Breathing

So much going on here in the last couple of weeks, and I've barely had time to catch my breath, never mind update the blog. I hope to post very soon, as there is quite a lot I want to share :)

❤❤❤

This moment

When life sends raindrops - stop and drink - then get on with the dance.

Joining in with Soulemama today and wishing you a weekend full of life.

all over the place

Sometimes we need to climb up higher and look at the landscape from a different perspective.

Or crawl down into the darkness, looking for a shaft of light.

Sometimes we even find it.

I always feel so much better after a visit to the sea. Standing on that edge - just being there - it helps.

Looking behind me, I see how busy the beach has been - although we are the only ones there right now. Footprints - paw prints criss-cross the sand. 

They look - purposeful.

 And I have a purpose today too...

For there are more than footprints left on this beach.

Strewn among the boulders- washed up or left behind.

Bright, shiny, colourful, convenient

but deadly.

And definitely not disposable.

And that is only the plastic we can see.
When William Blake wrote his often quoted lines
"To see the world in a grain of sand"
the idea of a beach filled with microscopic synthetic polymers
was surely even beyond his fabulous imagination.

But in the 40 years since we began to mass produce plastic items
That is what we have created.

\But the waves still rise and fall, ebbing and flowing

in a relentless rhythm

As it has done since the Beginning

Who knows where this tide will take me.

But I feel the pull.

Visit No Plastic, No Excuses for more information on Plastic Pollution.

Fuzzy ramblings

Thank you all for your loving and supportive comments on my last post - both here and in other places. I was deeply touched, and felt so held by your kindness. The news is positive - he has multiple fractures to the back and pelvis, but once these have healed, then he will eventually walk out. We are so thankful.

He remembers the scene inside the tank - his hat being blown off, being aware that three of his friends were dead, seeing another colleague struggling as her body armour constricted her airway, and getting up to help - thinking that his back was sore. We are so proud of him.

I wrote last time of how "real" this story was - and it is - it's happening to us right now. And your comments so eloquently expressed that feeling of connectedness. But since then, I suppose have been in a bit of a bubble. I have no idea how many more people have died as a result of conflict - how many more families have had their lives put on hold because of the loss or wounding of a loved one - how many more young people are now facing a life with debilitating injuries, mental health trauma or issues we will never know about. They do not become part of my reality. I see newsbites on TV - read a few columns in a newspaper, or notice it "trending" online. I feel sadness and distress for those involved, but then we are moved on to the next story.  It has to be that way, because we could not bear such sorrow...

We would be so overcome with grief and anger that we would all  rise up in a fury and demand an end to it - make it end! We would be outraged every time we heard of our brothers and sisters killed or injured somewhere in the world. Grief-stricken every time we heard our children being described as "collateral damage". Beside ourselves with anger and sadness whenever our mothers and fathers were forced to flee their homes with only the clothes on their backs - and sometimes a bullet there too. Wouldn't we?

So -can love save the world? Maybe - but right now I think we need more than that. We need real, righteous, loving anger, and I am angry!  Angry about all these wars and my greed that causes them. I am angry at the loss of so many wild and precious lives*, just because they happen to be lived in the wrong place. I am angry that our very home is being lost to us all. How did I let that happen on my watch? I am angry that I am killing other creatures with my waste and sloth. I am angry because for years I have allowed myself to just move on to the next story. 

I am angry -  and I suppose that is better than just being sad. 

But - even writing this, I am overwhelmed at the magnitude of it all. The sheer size of the problems that I have helped create. What possible solutions are there? How can I make a difference to any of this? Sure, I can "like" a few posts on facebook, or retweet a couple of links. I can read blog posts and books, watch videos and nod my head until it falls off. 

Already I feel myself slipping from anger to despair. 

And that is how it works. 

That is why we are in this mess.

And because it isn't directly affecting my reality right now

I can allow myself the luxury of despondency

I have no idea where I am going with this - it is all still too fuzzy. All I can do for now is to put it out there  - 

to pray to hope, to love

and to try and stay angry.

* “Tell me, what is it you plan to do

with your one wild and precious life?” 

Mary Oliver

Sunday Reflection

So there I was, after my idyllic weekend - flying high, like the red kites that bid us farewell from the Welsh hills. 

And the weekend didn't stop there either. An overnight stay in a plush hotel and an unhurried few hours in Edinburgh was still ahead.

Plenty of time to spend a long, leisurely lunch, catching up with my son. How good it was to see him!

And then a smooth flight home to the island, where my husband and younger son were waiting at the airport. Oh yes, I was on top of the world!

The phone was ringing as we got home - my Dad calling. But -  it was one of those calls....

BOOM!

Literally.

The Big World exploded right into mine.

Afghanistan roadside bomb kills three British soldiers

British soldiers are due to pull out of Afghanistan in 2014

Continue reading the main story

UK troops in Afghanistan

• Military deaths in Afghanistan
• Roadside bombs 'deadliest weapon'
• Changing role of UK troops
• Q&A: Foreign forces in Afghanistan

Three British soldiers have died after their armoured vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb in Helmand, Afghanistan.

The soldiers were from the Royal Highland Fusiliers, the 2nd Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland.

Six other soldiers were injured in the bomb blast on Tuesday. Next of kin have been informed.

The attack was on a Mastiff vehicle, deemed one of the safest. David Cameron said he would consider "carefully" how the deaths had occurred.

It is the first time British soldiers in a Mastiff vehicle, which was introduced in 2007, have been killed by a roadside bomb, the MoD said.

---

My nephew - my sister's boy - was injured in this incident. A real person - someone I have known since the day he was born - someone I care about.  He is badly hurt, but, we have been told he will recover.

Three real families have been told different news. Three mothers will never again have lunch with their sons, an unborn baby will never know his Daddy's arms, three families will wait only one more time at an airport. This is so real - not another news story that I can shake my head sadly at, and get on with my day. 

Time stopped - all merged together as we waited for news of how badly injured he was - where he was being treated - what was happening - speculating on every possible outcome. It was as if we were in a dark cave, searching for a tiny chink of light - something - anything  -to reassure us that it would be OK. And, it will be.

Three worlds were shattered on this May morning, in ways I cannot begin to imagine. Ours? Well -  it shifted on it axis a bit - moved out of focus, slightly - but we will huddle together for a while and steady it again. For we still have our loved one here with us - our nephew, cousin, brother, son, friend - and we are so - so very thankful.

My friend and fellow crofter, Sharon Blackie, wrote the most beautiful post, yesterday. One of those timely, yet timeless tales, which spoke directly to my heart, just when I needed it.  I do believe that the Master Weaver sees the bigger picture, and, as I type this, I know that, somehow, a new and more beautiful pattern is beginning to form - even now. 

Please hold these men and their families in your thoughts and prayers.

Thank you.

Postcards from Wales

I have just had the most fabulous long weekend with some wonderful women friends. What an absolute tonic it was - I never stopped laughing from beginning to end.

We stayed at Kite Hill Yurts - which are located on top of a hill on the edge of Wales - truly stunning.

The Yurts themselves are comfortable and delightful. Kate and Dominic, the owners, really made us feel at home.

The setting is just perfect; the views, the walks, the trees - and even a Welsh rainbow - wonderful.

And there were Alpacas too - and a top bar bee hive! Everything was sustainable - compost loos, solar powered hot shower, drinking water piped from a spring - oooh - I  loved it a lot!! Can you tell I liked it?

One of the reasons we went there was to visit Wonderwool Wales - a festival of all things fibre. I didn't really take many photos here, as I was so busy nosing around, but I did have a long chat with the owner of the little Shetland ewe lamb there...I think they would do well on our island too!

After a lovely day of leisurely browsing, a tired but happy band of ladies headed back up the mountain with their new stash,

And very soon hands were busy casting on new projects, or learning to knit for the first time!

We had a day out in nearby Hay-on-Wye,  the most amazing town -  full of bookshops! Booths was my favourite - exactly what a bookshop should be  - with a fantastic cafe, too. These were without doubt, the best chips I have ever had - dipped in their homemade äioli - a dreamy combination.

But time stops for no one - and all too soon I was sitting in the airport, waiting,  with my new knitting, of course.

Lots of love to all the Yurt ladies, Denise, Dawn, Theresa, Gill, Lou, Kim and Lucy - and to Katie, Dominic and their sweet, sweet baby - thank you all - for an unforgettable weekend.