Linear Thinking

The phrase "Linear Thinking" comes up often in the thoughts that I think.

I believe that the mold was broken in my family, when I, the fourth and final child, popped out of my mother's by then weary womb.

My siblings are linear thinkers all. They know how to get from A to
B to C to D .. and all the way to Z...one determined step at a time.

They have successfully climbed their respective ways to the top of their personal flights of stairs, and this is all good.

Then there's me!

Sometimes guilty of being flighty, and drawn to the cock of the walk. Sometimes just plain feather brained. And sometimes, rather chaotic in my thinking. I, unlike my siblings, do not go from A to Z in an orderly fashion.

No I do not.

I love to mix things up, throw caution to the wind, and  see what lands if you turn sideways.

I remember being in grade school - round about 10 years old, and the teacher (Miss Wushke) asked  the class to list all the things one could do with a  brick.

Thinking it was a test of some kind, I tossed, and turned and perculated on the question, and ultimately came up with 130 uses for a brick. It wasn't a contest.

But she was amazed. And half the class wouldn't speak to me after that, as I had officially crossed the LINE. I was a school geek girl.

Shit.

Thus began a life long attempt to build bridges with others who think differently. Not better. Not worse. Just different.

Sometimes I find ways to bridge the gaps, and sometimes, I don't know zip.

The thrill is in the seeking. Crossing lines of my choosing.

And exploring some of the many paths between A and Z.

Let'er Zip!

If You're Happy and You Know It Clap Your Hands

Because I am sick and tired of reading the news, hearing all the buck passing, watching the head shaking and eye rolling, and listening to the excuses for the latest environmental catastrophe,  today’s topic will be about hands.

Hands  on.

                                               

Hands off.

Shaking hands.

Helping hands.

Handily.

Handsome.

Hand it over.

Hand made.

Hand fed.

Handshake.

Handyman.

Then there’s the whole “many hands make light the work” thing.

And “idle hands are the devil’s tools” or some such handy saying for wayward teens and BP oil executives.

also

Hand over fist.

Hand held.

Hand me downs.

and

Hand in hand.

Heart in hand.



All this because I went on a foraging course!

From which I came home and said, “Hi honey, I'm home! Here’s a burdock root I dug for your dinner!” and decided that apart from learning that pretty much everything around here is edible, the gentle man teaching the class has lovely hands. And he knows far more about the relationships between the micro/macro/endo/ecto/ whatevero living things that call Earth home and the biological necessity of synergy. In other words,  if we don't  all hold hands, we'll be going to hell in a hand basket.

Hands Up?

It's Not Just the View, It's the Vision

The irony of the title is that I wrote it as a headline for a full page print ad selling high rise condos in the 90's. It was for a real estate development company that had so much vision - mainly of sugar plums - that  it lost sight of the bottom line and went belly up. At the time, I wrote a lot of poetic dribble about "lofty" views and didn't mention the sky high prices except in passing, as an afterthought..a little half million dollar blip.

Last week I spent some time in the country, on a "real food" course. There wasn't a high rise condo in sight!

It took two hours to walk less than 1/2 km (1/4 mile) as we let our inner children out to play.

There was barely anything in the meadow that couldn't sustain you, and we stopped to look, touch, smell and taste it all.The man teaching the class calls himself a polyculturalist.

For him,  "leave only footprints" is a lifestyle, not a park slogan.

He has learned to live with the plants and animals on this earth...encouraging some, ignoring others...but being of the environment. Of is the operative word here. He does not seek to thwart, threaten, or have dominion over any of it. He is aware and therefore, part of it.

In turn, it supports and provides and sustains him and his family.

He is happier, and clearer eyed that any man I've met in a long while. He does NOT remind me of the real estate moguls who one by one, bit the proverbial dust, and are no longer part of anything.

The world is weary of all the bad news...at least I certainly am...and the environmental disaster that has yet to be contained in the Gulf of Mexico. The devastation is not yet fully realized, but it will be reminding us of man's inability to control nature for decades to come... daily nudges that fossil fuels and greed is a marriage made in hell. And the alimony payments will be horrendous.

Thankfully, hope springs eternal!

These are not ancient Olympic rings - although they could well be. They are fish nests in the wetlands leading into Long Point conservation area beside Lake Erie. They're the  first to be observed here in several years. Here because a group of people had a vision that linked back to nature instead of bulldozing it over.

No condos, no parking lots. Just paradise with a great view.

for other views visit: http://skyley.blogspot.com

The Rolling Thunder Review

Spring this year is not  behaving properly. It's supposed to be generally sunny, with warm gentle breezes,  and soft rain.  Instead, it's often hazy, hot and humid, and many times in the late afternoon,

the gods of thunder come for a visit.

Zeus, Odin, Jupiter, Thor...

they take turns  rolling down the river, threatening to drown us with their cumulous sorrows and vast veils of tears.

They put on amazing shows...but  like so many politicians, it's mostly just a bunch of hot air, filled with sound and fury,

and signifying nothing.

How does one placate a thunder god ?

Visit http://skyley.blogspot/ for more views of the world today.