Never lose your sense of wonder, or in other words

The following is the original and the rewrite can be found by clicking here.

... never lose your sense of feeling surprise mingled with admiration, caused by something beautiful, unexpected, unfamiliar, or inexplicable. I was reminded of this a couple of days ago when I found myself exploring the local aquarium.

Being a land dwelling biped by definition anything under the sea is foreign, as well as curious, fascinating, different and worthy of any and all attention; if only for the astonishing way oxygen is extracted from the water to breathe. With all this wonder in front of me, as incredulous as it may seem, I actually became weary of it all... rather quickly.

Big fish, little fish, fat fish, skinny fish, flat fish, fish with teeth, fish without teeth... hey look, a shark, and another, and another; it seemed I had seen it all before - I WAS BORED. As if the universe sensed my impertinence, I turned a corner and was introduced to Chrysaora quinquecirrha. What I saw were dozens of them floating in the currents of their tank, backlit in blue. I simply stared in WONDER - And shortly after that, a small wave of humiliation washed over me.

Chrysaora quinquecirrha*

My wonder, particularly after watching a Chrysaora quinquecirrha find its way (with an awesome soundtrack added*) should be obvious, but perhaps not the reason for my humiliation - Simply stated, this small creature put me to shame for my ARROGANCE in believing I had seen it all before, knew it all, and simply wasn't savouring this amazing experience we call the human condition - I was reminded that having or revealing an exaggerated sense of one's own importance, knowledge or abilities is limiting.

It limits you with regard to - 

• stretching yourself and understanding more.
• seeing things you have not seen before.
• experiencing new things.
• moving beyond your comfort zone.
• connecting with people who look at the world differently.
• self reflection.
• experiencing the human condition to the fullest.

So with my newly minted Chrysaora quinquecirrha video, I am forever reminded to "Never lose my sense of wonder", as well as appreciate and savour the moments that come my way.

iamgpe  

* The sound track to the Chrysaora quinquecirrha is performed by The Mediaeval Baebes - Blow Northern Wind from the album The Rose.

The arts of man through all the years, and the light that guides us all.

The following is the original and the rewrite can be found by clicking here.

I did a very "city thing" on the weekend and went to the museum. I've been there many times before, but this is the first time since I started my "city living experiment"; it seemed my new city perspective guided me differently as I walked the halls.

In the past, I tended to find myself staring at the bones of giant creatures that inhabited the earth hundreds of millions of years ago, imaging their ferocity and wondering if I could out run them if the need arose. This time however, I seemed to wander the years a little closer to home... 4000 BC to 300 AD. Sumeria, Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece, Ancient Israel, Rome - All great civilizations of the past.

Artifacts, instead of bones, would tell the story and feed the imagination; mosaics, pottery, glass, fine jewelry, paintings, sculptures, architecture, tools and weapons, as well as all of the utensils, furniture and trappings of every day life... all recognizable, and narratives for those kindred spirits through all the years.

For me, it was the simplest of things that ignited my imagination... the numerous examples of "oil lamps" that seemed to fill the display cases, irrespective of civilization or century; small containers of various shapes and ornateness that used animal fat to illuminate the world.  

I could not help but imagine someone 4000 years ago, their oil lamp by their side pushing back the darkness as they wrote down their thoughts, crafted something of importance, shared ideas or visualized their dreams and wishes for a better day - A symbol that bound them, independent of time or place.

Engraved on the outside of the Royal Ontario Museum are the words, "THE ARTS OF MAN THROVGH ALL THE YEARS", which shamefully I had never noticed before, but will not soon forget. These words remind us that we are part of a community that has stretched past our ability to remember the countless individuals that came before us, except of course, though those "ARTS" they created and used; it is in this, their legacy seems to be secure.

Literally or figuratively we must light that lamp, push back the darkness and write down our thoughts, craft things of importance, share ideas or visualize the dreams and wishes for a better day - An ongoing need to contribute to "THE ARTS OF MAN", as someone, 2000 years from now, will be looking and imaging us in the darkness with the light of the computer on our faces.

Next week, a trip to the art gallery.

iamgpe.

"Keep fighting the good fight"... it was the only advice I had.

I just got back from visiting one of my favourite uncles who has recently been diagnosed with stage IV small cell lung carcinoma (colourfully captured in the attached photograph) . For those not familiar with this particular cancer, it is one of the more aggressive types with an extremely low survival rate (2% after five years) and is strongly associated with smoking; my uncle, his family and those around him are bracing for battle, with chemotherapy being the first salvo.

As we parted, shaking hands, hugging, and offering all those words of encouragement that weave themselves into these situations, I looked at my uncle and said, "Keep fighting the good fight". For me, it seemed to be the only advice I had to give, and maybe, the only real advice there is to give.

A phrase with roots in Christianity, "fight the good fight" was the "call to spread the faith" and was sometimes very much a literal activity - Nowadays, the phase more often than not is used to recognize, encourage and offer support for the difficult challenges that LIFE can bring our way. And more importantly I believe, it reminds of us of those traits that we can muster to help us overcome great adversity and accomplish wonderful things!

• Courage
• Resourcefulness
• Wholeheartedness
• Tenacity
• Thoughtfulness
• Fortitude
• Strength
• Honor
• Respect
• Honesty
• Love

All coming out of that simple word... "Good". 

Originally offered as advice, I think it is truly more of a mantra that reminds us of who we are, what we are made of, and what we can accomplish under the most difficult of situations. And when the "good fight" is over and the dust has settled, we can hold your heads high and show others how it is done.

So whatever your challenges, be them big or small, " keep fighting the good fight"...  I know that is what my uncle is doing.

iamgpe.