As a child  I met many animals and sea creatures, we can learn so much from them. ,Caterpillars and  tadpoles taught me about the possibility of transformation, a baby owl taught me trust candour openness, and how to be still; the cows and a huge carthorse in the fields next door taught me it to overcome hesitation and fear and to be aware and gentle. The cat taught me to share fun, and balance companionship with respect.  The dog taught me the meaning of unconditional love, sensitivity, and protectiveness..The tortoise taught me not to underestimate anyone, they may look slow but it's amazng how far they progress in a short time.. The bees taught me what a lot we can achieve if we pull together,.on each journey a worker bee filled two tiny pouches not much bigger than a pin head, together they filled the hive with lucious honey in waxy octagons. Bumble bees teach me to make hay while the sun shines.My ducks teach me to find joy in simple things and the value of curiosity,   Wow,I feel such gratitude and we are so lucky to co-exist with so many beautiful creatures

Well both  my christian name and my surname are unusual.. My surname first
There a several trains of thought for the origin of BAGE. One thought is that BAGE was a Scandinavian personal name¹. BAGE is also Norman French for the word Badge, which in turn also relates to the Middle English word Bagge². BAGE is also the Danish word for bake³. All of this points to the likelihood of the name originating in Scandinavia and making its way to England, probably via France.
                     My christian name Gael was a mistake on the birth register, usually spelt
Gale Gail or Gayle, LOL My father was unsure how it was spelt, so I got a very unusual name. As a child I was called Gay, because my first attempt at Gael was a sentence
me Baba Gay, my uncle always called me that, later my nickname was Smiler.....
cos I was a happy child
          Zephyr, was a name given by my patients, they said I breezed about the ward like a warm refreshing summer breeze

In Junior school, I loved the nature table, where we were encouraged to discover the world of nature, and  spelling bee's which I excelled at because I was ill a lot and was
a bookworm when laid up in bed. At primary school a certain Mr Lobb told us man would never reach the moon because there were no fuels powerful enough to lift us clear of earths gravity - I remember challenging him and saying I thought we might have the ability in the future with new discoveries, when man  finally did land there, I thought of Mr Lobb and wondered if he remembered our conversation.
At senior school though I hated learning a syllabus by rote,  I applied myself and got the required GCE's knowing I needed them to become a nurse, my favourite was citizenship classes, I couldn't wait to spread my wings.  I always questioned things and never accepted anything at face value, always needed to really comprehend./ understand.. Later, I learned that self-directed research was my forte and my preferrred method of learning..

Gardening and farming are highly dependent on oil, for machinery, fertiliser, and transportation; as  oil declines, in a low energy future, the sooner we adapt the better -


http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00hs8zp/Natural_World_20082009_A_Farm_for_the_Future/ 

i am well aware how much we owe to all of you, without you we would be knee deep in rotting carcases. Dear millipedes, centipedes, woodlice, worms and mycelium /  funghi, and all other creepy crawlies that live in my garden, every day I take my kitchen waste down to the compost heap and add a little more to the compost pile, if I lift a forkful, I see your industry, as you convert it all breakng it down to end up as your poo which becomes rich dark soil , holding on to moisture, and adding rich fertility to my garden without which we as humans couldn't exist. I am so grateful, and so I do not use strong chemicals that harm you, I love, encourage and nurture you, knowing we are all totally interdependent, one planet, and I pledge to work in unity with Gaia
                                                                                                                      love from Gael.

They are descriptive, neither good nor bad they simply are though some construe as one or the other. The other day after struggling to get a blood sample from my mothers frail veins, the nurse was admiring my ducks, on the spur of the moment I gave her half a dozen duck eggs, though they were only just coming back into lay and I was getting only one or two a day. The following morning their nest contained 6 beautiful eggs, one from each duck - the universe provides, what else do we need to know?

I lived On the small island of Jersey in the Channel Islands, all children were taught to swim there in primary school for our own safety, as we all were in close proximity with the sea, we were also taught life saving techniques. Our local beach Greve de Leque
had a deep rock pool, from one side to the other was only a few strokes, a safe place to learn, at the same time we learned about the tiny creatures that frequented rock pools.
We learned to float, dog paddle, breast-stroke, crawl,  and to dive..It was just after the war, our swim suits were knitted and stretched dreadfully when wet, we spent a lot of time wrestling the things to stay decent.. I learned to swim in sea water and to this day can't stand chlorine.  I also learned a lot about the indomitable human spirit, there was a man who was an above knee double amputee, he would walk down to the beach, take off his artificial legs, swinging his body between his hands he would make his way into the surf - he was an excellent swimmer, I so admired his courage.

I am not the all important self, we are each unique, and equal.  I am learning to merge with Oneness which is Love. If we are to survive as a civilisation we must lose ego and  together learn to find unity, integration, and inclusiveness, Oneness. Not just with humanity but with all Life and our living planet.  In reality, the life force includes all life, not just our species. .I certainly don't hold all the answers, but together ..... who knows?  I believe love is Key to unity,  but no one person or species can do it alone.

Authentic muse

Released from a life of freedom into ties
of sheer delight my muse choreographs
dreams, her thoughts a surreal canter
on the wild black stallion of night. Blush

of dawn illumines her bright light. Her words
are eagle’s wings that soar over mountains
and quicksilver seas.  In solitude she roams,
aware she will not be free; yet  feels complete

in shining hours, where indigo swirls high.
She plays with ghost forms that float in the sky,
prehistoric and gene-altered creatures, images
that meet her moments and run the gamut

of imagination. She endures suffering wrought
by doubts and fears, understands others caught
in the net of illusion. She swears she will not
ingest more seeds of doubt and fear,  severs

the beanstalk of melodrama, stems the tears.
She accepts both darkness and shining light,
blends imperceptibly with All.  A powerhouse
in her breast ignites - aligns her One with Life.

An open book, read me as you will. I see no point in hiding anything, my face betrays my every emotion anyway lol. Love and compassion is important to me so I am happy to be vulnerablle and trust the universe.

In  my openness to new ideas, which is rebirthing much new growth in my life,  I always gardened organically, but my love of Gaia is tipping me in new directions studying nature and working closely with her on plant groupings, conserving the earths natural fertility.and the many creatures that work with her. I no longer dig, I simply add mulches on top of  things that the natural fertility can work with. I provide habitat for many beneficial creatures. When I first started I had a few problems, but I stuck to my intention and eventually nature strikes a balance and harmony prevails. Chemicals have always been banned because of the harm they do to the environment. Today has been beautifully spring like, sunny and warm and I have enjoyed the company of my neighbours children in the garden, who offered help, and received a treat as a thank you, I am  feeling so in harmony with all, may you all feel similarly blessed!!!

I see God as Love, the life force that permeates all that is, oneness, - To love God
therefore i must open my heart to All, when love flows we can feel it in our hearts, extending it to all life, and if we are lucky we can feel it flow between to and fro, with another person, animal, tree, crystal, and sense the flow in the whole universe.
God never asked for perfection - only that we love.

The world has taught me to have great respect for the wisdom, bounty, power and love in nature / creation and to work closely with her, I see now how arrogant and foolish we have been, misusing and taking her for granted; other cultures regarded by some as primitive have been much wiser, realising we are a part of nature, part of a whole.

                       Gaia

Look down from space and feel wonderment
Look past the moon, dry as bone dust, catch your breath,
rising earth, alive, aglow, a gleaming membrane
of brightest blue, girded with great drifts of cloud..
Gaia, our ferry over the sea of existence
We are naked without earth, seed and forgetful progeny
of a super organism. Oceans and rivers are her blood.
Mountains are her spine, the land’s her bones.
Ley lines are meridians that carry her life force,
We consume the great forests of her lungs,
pollute the air she breathes in and out with the moons pull;
pour concrete on her heartbeat as it pulses beneath our feet.
All living creatures are her senses,
about seventy percent water and thirty percent earth,
the same proportions as land and sea.
We are a conscious assembly of earth’s elements,
know ourselves and we will know the universe


Earth Cinquains.


If Earth Were a Dog

I am
a flea, small part
of a gross infestation,
divesting earth of her fine pelt
nature..

( Interestingly the Line Line 5 connection here reads the truth - I am nature, 
we had forgotten we are part of that. )

If Earth Were a Car.

Four tyres
are going bald,
oil and gas are now low
maintenance required, no garage
for miles.

If earth were my lover.

Ego
has been so blind,
I’d beg her forgiveness,
I took all - see my repentance
in tears.

There are probably as many different wants as there are people, but if I were to hazard a guess....probably each wishes to realise their dreams,.... that may be for themselves, for another .....for family.... or for humanity, ..... for the whole world..... even for the universe (space travel ) If you are moved to please add your dream - just for fun.!!!!

I think I most trust the power of love,  Love can give us the strength to do more than we ever imagined, love is the best guide we could wish for, when I am unsure, I ask myself what would love do?  Love enables us to put the interests of All before selfishness. Whatever path we tread, love is a lantern to light our way  Then surprise, surprise we find contentment and happiness has settled on us while we weren't even seeking it. I am pretty much self reliant and try not to expect too much or lean on others, if help is offered then it's always appreciated. I like to feel trusted, and appreciate it when someone trusts me, i imagine others feel the same so I trust others too. I am rarely let down, if they let me down? well everyone is human and entitled to some mistakes, sometimes with love trust can be re established

I have been considering mindfulness and what it means to me, it occurs to me it is not simple to define - for me it is a combination of fine concentration of attention to whatever is the task in hand and accurate and careful, observation.also allowing space to reason and digest the incoming observation, allowing time to formulate appropriate response / action, also an openness of mind and readiness to empathise with another,  accept change, and see things from another's viewpoint. Mindfulness is without judgement or fixed notions, above words and what is visual, for example it may be a realisation of what was not said or seen.
Mindfulness does not play favorites. nothing is repressed or suppressed, it is awareness of the now. Mindfulness may reflect truth but it  does not distort. It is in periods of mindfulness that we get flashes of insight., it opens the door to compassion.  Some say there is nothing to be achieved, but I disagree with that statement, one can be mindful in a working situation, while carving a block of wood to create something beautiful that flows with the grain, or in a healing interactive situation for example where it facilitates a smooth flow of experience and comprehension between two people and even between species. .Mindfulness is a flowing moment to moment where self  is set aside to give full attention to what is. I am grateful for the years I spent nursing, because the strong desire to help my patients was a good stimulus to help develop mindfulness, my path was not buddism but I believe, bought me to a similar understanding of the term. I would love to have others views here as it's a slippery and complex concept to describe, but worthwhile pursuing as i feel it enhances our lives if we apply ourselves
.

Well maybe my backside, does my bum look big in this? it's always behind me!!!
 LOL  I don't think i left anything behind. I have moved on, worked through things, forgiven myself and others, but the memories are still there wthin. The loves who are
no longer here on earth are still loved remembered and cherished, I don't think they will ever leave me completely. It is the loving that I will never regret, no love is ever a waste, it is love that has grown and expanded to become more inclusive.