Questions and more questions

I had thought about the theme of the ancestors for my blog but this morning I changed my mind as I felt I had more important things to say. Most of this blog will be questions, some of which you might like to think about, some of which you might like to answer. So my first question is this;

How have we managed to let our world get in such a mess? Not an easy question to answer in a few words but thought provoking.

Why do we leave things too late to get them changed? It is only when we see the actions done on our behalf that we think about their effects and that we should not have allowed this to happen.

Why don’t people register to vote and then vote so that things can be changed?

Why do we listen to the rubbish spouted by the mainstream media and believe it is true? Are we unable to think for ourselves?

How have we allowed greed to take over our world? I saw a child’s tee shirt last year. On the front was printed the following words -‘I scream, I stamp, I get.’ I saw something similar this morning ‘ I like, I want, I asked Grandma, I got’. I don’t need to say any more as I am sure you will see what I am getting at.

Some of you might think I am a grumpy old woman but I hate the way our world has changed. We buy things and throw them away after a short while or if they go wrong. We used to repair items not throw them away. Why don’t we change our shopping habits so that there is less rubbish to dispose of? Some countries are good at this.

Why do we allow companies to bottle water which should be free?

Why do we allow long pipelines across land which is not ours and on which the pipelines might leak (which they often do)?

Why do we use man made drugs when natural medicines are better for us and cost less?

I could go on but I am sure I have given you food for thought. I hope so.

Yesterday I found a leaf on the ground. I brought it home to press and took a photo at home. The colours are beautiful and remind me that as humans we are all different colours and should mingle together like the colours on the leaf.

 

What a week!

I woke up last Sunday with a sore throat. This is unusual for me as I don’t normally get sore throats and colds. So why now? I have moved house and area and now live higher up than I have done for years. I am north west of where I was before and it is colder too. I also live near large open spaces where the wind blows strongly and brings with it all kinds of things. So how much difference does the area you live in have on your health. I remember having colds as a child but things were different in those days just after the end of the War. We were not so molly coddled either and went to school with colds and old rags to blow our noses on. Tissues were not invented then or if they were they were a luxury item like toilet tissue which was definitely not as we know it now.

So my sore throat developed into a heavy cold and then a cough and in the end I resorted to old remedies to help. An elderflower linctus  made by a friend and the old fashioned Vick vapour rub (mainly Menthol and Eucalyptus). I remember using Vick for many years as my mother rubbed it onto my chest before I went to bed. But these old remedies have worked and I am much better now.

There is something about old remedies. It is so easy to turn to the chemists counter in shops such as Boots and buy the modern version of pills and linctus for coughs and colds. But I have noticed recently that this firm are making more traditional remedies too. I feel that many people are fed up of remedies that have so many side effects that you need other medicines to help with those and so many are turning to the more natural old fashioned remedies which we know work safely. Our mothers knew a lot of these and it is good to still use them and know that they work.

Do you make or use the natural herbal remedies that your mother used? Would you be happy to share them?

 

Respect or not as the case may be

Respect seems to be one thing that is missing in the world at the moment. It is not just young people who have no idea what respect means but often older people who have forgotten. So what is respect? There are several definitions which vary slightly but the main two definitions are as follows;

due regard for the wishes, feelings and rights of others;

a feeling of admiration for someone for their abilities or achievements.

For me it is something slightly different but I think that words do change their meanings as the years go by. Sometimes it feels the same as courtesy, another thing long forgotten. This means holding doors for the next person or helping others with heavy bags, or allowing someone else to get on the bus before me because they may be older or have heavy bags. To me it also means that I respect the religions of others, their food choices, their clothes, and so on.

At the moment our world seems to be full of people finding fault with others because they don’t think the same way or dress in a way that is thought to be the right way.OK  of course there are some things that would have no respect such as bullying but I am thinking of things in general. It is good to look at ourselves and see how others perceive us. Do we come over as good, kind, tolerant, gentle and compassionate or are we seen as bullies, dominant, nasty and so on. How do you see yourself? Do have the respect of others and do you give respect to others? I think there is a lot of food for thought here.

 

A miscellany of thoughts

Deciding what to write about this week has been quite hard. There is so much going on in the world and in our lives that choosing the right thing did not come easy. So this is maybe a bit of a ramble about different things. First of all autumn is definitely here. There has been a distinct change in the colour of the leaves this week and one or two trees are almost bare. The wind is much colder and any flowers left blooming in the garden are dropping their petals and dying down. A new set of shelves sits in my garden now with pots of spring bulbs on them. They are complete with copper slug collars to deter the slugs from eating the bulbs before they even sprout.

This week seems to have been full of challenges, some larger than others. Little things like my mobile phone deciding not to work as well as the scanner and then a download from the Record Office refusing to download. Other challenges are physical as my arthritis plus whatever else it is has flared up quite strongly. I had a knee replacement ten years ago and I think it is now wearing out! So getting out and about has been somewhat restricted.

But there are good things too. I am doing a course at the local museum and this is very interesting and has enabled me to meet new people who have at least a few things in common like local history. I would like to find the druids who are lurking somewhere but I am sure they will appear when the time is right.

Let’s hope next week is challenge free!

Autumn thoughts

Yesterday was what I call a truly autumn morning, misty with a chilly feel and some dark clouds heading my way. I went out though to Trentham for a short walk along the lake side and through the trees. It was beautiful and peaceful as I was earl;y before many others had arrived. I found a new fairy sculpture too. There are around sixteen of these now and they are made of wire. This one was very beautiful and I took a photo of her silhouetted against the lake and sky. I felt so at peace with myself walking along the edge of the water, so much so that I found myself chanting to Mother Earth.

The trees are still mainly green but there are patches of brown and yellow leaves among the green. Two things fascinated me about the trees. One holly tree had a broken branch and the leaves on that branch had all turned to a rich brown colour. On another tree, there was a branch with leaves at different stages of their changing colour. So some were green and yellow, others going to red and brown and so on.

The cygnets on the lake had disappeared and in their place were beautiful white swans, a pair of which were doing some kind of mating ritual or that is how it seemed. Looking out over the lake I saw the rain clouds approaching and decided to head back via the cafe for a cup of tea and a toasted teacake. Then it was head for the bus stop in the rain. By the time I arrived home it was pouring down, real heavy rain which lasted until early evening when the sun came out. Strange weather but I felt the benefits of my short walk in nature. It makes such a difference to how I feel and move.

I hope you all take walks in nature, it is so refreshing and replenishing.