Love Never Dies A Natural Death But...
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Waves Gurgled and Giggled at Us
(From Anita Nair's book of Poems, Malabar Mind; Poem: A Brief Respite)
Dolphin Altruism
"Several years ago, in the Gulf of Akaba, a British tourist was rescued by three dolphins from sharks. Near the Sinai Peninsula, a ship captain had stopped his boat so several passengers could watch dolphins playing. Three of the passengers decided to swim with them, and one stayed a little longer than the others. To his horror, he was bitten by a shark – and more were coming. Suddenly, three dolphins placed themselves between the tourist and the sharks, smacking the water with tails and flippers, and drove the sharks off so the man could be rescued. In 2004, a group of swimmers were confronted by a ten-foot great white shark off the northern coast of new Zealand. A pod of dolphins “herded” them together, circling them until the great white fled. There are several other examples from the area of Australia of similar incidences. In another case in the Red Sea, twelve divers who were lost for thirteen and a half hours were surrounded by dolphins for the entire time, repelling t...
Cher Ami
A brave pigeon -- Cher Ami -- bent on performing its duty in a human war -- the madness that costed us a total of about 16, 000, 000 lives and about 20, 000, 000 wounded or maimed. It should teach us a lesson. ====================== "It’s late September of1918 in northern France. The war will end soon on November 11, but one last massive battle, the Meuse-Argonne Offensive is raging on. It’s one of the biggest conflicts of World War I, lasting 47 days until the Armistice. Over a million Allied soldiers are involved and over 25,000 Americans will die by the end of this battle. A group of 500 American soldiers led by Major Charles Whittlesey were trapped in a small depression of a hill, surrounded by Germans. After the first day, only 200 of Whittlesey’s “lost battalion” were left. To make the situation even more FUBAR, their fellow Americans didn’t know their location and had begun firing shells at them. Whittlesey sent out two messages by homing pigeon asking the ...
Dogs Help People With Their Grief
Sometimes during periods of grief, a nonjudgmental, comforting presence can be all it takes to lift someone’s spirits. A grief therapy dog is a specially trained dog that does just that: providing comfort in times of crisis, grief, or even disaster situations. They will offer individual care, emotional support, and compassionate listening to those affected by the loss of a loved one, as well as to responding workers or volunteers. When tragedy strikes and people are working through their grief, the simple act of petting a dog can give comfort that no words can offer. They offer more than just a warm furry body; many dogs instinctually understand when someone needs comfort and offer it unconditionally. A grief therapy dog can improve therapeutic outcomes with calming effects, brightening of mood and increased motivation. These dogs have provided their care at grief counselling sessions in children’s schools or camps and, more recently, at funeral homes. Source Here
Kalachakra (Cycles of Time)
The 33rd Kalachakra Festival, Ladakh - 3 to 14 July 2014 The word kalachakra means cycles of time, and the Kalachakra system presents three such cycles – external, internal and alternative. The external and internal cycles deal with time as we normally know it, while the alternative cycles are practices for gaining liberation from these two. Read more here.
Like, Love, In Love
...and being "In Love" is when you learn to walk that path between the best and the worst either without expectation or with the hope that the worst will disappear and the best gets better; with the path becoming a stage of pleasant, engaging drama of togetherness
Temptation
Temptation... For some, it is a game to tempt and trap others. For others, with resources, being actively tempted is a way of life. For some, temptation is loss of innocence. For others, temptation is painful lifelong learning. For some, temptation is end of their career and future, their life. For others, temptation is the beginning of renunciation....
Global Risks 2014
Environmental risks feature prominently in this year’s list, with failure of climate change mitigation and adaption in fifth place. The World Bank estimates the cost of climate change adaptation for developing countries to be $70-100 billion per year through to 2050. Studies suggest that water scarcity – third on the list of global risks – could reduce grain production by as much as 30% . Food crises are number eight on the list.. Youth unemployment and underemployment are ranked as the second most important risk. About 300 million young people – over 25% of the world’s youth population – have no productive work , according to World Bank estimates. Add low-paid rural and urban self-employed workers, and the estimates rise to 600 million. Demographic trends are flagged in the report, including the risk of being unable to deal with rapid population growth and the growing burden of an ageing population. While it took 115 years for France’s population of over-65s to double from 7% ...
Forced Labour
Source of picture Almost 21 million people are victims of forced labour – 11.4 million women and girls and 9.5 million men and boys. Almost 19 million victims are exploited by private individuals or enterprises and over 2 million by the state or rebel groups . Of those exploited by individuals or enterprises, 4.5 million are victims of forced sexual exploitation . Those who exact forced labour generate vast illegal profits . Domestic work, agriculture, construction, manufacturing and entertainment are among the sectors most concerned. Migrant workers and indigenous people are particularly vulnerable to forced labour. Source
Who's Next?
Life is so uncertain...One moment we are around, another gone. Keep your friends and love ones close to your heart. Find time to be with them...Nothing could be more important than those moments.
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Our Origin?
Lately, I have been visiting temples (Hindu largely) for a number of reasons…And I get the feeling that I am at a place of “Origins”…In fact, the main idol in Hindu temples (representing power below it) is in a place identified as garbagriha (“womb chamber”), a windowless, dark chamber, "representing" the power of the womb. As you walk deep into the temple sacred space on the East-West axis, until you are under the main vimana , you get closer and closer to the "point" of Origins, a dedicated point…a point of undisturbed focus and attention, a point of annihilation and cure, a point of energy and creation, a point of sound, light, consolation and hope...
Of Masks and Honesty
"...sometimes we do not really change...just that our masks fall off...the cosmetics we wear peel off...the ideals we profess vanish.... revealing who we really are... allowing us a moment of critical self-reflection..." ( Source of picture)
Extinguishing a Family Line
For many years, I thought I knew what ‘extinction’ was. I was so, so wrong! I lost a person very dear to me some years ago. Fortunately, he left two children to continue him. But then, the all-mighty Time decided to snatch that two children too…Death followed Death followed Death…And, suddenly the whole family line was wiped out right in front of me: Isn’t that what happens in extinction...without any opportunity for continuity? How does any one even start to make sense of this kind of loss?
To Fall Where There is No Ground
There must be many of you out there in this situation... May you see a way out and find peace.
