When you have nothing

The news and social media are full of people in war zones and disaster areas who have nothing left. Houses are demolished in some way or other and there is no water, food or heating. What do you do when you are at that point? The only way is up of course but that can take some time. It was good to see photos of men repairing the roof of their home. But what has happened in many areas is that people are coming together to help those in great need. The events and darkness around them is also full of light as many awake to the fact that certain things are essential for living while others are not.

Some governments are trying to do things which are inhumane and show a definite lack of compassion. But the people in general oppose these things and see the wider picture of how we must help each other if we are to survive as a race of humans. If we are to survive then we must learn to care for each other, to respect our differences and to share not only our knowledge but our food, homes and most of all our love.

There is nothing wrong with asking for help although I feel you should never have to ask. If you are in need of the basic things for living then they should be available from some source wherever you are. We should all be aware of what goes on around us so that we can see what is needed and where it is needed. During the second world war, people worked together to help others with housing, food and clothing. No-one was left to starve or without a place to sleep. The same applies now, we work together in some way to help those in need. Have compassion for others whatever their religion or colour. The most important thing about them is that they are human beings just like the rest of us and have the same requirements in life. We are all connected and from the same source so do not discriminate in any way.

Sorry if this seems to be a bit of a rant but recent headlines make me feel ashamed to be British.

Dragon energy

I have always loved dragons. I visited South Wales once and bought a large red felt stuffed dragon. He was lovely and when the shop owner put him in a paper bag she said she would leave his head out so he could see where he was going! Since then I have worked with dragons in the spirit world on many occasions. I also have two dragon tarot decks. My friend Peter Royston Smith has written a book called ‘The Dragons Edge’ and we, with others had been discussing the book yesterday.

As I was lying in bed last night this little story came to me. The ending is for you to decide but I hope you like it.

The 12 earth dragons were still asleep. They had been asleep now for many years as no one had called on them for help. They were scattered around the planet mainly asleep in caves deep down in the earth. The large black dragon stirred. He kept hearing voices asking for him to wake up and help them. He sent out a message, telepathically of course as that is what dragons do, and asked the other dragons if they had heard the same message. They all responded in the same way. They had all heard the messages. Now was the time for the dragons to do something to help but what. The young golden dragon said she would go up and find out while they got ready to help with whatever was needed.

When the young golden dragon returned she was weeping. ‘I cannot believe what the humans have done to our planet’ she said. ‘The forests are almost gone and the ice is melting. There are unusual weather patterns and drought and famine are on the way. And the air is very polluted.’ The dragons sighed and wondered what to do. They needed to stay where they were until the air was better but they wanted to help.

The green dragon came up with an idea, ‘let us lend some of our energy to those who have been contacting us so they can use it themselves. If we lend enough energy to those who can do something with it then everything will get better.’ So this is what they did. The humans kept the dragon energy coiled up inside them at the base of their spines and when necessary they brought up the energy to deal with the nasty things going on so that gradually the planet recovered.

So now you can write the ending to this very short story. Find your dragon energy and use it for good.

Helping each other

During and after the war, everyone worked together to make sure that each person had what they needed. If someone was ill, then others would help with cooking and shopping. Children were cared for too when a parent was ill. Somewhere along the way this ‘helping each other’ seems to have disappeared. Yes, there are some who will always help someone less fortunate but there are many who turn their eyes away.

I have seen this happen recently when a lady collapsed in the bus queue. Many just stood there and did nothing while some of us tried to help. One lady phoned for an ambulance and we made the lady as comfortable as we could while we waited. But helping each other is something that should and can happen all the time. There are so many people nowadays who are vulnerable, the disabled, those out of work and the homeless as well as the elderly or those with some kind of mobility or mental problem. It says a lot about us as a society when there are lots of homeless people sleeping on the streets and the use of food banks is growing.

We need to look at the reasons for these things. It is easy to become homeless if you become ill or are made redundant from your job. If you can’t pay your rent or mortgage then you can lose your home. If no-one helps you then you can end up homeless and sleeping on the street. But what about helping others by offering to shop or cook for them? Even holding a door open for a woman with a pushchair or an elderly person is helping someone. Helping each other can be simple. Sharing food and transport is another way of helping. I am sure you can think of many ways in which we can help each other.

At this time of the year when we remember all those who died in the war, then let us think back to the ways we had of helping others then and try to do this again. It doesn’t cost anything, only perhaps your time. Remember that actions speak louder than words.

Just for today

I have decided quite recently to start working with Reiki again. I have missed my daily sessions and meditations with Reiki. The Reiki precepts are not only for Reiki but suitable for use every day whatever your beliefs.There are many versions of the precepts but this is the one I like:

Just for today I will let go of anger

Just for today I will let go of worry

Today I will count my blessings

Today I will do my work honestly

Today I will be kind to every living creature.

Some of these can be quite hard at times. I am not one to get angry at others or things that happen but I do worry and find this precept quite hard to deal with. Yet worrying doesn’t make sense and I know this. I try to change the things I can change and learn to live with those things I can’t change. I always count my blessings, doing this every night before I go to sleep. Looking at what you have puts things into perspective when you see those who don’t have anything not even water in some places. We are so lucky in the western world.

I am honest and always have been and that can cause me grief as I do tend to speak my mind but try to think first before opening my mouth! I also try to be kind to every living creature including the spiders I don’t like but in general I feel I do this.

After all the recent stress of moving house and having the new bathroom, then working with Reiki has helped me greatly. I am no longer stressed and feel much happier in myself. I always understood that Reiki was not just about helping others to heal but about healing yourself and becoming who you really are and this has certainly worked for me. I am now at the moment where I am going much deeper into Reiki and the meaning of the symbols and everything that goes with Reiki. I am also now feeling able to teach others Reiki again and this does not have to be done person to person but can be done over distance so if you are interested then do let me know.

My photo this week is a butterfly, a symbol of transformation.

 

Repercussions

Many things that happen have repercussions most of which we don’t like or even expect. This last couple of weeks have brought about a large amount of repercussions after the tower block fire. I think that last week I said that misdoings were coming to light much sooner than before and that those who did the misdeeds would have to face up to what they had done.

The repercussions from the fire have shown how much our government and local councils really cared about us. They allowed buildings to be erected without the proper regulations to protect us. I generally keep politics out of my blog but this is enormous and has to be faced. Have you thought how people must feel if they live in a tower block or stay in a hotel or work in a hospital that does not have proper fire safety regulations adhered to during the building process and afterwards?

Any fire is traumatic when unexpected and this was a blaze not just a small fire. It has brought up anger as well as grief in those involved and it also is bringing up grief and anger which has been unresolved in others. But it is bringing to light the facts about the buildings too. Many people are scared to still be living in tower blocks in case there is a fire. It is going to take a long time to make people feel secure in their homes but it will also bring up many other unanswered questions about cuts to services and other things such as our health service.

Maybe it is awakening people to the fact that there are other ways of living where there is an equality and fairness in all dealings After such an event the local community come together to help each other but we should be helping each other all the time. How many more traumatic events do we need to wake everyone up to the fact that there is a better way to live?

We all managed during World War II and housing was found or built soon after the end of the war. What has changed in the last sixty years that we cannot find the way to deal with these events?

Random thoughts

It has been a strange week, interesting in many ways and hard work in others. I have started to move boxes into my new home and that has made things easier in some ways and harder in others. So this week has been a mixture of good things and bad things if you like. It was sad to say good-bye to a group of people I have been working with  on family history but we will keep in touch. Maybe there is a new group around the corner once I have moved.

The events in Manchester have coloured all our lives especially as we are not that far away where I live and many people that I know go regularly to there. But fear is not the way forward and that is what our current government are trying to do, make us afraid and take away our liberty whatever they do or say. It is a well-known way of controlling the masses. But the way in which people  work together after such a tragedy is always for the better. This is how it worked during the war years. People pulled together and shared worries and gave help to all who needed it. But we should not need attacks such as that this week in order to work together or help each other.It is something that should be an everyday part of our lives. But I am still amazed at the racist outpouring that I heard from some I thought were better than that.

On a good note, I have taken some of my blog posts over the last couple of years or so and made them into a book. Many people don’t want to scroll back and read previous posts so a book is easier for them. I have titled it ‘Words from the Heart’, because that is what these words are. They come from my heart and often from deep down. There is space after each one for you to write in your own thoughts. I will post a photo of the cover here at the end. It can be obtained via my web site (www.cerianwen.co.uk) or direct from lulu.com

The hot weather of recent days and the sunshine have brought the rose tree in my back yard into bloom. It is more like a wild rose but it does have a scent and together with the scent of yellow roses in someone else’s garden, it has enhanced the days. Nature is a wonderful thing.

My final random thought is this, peace and love will prevail if we allow it. Send out those thoughts into the world and love yourself too. Set an example for others and don’t let fear in or hate.

Where to start?

I have got lots of ideas in my head about what to write about this week but where to start? One of the main things that got to me this week was the attitude of those who don’t vote because they say whatever happens won’t affect them. One local seat was lost by fifty votes and I wonder how much difference it would have made if those who did not vote had actually gone and voted. Many years ago only men who owned property could vote and then it became all men as long as they were employed. Eventually women were able to vote as well. We owe it to these ancestors to use our right to vote which they fought for.

Another thing that got to me this week is how brainwashed a lot of people are. They seem to think that what they read in the papers and hear on the television or radio is the truth. They are not able to discern fact from fiction. Our local paper had a wraparound cover the other day paid for by the Tory party. I found it rather offensive but then the newspaper is owned by a large firm who will do anything to get more money. The money that paid for this cover in many other newspapers too, could have gone towards our health service and helped many people.

I try to keep politics out of my writing but I want to see a fairer world where children do not go hungry, where education is good and free and where our health service is available to everyone. We should not be seeing homeless people on the streets or people having to use food banks. As a population we should be moving forward and looking towards a better, fairer future, not moving backwards to what life was like in the Victorian age and before. What went wrong I often ask myself. Where did we become complacent about our government and when did we stop believing that they had our interests at heart? How can we help others to learn to discern truth from lies and find out the best way to get things changed? I’m not sure it will happen in my lifetime but I hope it happens soon so our children and grandchildren have a decent future to look forward to.

 

More on taking things for granted

I am writing this with one hand. An unexpected event occurred on Friday evening. I was doing something quite normal with my left hand when I got a very sharp strong pain around my thumb. Overnight the hand swelled and the pain got worse and I could not use the hand at all.

Here in the UK we have walk in clinics often attached to small hospitals so I asked a friend to take me there. After four long hours and lots of x-rays I was back home with my wrist and thumb splinted so I could not use them.

Until you don’t have the use of a hand you don’t understand just how difficult it is to do things using only one hand. I think I am being given some lessons to learn this week. And yet I have known people who only had one arm and they always seemed to manage OK. I think that you learn to adapt and find ways of doing things so this is what I shall be doing until my appointment at the fracture clinic on Thursday.

So this blog is shorter than usual for obvious reasons.  I shall now go and find a way to have a wash and get dressed without any help. It has made me appreciate what others go through at times in their lives. And also appreciate the dedication of the nurses who are not paid enough for their work.

Taking things for granted

Earlier in the week I was thinking about this blog and found a really good word for the title. Now it escapes me and I have had to use the words ‘taking things for granted’. However I was looking at what we take for granted, here in the UK at least. Most of us take for granted that we may have a job, a house or other residence, enough food and enough clothes. We take for granted the electricity and gas that power our homes and we also take for granted the water we use. Some of course have other sources of power and some even have a well not piped water but we do have water.

So what else do we take for granted? We often take our relatives and friends for granted too. We expect them to be there for us when we need them and can get upset when they don’t help. We take our public services for granted. I know we pay for them but we get cross when they don’t work. We take for granted that our politicians will do the best for us even though we know they won’t but we seem unable to get them to change.

One of the main things we take for granted is our health. Although many of us have various kinds of health problems we expect them to be dealt with by doctors and hospitals, but don’t fight for the nurses to have better pay so they can do an even better job of looking after us. But the health problem hit hard this week. I have been having a lot of pain and swelling in my hands and wrists and am waiting to see a consultant. But I have been busy sorting out lots of paperwork from years past and this has not helped. I woke up the other morning unable to use my left hand at all and my right hand only a little. Have you ever tried to wash and dress yourself with the use of only one hand and the partial use of the other? It was quite difficult and it brought home to me just how much we use our hands and take them for granted. We use our hands to wash and dress ourselves, to clean our teeth, to prepare food and cook it and to do so many other things it is too long to list them.

So what do you take for granted in your life? How do you deal with things that go wrong unexpectedly with what you take for granted? I love to read your comments some of which give me other lines of thought and different ways of perception so thank you all for those comments and keep them coming.

 

Working through brain fog

This week has been one where I have been suffering from what is known as ‘brain fog’. It makes it difficult to make everyday decisions and to do things. But I have had to work through it this week as I had a couple of important forms to fill in and post as well as other things to do with my research.

I find the answer was to do things in little spurts. Do a bit then rest or do something less tasking. Then do another bit and so on. That way I got the forms filled in and all the relevant papers copied and put them together and then took them to the post box yesterday.

But the decision making is on hold. I know I have to move again at some point as my health is not good enough for me to keep managing the stairs. Ideally I would love a cosy cottage in the countryside in a nice village with friendly helpful neighbours. But I know that is not possible as I need to be near help if needed and a good bus service and some shops as well as the usual optician, dentist and doctor. So somewhere along the line I have to compromise but making those kind of decisions when suffering from brain fog is not a good idea.

Decision making is always hard but I do go with what I call my gut feeling about places and people. My instinct does not often let me down. But when I have this brain fog I am quite wary. There are times when I think that finding my dream place would be really good and that if I took this leap of faith I would find what I needed in that dream place. But do I have the courage to do that and hope that all would work out well? Something for me to ponder on this coming week. Is length of life more important that quality of life I ask myself often. Perhaps this is where I stop writing today so I can ponder more on this question ready for a future blog.

All your thoughts are welcome as usual.