To evolve, it is an ongoing process, at the moment my process is to grow in love and compassion while realising our interdependence. I believe it is vitally important for man to evolve into this before colonising the stars.

Oooooh, yes, the list is as long as my arm, but the main one was that it is not others or the situation that needs to change - but I can and do change me - change my attitude, change my ideas, change my opinions, my preconceptions, change my routine, and the more I am willing to change then life flows more smoothly, I hope I will still be open and willing to change when I draw my last breath.

We get used to buying a few seeds in expensive packets, lately I have been saving my own seeds, it means the garden is a little less tidy, but I have been amazed by how fruitful non f1 seeds are, I let one cabbage burst through the ball head and seed, it produced enough seed to supply our whole village with cabbages, i missed one outdoor cucumber at the back it grew enormous, I scraped out the seeds and dried them on kitchen paper, then cut the flesh in batons and pickled them, that also produced enough seed to supply our village. I grew one f1 tomato in the greenhouse, but the outdoor heritage varieties outperformed the F1 in productivity, flavour and variety, I had red ones, yellow,  and orange, green striped, cherry and huge ones. all these were saved from a supermarket pack of heritage tomatoes, costing a pound.. I have also saved bean, pea, melon and spinach, cape gooseberry, tomatillo and squash seeds. I have saved a fortune, and had a plentiful supply and plenty spare to give away to neighbours. I save my seed from the biggest fruit on the most productive plants.  Happy gardening everyone, give it a try.

I see what is in front of me - in fine detail. Sometimes the now gives me clues to my next action, or the past, or future

LOL....Did you mean a curious person, like singularly peculiar? or did you mean do I exhibit curiosity as a personality trait, ? I would say tempered curiosity, I hate to remain ignorant and investigate imaginatively,being inquisitive and speculative,  but I draw the line at prying or snooping. LOL only my friends can judge if i am curious!!!!

What unknown? How do I know till it appears? I might welcome it as novel or unique, on the other hand my life might depend on legs running as fast as they could carry me!!!!

Think, are you wiping your bum on ancient forests?

destroying the planets lungs for throw away paper products?

What use is a pampered bum if air quality is dire
we need to breathe and our trees are the planets lungs,

alternatives - a bidet
recycled paper loo rolls
cloth or cane,  shopping bags / baskets, instead of paper plastic ones
any further suggestions?

Protest here - 
See the devastation and change your shopping habits.

http://www.greenpeace.org/international/news/kc-121106


http://forests.org/shared/alerts/send.aspx?id=gp_ancient_forests#enterinfo

Wonderful, happy, amazed. I was hoping to see some shooting stars tonight, and a bit disappointed when the forecast said head to the  midlands or north if you want to see the perseids, heavy cloud  covering the south and east.  We could see thick dark cloud at the front of our house, it looked like immanent rain. I thought to put the ducks and chicks to bed before we were deluged, and stepped out into the back garden, It was almost dark and I looked up, black cloud surrounded us in all directions, but above was a porthole window into the night sky, I sat on the balcony in the dark and watched about a dozen shooting stars, the porthole was in the exact area the shooting stars were appearing.
It was so beautiful, and peaceful, interrupted only by the calls of a pair of tawny owls, and a few bats and moths flitting about. The universe provides some very unexpected and beautiful gifts at times.

Nothing - by plucking her petals you do not gather the beauty of the flower

Everything is beautiful but not everyone sees it.
beauty is the creator's hand in the universe

I am not naive, of course our system may not be perfect, what system ever is?
However, when I met my partner, he had had time off work, his heart was giving problems, it was a growth on the area which controls the hearts electrical activity which he had had from birth but had only just started giving him problems, he was admitted with an extremely rapid heart rate 220 which drugs would not stop, they literally had to stop his heart and restart the rhythm, he was promptly admitted and laser treatment, cured the problem that was 11 years ago and he is still well and normal. Recently he had another health scare and consulted the doctor, he was booked to see a hospital consultant and have a scan, within a week he had an appointment and was seen and fortunately there is no problem which we were preparing ourselves for.. My partner could not have afforded private treatment. 
           Our NHS has looked after my mother promptly and properly when she has been ill and when she fell and injured herself, she is in her nineties - so much for the theory the elderly are neglected. Access to our GP is free, she is very experienced and competant, and a beautiful approachable human being also. Mum could not have afforded private treatment either. It is something we have paid into for all of our lives when working and well, and it's worth every penny, there is no way I would want your system, where the poor can't afford care, that is not civilised.
    The NHS often makes the difference between pain and comfort, despair and hope, life and death, I am so grateful the system is there, and if some areas are not perfect, we can campaign and achieve change as I did over a local mental health issue, it took time but they listened and plugged the gap, improving the service, locally. I am proud of our NHS 
How can some of  your people justify a campaign, to deny the poor health care, and misrepresent our system to try and gain credibility ? That is like denying food aid to the starving. A friend of mine who nursed in the US was horrified how the poor were often terminally ill when first seen because they could not afford to pay for care earlier at the preventive stage!  Ours is not a free system but an equitable one, we all contribute our money regularly so that everyone can be cared for equally, now that is civilised.

If the US system is superior, why the need for charity like this?

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/the-brutal-truth-about-americarsquos-healthcare-1772580.html

All things we take for granted.

Is this why?

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/comment/stephen-foley-obamacare-is-bad-news-for-big-pharma-1772594.html

Not everyone does want to stay young, I have many grandchildren and realise that old age and death are a natural progression in life, without it we would be even more overpopulated. I have enjoyed and I think maximised all ages I have progressed through so far, without resorting to products or surgery promising eternal youth.
I haven't fought aging, and will be 69 in September. Amazingly people take me for much younger than I am, most think I am in my early to mid fifties, one even took me for late forties, I wondered about her eyesight, LOL  I make friends of all ages and am still adaptable and flexible, and amenable to change.I nearly died when I was eight, and didn't expect to make old bones, so i look on each new day as a gift. My partner is 13 years younger than I and we are happy.  Every age is what we make it, we can choose to maximise it's potential or to bemoan getting older, if we think old age is damnable - it will be.

For a poet - the next poem -

Shortlived Shrews.

A crescent moon shines a milky light,
a mysterious dance on the face of night.
More eloquent as twilight fades away
tall fingers of poplar whisper and sway,

Common shrew dark brown, pale brown,whitish,
dense velvety fur, bright eyes that are smallish
long pointy nose hides red teeth in pink gum.
tails held caravan style, shrew babies trail Mum

Shrew, leaves an often borrowed house
hidden under shrubs seeks earwig and louse   
an insect feast, for they eat their own weight.
Hears tawny owls too-wit-too-woo, it's a late

call, her distant reply pierces the gloom.
A night like this, our shrew will meet its doom
matched by owls' superb vision and silent flight
to be a feast for tawny owl one fateful night..

Well the victorians thought that if we spared the rod we spoiled the child and children were expected to be seen but not heard, some were even sent up chimneys to clean them,  thankfully we have evolved since then. I will simply say that my parents did their best in tough times post war to give me and my brother a happy childhood and I love them for that. I did my best for my children too, like my parents and grandparents before them..Like my parents, I was human, less than perfect, but we all had love and nurturing in common, comparisons can be odious, hopefully each generation improves on the parenting as we are continually evolving, and we must bear in mind conditions for each generation are different, the present economic situation is probably not helpful, but I believe most parents will do their best to love, protect, nurture and educate their children despite the global recession/depression.. .     

I think it would be harder if I was trying to be something other than me
To thine own self be true, has always been my guide, and I tend to come from the heart,( love, creativity and passions) and my intuition, I see intuition as connection with Universal intelligence, sceptical and wary at first I learned to trust it.  Being honest with myself means, I am able to love myself with all of my imperfections, knowing that I am a work in progress and using my own progress as a yardstick rather than worrying about other opinions and appearances, My opinions are mine and open to change and new ideas, mistakes will be my own and owned by me, not blamed on anyone else.
I fit me - like a glove, despite continual change adaptation and growth over
nearly seven decades. 

Listening like that is like hearing with the heart, not the mind; more a feeling sensing process of their heart. A walk in their shoes.

Usually my higher self and lower self are capable of working things out without bending anothers ear, if I need another ear, usually I am coming from ego / drama. 
If I had a hard day - the martyr, needing sympathy
if I had a successful day - clever clogs wanting an ego boost.
The worst thing is perhaps it can be those closest to me on the receiving end, so I try to work it out for myself and stick to living in the moment with some practical loving, my partner arrives home from work physically tired, a hug and a cup of tea is better than moans about my day, then he is more able to turn around and do the same for me, that is best of all, being listened to without the need to say a word; care and compassion by simply opening our eyes and seing what is before us.
I am human,  i don't succeed all the time, but being aware, I get better with practice, and without ego/ drama things tend to go more smoothly. Honesty with self, listening to self lessens the need to be listened to, realising my own foolishness is enough, knowing how human I can be, helps me be more loving and tolerant towards others ego / dramas.

Ooooh, so much -

Loving arms in a warm bed

The starlit night sky

shooting stars

spooning under the  moon

skinny dipping by moonlight

the moons sparkle on the sea

The peace

The mystery

Owls love calls

bats heiroglyphs in the night sky

moonlit pampas grass waving mysteriously.

visits from nocturnal animals, fox badger and wild boar

I'm more creative in the early hours

Watching the sunrise, sipping the first delicious cup of coffee, time to centre.
hearing the birdsong, this morning,mostly  blackbird, doves and jackdaws.
my ducks and chickens sheer joy when their night pen is opened and they are fed
getting ahead of myself with chores.
time to enjoy the garden,noticing with amazement how much bigger the turks turban squashes have grown overnight, smelling the lavender, the pears almost ready to harvest
Mum's smile when I wake her..
Our own fresh eggs for breakfast, beautiful shells of white, duck egg blue, and toasty brown, yolks like the rising sun.
Lines of clean washng blowing in the breeze
the cats greeting and my dogs tail wag.
Mum's nurse left with a rosy apple in her pocket fresh from our tree, an abundance of apples this year, though it's a young tree..
the daily Q&R
and it is still only 9am

When we mention art most cite painting and music, as if art ends there, but creativity abounds in so many different genres, sculpting, craft, carving, poetry, writing, architecture, theatre and dance, are all worth mentioning in the same breath, though often neglected. There is an art to many other skills too, there is art in gardening, cooking, and teaching, healing, weaving, making fine wines, parenting - can you think of any more I missed?  I think all these can be truly creative in their fields.
These are all special people who have developed their gifts, their passion and love is expressed in the beauty of their work. I truly value something made from creative skill, with love, and in preference would spend my hard earned money on these beautiful hand made things rather than factory made reproductions. I wonder why society seems to value some art more than others, is it conditioning?  What particular form of art do you do well / excell at?  What drives you?  What do you think?

A beautiful, very much alive field mouse under my dining table with my cat, the back door was open, I rattled a chair to frighten the cat off and they both ran out of the back door, I followed and the cat was hunting high and low - the mouse had gone back to nature where he belonged, it was not his day to die today, maybe an owl when he gets old -
he should be really wary of cats now.
I didn't pick the mouse up, I learned my lesson last rescue of a mole, gee they are strong and put up a fight scratching and with a strong bite, he lived though. All of nature touches my heart, and man is a part of nature.How can we fail to be touched, to love - the love in All.

LOL...He he he is this a trick question? An invisible question?  It doesn't feel like a real question to me. An enquiry,  querying an inquiry, or maybe an interrogation, or a subject at issue, you lost me here, what exactly was being called into question..........or is this a silly question?

Friday Five

1) Do you have a favorite element?   I assume greek classical elements?

Well as I am a virgo, not surprisingly it's definitely earth, I have a deep love and
affinity with nature, and love gardening. Air and water are integral with earth as far
as I can see, One with earth. Maybe fire is that little bit of passion in earth, lol

2) What's the weather like where you live? (hot, sunny, wet, dry, windy or cold, etc.)

UK E Sussex  Temperate, quite warm, humid, alternating spells of sunshine and showers between, luckily often overnight

3) Do you like to swim in the ocean?

I much prefer the ocean, as I can't stand chlorine, I grew up on the small island
of Jersey C.I. We all learned to swim at school.

4) Did you study chemistry in school? Did you like it?

Briefly, the chemistry teacher was young and shy and blushed furiously when reproduction
was under discussion lol

5) Do the elements show up in your spiritual life or religion? (symbolic candles,
the smoke of incense, the cleansing of water, or a connection to the land)

Nature plays a big part in my spiritual life,I see God as a universal intelligence in All.
All elements are spiritual really as I see God as present in All

Unity.

The wisdom, intelligence and beauty
of the whole natural world, how intricate,
entwined one with another, subtly
interdependent, we are not separate
we're holy, when wholly, a part of nature
the whole here now to love and nurture..