Thoughts on Avatar

I don't usually get sucked into movies, at all, but Avatar was just so visually stunning and thought provoking, I even found myself feeling quite emotional as the story progressed; how awful is humanity, I was thinking. The wisdom contained in the writing of this film probably barely touched most people's intellect, flying swiftly right over their heads. Others may think, well its nice, the idea that everything is energy, connected and living in harmony with nature and the Na'vi (the 'aliens' of the story) living in balance with mind, body and spirit, yes a nice idea, but its just a story, we can't do that.
Can't or won't?
We started out like that; peaceful, powerful, balanced and wise beings living in a harmonious environment and then over time we became corrupted, egotistical and materialistic beings; disconnected from our truth and from each other, we forgot who we really are. Most people will never wake up to this, they will remain lemmings controlled by the government, society, the media; they'll never think for themselves. They'll always be on an emotional roller-coaster as they acquire and lose, acquire and lose the things they are told they need to make them happy. They will lead insignificant lives of no benefit to themselves or the human race as a whole.
Excuse me as I jump off the soul destroying merry-go-round, step back and see the bigger picture.
Phew, what a relief! Now my stomach's not churning over and over with anxiety each day, on the contrary, my mind is now available to churn on all the things I was missing out on at the 'fairground'.
As a detached observer, I can be free of influence, I'm less stressed, more care free and I have time to concentrate on my well being. I can now discern what's really important in my life; things I took for granted before. I now know I am free to choose how I feel, how I react to situations. I see how, as beings of energy we are all connected, ok we're all at different levels of awareness, but we are all here to learn through our experiences. I see that I am ultimately responsible for who I am, how I feel, what I do or do not do.  Therefore I choose not to inflict suffering on my brothers and sisters through any of my deeds and I choose not to suffer emotionally from any negativity aimed at me from others.
But I've probably strayed too far, so just watch the film and then reflect upon your own life.
Are you on the side of the blind leading the blind and destroying the beauty of all things or are you moved to lift the veil from your eyes, see the bigger picture and realise, through your thoughts, words and deeds, your impact upon yourself and those around you.
Clearly, the winners were the Na'vi and its simple, live free, love indiscriminately and learn continuously...

Pigeon Fascination

Children chase them, adults keep them as pets to race with fellow enthusiasts, we feed them, talk to them and gleefully run through a flock of them delighting in watching them scatter. (As my friend Joey did in the pic). In extreme cases, like one Mr. Nikola Tesla (the inventor), he, well he fell in love with them, or one in particular according to his biography.
So what is it with these feathered friends that fascinate people of all ages and temperament? Is it the fact they are so tame, that we get to see them up close, can observe them, that we feel some sort of affinity for them?
The bookshop I currently work in opens out onto a pedestrianised street where, nearby, there is a water hydrant. The City's street cleaning vans come by a few times a day to fill up with water and after they leave, the pigeons flock to drink the water that inevitably leaks onto the paved street.
So I've had a chance to watch them closely. Pigeons have a 'pecking order' which I found funny; survival of the fittest at work. And indeed the 'fittest' are quite mean, biting the back of the necks of their weaker comrades. Many a bird has evidence of wounds inflicted in this way and all for the sake of a few crumbs thrown over by the old retired men sat on the benches nearby.
Lots of cooing, head ducking and chasing on foot ensues during the mating season and seriously, watching pigeons running is really amusing; its like an awkward quick waddle. Why run when you can fly I ask the females, but maybe, for all I know, its a part of the ritual?
Curiously, I feel a little protective of the little visitors outside my door.  One day there was a sick pigeon by the water hydrant; it was just sitting quietly alone and I felt sorry for it knowing straight away it wasn't 100%. It was vulnerable to someone's cruelty should they choose to shoo it or kick it and indeed, it was a young boy of around nine or ten who spotted it and was about to do something mean when he heard a very stern voice call 'DON'T'. The boy turned to look at me and I held his gaze and shook my head from side to side. He looked at the pigeon again and then back at me, shrugged his shoulders and fled to a nearby shop where his parents were.  The pigeon then got up and managed to fly up onto a large ledge of a building across the street. Curious indeed, I thought to myself...
I'd love to have Nikola Tesla's insight into pigeons. Was he just a crazy, lonely man who talked to the birds and believed they talked back or was he, outstanding genius as he was, onto something we have yet to discover? Maybe if we ask pigeon owners they'll tell us being among the birds is kind of therapeutic, well that's a nice idea and cheap too!
One thing is though, if you're going to feed the birds, be careful not to become overly friendly just in case! As my friend Sarah found out below...

Reality Shows...

Please, don't even get me started. 'Reality Show' this is such a contradiction of terms. IT IS NOT REALITY. All series under this genre are utterly pointless, meaningless and mindless. What a waste of time, a waste of life, a waste of energy. A senseless promotion of unenlightened, empty-headed lemmings. But I digress, its not their fault they're 'asleep' so I'll forgive them, forget them and move on...nothing else worth saying, apart from apologising for my momentary lack of compassion and tolerance for my fellow brothers and sisters...