody into form,
Immersed in the music,
She finds her healing heart.

This poem was written in October 2013. A garden spider was weaving a web outside our kitchen window one morning. I loved watching her weave her web over and over again - such a delicate artisan. She made this her home for weeks and weaved and re-weaved patiently over and over again. It struck me that her web represented the web of relationships that we humans need with kindred spirits and soul mates in order to feel fulfilled in life and to find healing!  Thich Nhat Han says that one of the most important things in life is to find your sanga. Your community. Your support network of like-minded souls.