Monday, July 23, 2012
Collateral damage
Quod me nutrit me destruit - what nourishes me, also destroys me.
Christopher Marlowe
What does not destroy me, makes me stronger.
Friedrich Nietzsche
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Time is Fleeting
This is for me, to remember, to live by.
I will never regret not working enough but I will forever regret not spending more precious time with the ones I love.
Live as you will wish to have lived when you are dying.
Christian Furchtegott Gellert
The value of moments, when cast up, is immense, if well employed; if thrown away, their loss is irrevocable.
Lord Chesterfield
Waste not the smallest thing created, for grains of sand make mountains, and atomies infinity. Waste not the smallest time in imbecile infirmity, for well thou knowest that seconds form eternity.
E. Knight
The bitterest tears shed over graves are for words left unsaid and for deeds left undone. Harriet Beecher Stowe
Regret for the things we did can be tempered by time; it is regret for the things we did not do that is inconsolable.
Sydney J. Harris
Never put off until tomorrow what you can do today, because if you enjoy it today, you can do it again, tomorrow.
I will never regret not working enough but I will forever regret not spending more precious time with the ones I love.
Live as you will wish to have lived when you are dying.
Christian Furchtegott Gellert
The value of moments, when cast up, is immense, if well employed; if thrown away, their loss is irrevocable.
Lord Chesterfield
Waste not the smallest thing created, for grains of sand make mountains, and atomies infinity. Waste not the smallest time in imbecile infirmity, for well thou knowest that seconds form eternity.
E. Knight
The bitterest tears shed over graves are for words left unsaid and for deeds left undone. Harriet Beecher Stowe
Regret for the things we did can be tempered by time; it is regret for the things we did not do that is inconsolable.
Sydney J. Harris
Never put off until tomorrow what you can do today, because if you enjoy it today, you can do it again, tomorrow.
Monday, November 7, 2011
We must let go to move on
To see a world in a grain of sand,
And a heaven in a wild flower,
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand,
And eternity in an hour. Blake
Saturday, March 5, 2011
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Serenity
Grant me the serenity to
accept the things I cannot change,
the courage to change the things I can,
and the wisdom to know the difference.
Vir sapit qui pauca loquitur.
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Just Because
I do my thing and you do your thing.
I am not in this world to live up to your expectations,
And you are not in this world to live up to mine.
You are you, and I am I, and if by chance we find each other, it's beautiful.
If not, it can't be helped.
I am not in this world to live up to your expectations,
And you are not in this world to live up to mine.
You are you, and I am I, and if by chance we find each other, it's beautiful.
If not, it can't be helped.
Saturday, September 11, 2010
I heart Oscar Wilde
No matter his issues, his predilections, his somewhat mad view of life the man was a genius. Here are but a few of his most fantastic quotes.
The Picture of Dorian Gray
There is no such thing as a moral or an immoral book. Books are well written, or badly written. That is all
Genius lasts longer than beauty.
Nowadays people know the price of everything and the value of nothing.
Children begin by loving their parents; as they grow older they judge them; sometimes they forgive them.
It is the confession, not the priest, that gives us absolution.
To define is to limit.
Is insincerity such a terrible thing? I think not. It is merely a method by which we can multiply our personalities.
TBC
The Picture of Dorian Gray
There is no such thing as a moral or an immoral book. Books are well written, or badly written. That is all
Genius lasts longer than beauty.
Nowadays people know the price of everything and the value of nothing.
Children begin by loving their parents; as they grow older they judge them; sometimes they forgive them.
It is the confession, not the priest, that gives us absolution.
To define is to limit.
Is insincerity such a terrible thing? I think not. It is merely a method by which we can multiply our personalities.
TBC
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Lessons from Today
Life is too short for regrets
Life is too short to hold grudges
Think how you want to be remembered
Sadly it is at your funeral that how much you are truly loved and remembered becomes obvious
Never wait to say something important, do something important or say or do something you think matters even if it isn't important
because
Life Is Too Short For Regrets.
Life is too short to hold grudges
Think how you want to be remembered
Sadly it is at your funeral that how much you are truly loved and remembered becomes obvious
Never wait to say something important, do something important or say or do something you think matters even if it isn't important
because
Life Is Too Short For Regrets.
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Going around in circles
To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, a time to reap that which is planted;
A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;
A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.
A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, a time to reap that which is planted;
A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;
A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.
Monday, August 9, 2010
Forever Searching
Better to light a candle than curse the darkness
The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light.
Monday, August 2, 2010
Imagine if you will
O for a Muse of fire, that would ascend
The brightest heaven of invention,
A kingdom for a stage, princes to act
And monarchs to behold the swelling scene!
Then should the warlike Harry, like himself,
Assume the port of Mars; and at his heels,
Leash'd in like hounds, should famine, sword and fire
Crouch for employment. But pardon, and gentles all,
The flat unraised spirits that have dared
On this unworthy scaffold to bring forth
So great an object: can this cockpit hold
The vasty fields of France? or may we cram
Within this wooden O the very casques
That did affright the air at Agincourt?
O, pardon! since a crooked figure may
Attest in little place a million;
And let us, ciphers to this great accompt,
On your imaginary forces work.
Suppose within the girdle of these walls
Are now confined two mighty monarchies,
Whose high upreared and abutting fronts
The perilous narrow ocean parts asunder:
Piece out our imperfections with your thoughts;
Into a thousand parts divide on man,
And make imaginary puissance;
Think when we talk of horses, that you see them
Printing their proud hoofs i' the receiving earth;
For 'tis your thoughts that now must deck our kings,
Carry them here and there; jumping o'er times,
Turning the accomplishment of many years
Into an hour-glass: for the which supply,
Admit me Chorus to this history;
Who prologue-like your humble patience pray,
Gently to hear, kindly to judge, our play.
The brightest heaven of invention,
A kingdom for a stage, princes to act
And monarchs to behold the swelling scene!
Then should the warlike Harry, like himself,
Assume the port of Mars; and at his heels,
Leash'd in like hounds, should famine, sword and fire
Crouch for employment. But pardon, and gentles all,
The flat unraised spirits that have dared
On this unworthy scaffold to bring forth
So great an object: can this cockpit hold
The vasty fields of France? or may we cram
Within this wooden O the very casques
That did affright the air at Agincourt?
O, pardon! since a crooked figure may
Attest in little place a million;
And let us, ciphers to this great accompt,
On your imaginary forces work.
Suppose within the girdle of these walls
Are now confined two mighty monarchies,
Whose high upreared and abutting fronts
The perilous narrow ocean parts asunder:
Piece out our imperfections with your thoughts;
Into a thousand parts divide on man,
And make imaginary puissance;
Think when we talk of horses, that you see them
Printing their proud hoofs i' the receiving earth;
For 'tis your thoughts that now must deck our kings,
Carry them here and there; jumping o'er times,
Turning the accomplishment of many years
Into an hour-glass: for the which supply,
Admit me Chorus to this history;
Who prologue-like your humble patience pray,
Gently to hear, kindly to judge, our play.
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Ill met by moonlight
While these visions did appear.
And this weak and idle theme,
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Lest We Forget
95 years ago today the ANZACs landed at Anzac Cove at Gallipoli. By the end of the bloody campaign some 8,000 Australian and 2,700 New Zealand soldiers had died and many more were wounded. Their spirit and sacrifice lives on in the ANZAC legend. Today we commemorate them and the fallen from the wars that followed.
Those heroes that shed their blood and lost their lives. You are now lying in the soil of a friendly country. Therefore rest in peace. There is no difference between the Johnnies and the Mehmets to us where they lie side by side Here in this country of ours. You, the mothers, Who sent their sons from far away countries Wipe away your tears, Your sons are now lying in our bosom And are in peace After having lost their lives on this land they have Become our sons as well.
- They went with songs to the battle, they were young.
- Straight of limb, true of eyes, steady and aglow.
- They were staunch to the end against odds uncounted,
- They fell with their faces to the foe.
- They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
- Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
- At the going down of the sun and in the morning,
- We will remember them.
Those heroes that shed their blood and lost their lives. You are now lying in the soil of a friendly country. Therefore rest in peace. There is no difference between the Johnnies and the Mehmets to us where they lie side by side Here in this country of ours. You, the mothers, Who sent their sons from far away countries Wipe away your tears, Your sons are now lying in our bosom And are in peace After having lost their lives on this land they have Become our sons as well.
Kemal Atatürk
I won't be marching today as I normally do with the horses but the nibs and I will watch the march as our veterans and solidiers pass and we will wear my dad's/his grandad's medals with pride and cheer as they pass. Please take a moment to remember the fallen.
LEST WE FORGET
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Fractures - repost
This was originally posted a while ago but it seems important in the light of things to move it up.
I broke a glass on the weekend. Nothing major, just a bog standard, cheap Ikea glass. Made in Italy for what it's worth. It was on the edge of the bench, stupid place to put it, my own fault. I knocked it, wasn't quick enough to catch it so it broke, smashed, spread shiny little shards on my kitchen floor. A whole suddenly in pieces. It was swept up, put in the bin but still I missed pieces, I stepped on two, TG on one, niblet on none thankfully. Thought nothing of it.
Until now.
I'm finding that glass is a metaphor for things that have happened in the last few weeks. A whole, something apparently cohesive, shattered into pieces by an act brought on by a combination of factors, much like my smashed glass. It broke because I knocked it but a combination of factors led to it being in the wrong place at the wrong time. For a while it seemed swept up and kinda alright but actions have consequences and now it's like ripples in a pond spreading out from the impact of a stone, the slow motion fracture of my glass as it hit the floor the concussion of the blow moving through the solid structure shattering it.
Well shit happens I suppose but I hate it, I hate conflict, I said to someone 'I don't do black and white', I see the sides, the stories, I can't define where it is I sit because that is not me. Life is all shades of grey inbetween to me. No one will ever agree completely, that's not human nature. What defines us is how we deal with those disagreements. How we take the opinion and actions of others. Do we take them to heart straight away, think them over or just go with the flow? Do we just act and think later, consider what we're going to do and then do it or consider it and decide that maybe, no that's not the thing to do at this moment in time.
Words can be powerful, they can change people, lives, history. And yet they're used so thoughtlessly without any thought for what the future may bring because of the way those words have been used. Simple little things like 'I love you' 'I hate you' they make and break people. Then there's the more insidious use of words, phrases skipping around their true meaning or just outright saying what you mean.
Words can mean absolutely nothing but they can mean so much too.
Think on that. Own what you say but say what you own with care. Because behind the screen there is not only the machines there are people, people with hearts, minds, feelings. People who sometimes wonder what the damn point of it all is. You may not care who you piss off or upset but the people you piss off and upset do. Actions and words are the stone in the pond, they spread, have a ripple effect, they hurt.
I broke a glass on the weekend. Nothing major, just a bog standard, cheap Ikea glass. Made in Italy for what it's worth. It was on the edge of the bench, stupid place to put it, my own fault. I knocked it, wasn't quick enough to catch it so it broke, smashed, spread shiny little shards on my kitchen floor. A whole suddenly in pieces. It was swept up, put in the bin but still I missed pieces, I stepped on two, TG on one, niblet on none thankfully. Thought nothing of it.
Until now.
I'm finding that glass is a metaphor for things that have happened in the last few weeks. A whole, something apparently cohesive, shattered into pieces by an act brought on by a combination of factors, much like my smashed glass. It broke because I knocked it but a combination of factors led to it being in the wrong place at the wrong time. For a while it seemed swept up and kinda alright but actions have consequences and now it's like ripples in a pond spreading out from the impact of a stone, the slow motion fracture of my glass as it hit the floor the concussion of the blow moving through the solid structure shattering it.
Well shit happens I suppose but I hate it, I hate conflict, I said to someone 'I don't do black and white', I see the sides, the stories, I can't define where it is I sit because that is not me. Life is all shades of grey inbetween to me. No one will ever agree completely, that's not human nature. What defines us is how we deal with those disagreements. How we take the opinion and actions of others. Do we take them to heart straight away, think them over or just go with the flow? Do we just act and think later, consider what we're going to do and then do it or consider it and decide that maybe, no that's not the thing to do at this moment in time.
Words can be powerful, they can change people, lives, history. And yet they're used so thoughtlessly without any thought for what the future may bring because of the way those words have been used. Simple little things like 'I love you' 'I hate you' they make and break people. Then there's the more insidious use of words, phrases skipping around their true meaning or just outright saying what you mean.
Words can mean absolutely nothing but they can mean so much too.
Think on that. Own what you say but say what you own with care. Because behind the screen there is not only the machines there are people, people with hearts, minds, feelings. People who sometimes wonder what the damn point of it all is. You may not care who you piss off or upset but the people you piss off and upset do. Actions and words are the stone in the pond, they spread, have a ripple effect, they hurt.
No (wo)man is an island, entire of itself; every (wo)man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main.
John Donne
So be it, I have said my peace, interpret it as you will. I condone nothing and condemn no one I only write from my heart in the hope it will make you think about what you say and how you say it.
There but for the grace of god go I.
There but for the grace of god go I.
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Patience
Grant me the serenity to
accept the things I cannot change,
the courage to change the things I can,
and the wisdom to know the difference.
Friday, December 25, 2009
Merry Christmas!!
From my family to yours.
Wishing you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy and Safe New Year.
May you always have a star to guide your way through the darkness.
Wishing you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy and Safe New Year.
May you always have a star to guide your way through the darkness.
Friday, December 18, 2009
Early Christmas present!
Exhibit 1 - My messy entrance hall, bags galore EVERYWHERE
Ignore the Dell box, someone saw fit to just leave it there, because of course that's an appropriate place to leave it!!
Exhibit 2 - Our new storage chest, the first step towards a (hopefully) better organised hall.
Exhibit 2 - Our new storage chest, the first step towards a (hopefully) better organised hall.
This one is for all of niblets bags and stuff plus maybe my bag too if it fits!! Yes the cat has claimed it as her newest sitting spot, it'll be fun for a day or two and then she'll try to work out how to get into it once she realises it opens.
We have one more box and a sideboard that a friend is giving us to come. I'm hoping by weekend's end (or at least before christmas) my hall will have returned to some semblance of tidy!
A couple more just cos she's funny!
Aren't the little crossed paws classic! A duchess in the making.
Friday, October 16, 2009
Eternity In An Hour
To see a world in a grain of sand,
And a heaven in a wild flower,
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand,
And eternity in an hour
William Blake - Auguries of Innocence
I'm a little late but stop, just for a moment.
In America and Canada October 15th is Pregnancy and
Infant Loss Remembrance Day.
But all over the world there are families with empty arms
and broken hearts, my own extended family and close friends
included. So pause, light a candle, take stock of your lot,
hug your kids and loved ones and remember how blessed we are
to have them here, because time is so very very fleeting.
Friday, July 24, 2009
Here Tis
Well here it is in all it's minimalist glory. It's weird how at random moments the last few months I've come up with an idea for a blog title or a post but never gone through with it. Till now. A little flash of light after a conversation with someone on if I'm Aussie or English (mainly related to cricket and some burnt stuff in a trophy of course).
Well I'm half and half. All sandgroper on me mam's side and all barmy army on me pa's. I have no single allegiance, that would be boring and that's just not me. This is a good way to show off my gorgeous, not so little anymore, man and just put my thoughts into words.
Welcome to my crazy, mixed up world. It's kinda fun for the most part. SG
Well I'm half and half. All sandgroper on me mam's side and all barmy army on me pa's. I have no single allegiance, that would be boring and that's just not me. This is a good way to show off my gorgeous, not so little anymore, man and just put my thoughts into words.
Welcome to my crazy, mixed up world. It's kinda fun for the most part. SG
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