When Bloggers Leave…

 

I was dismayed this week to discover that one of my favorite bloggers, HocusPocus13, a.k.a. “Jinx” has left the building.

Jinx was a voracious blogger and re-blogger. In addition to her own really cool and unique posts, she also scoured WordPress for the best of the best. Jinx often put up as many as 20-30 posts a day, all containing a bit of magic. Her motto was “path to a more productive life.” Her wise words were full of sound advice, scintillating spells, yummy recipes, beauty and creativity.

Over the past few days, I noticed there had been nothing posted by HocusPocus13 in my feed. This was unusual. Perhaps she was slowing down the pace? Maybe she was on vacation, or had taken a brief hiatus? (After all, blogging can be hard work!)

Upon further investigation, and much to my dismay, I found out that her site had been deleted. No warning, no reason, just disappeared like a result of the spell-work she so fondly purported.

Ah well.

This is cyberspace. Bloggers, Twitter posts, Instagram hits come and go, quickly as changing weather. Society in cyberspace is sporadic and erratic. We rely upon the fickle nature of satellites, nodes and WiFi crisscrossing to bring us together.

In reality,  what are we? A combination of electricity and Ram, motherboards and mother’s wombs, fragments of ethernet and memory.  Stardust.

And yet.

Just how ‘virtual’ is virtual reality? Some spiritualists and channelers now believe we are creating a new dimension within cyberspace, something between physical and non-physical, yet every bit as solid and real as what we have known before.  At any rate, I can’t help but feel a sense of loss when one of us leaves.

So Jinx, if by some chance you happen to read this, know you were appreciated, your blog was Important and you are greatly missed!

This goes for bloggers everywhere. Whatever message you are communicating into the great wide stratosphere, please know:  IT MATTERS.

Somewhere, someone is reading you. You are bringing a bit of insight, a bit of connection, a bit of horror or humor or courage or controversy into someone’s otherwise dreary day. Your unique perspective is contributing to our world.

Your thoughts matter. Your words matter. Your ideas and opinions matter.

WordPress Warriors, keep on bloggin’!  (And if you do decide to leave, for goodness sake, let someone know!)  🙂

“Words are, of course, the most powerful thing used by mankind.” — William Shakespeare

 

 

 

 

Quote Challenge: Day 3

 

 

For the third day of my Quote Challenge I have chosen these words from the Bard. The metaphysical nature of this quote is very, VERY deep.  It is one that changed my life.

The line is taken from Hamlet. Prince Hamlet, in deep depression and much mental anxiety, describes his native country of Denmark as a ‘prison’. His friends, college buddies Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, disagree. Hamlet then replies:

“Why, then ’tis none to you; for there is nothing either good
or bad but thinking makes it so. To me it is a prison.”

Of course, Prince Hamlet has good reason to see his country as a prison. Hamlet’s uncle  Claudius has recently murdered Hamlet’s father, taking over the crown  (which should rightfully belong to Hamlet.)  His mother Queen Gertrude  has married Uncle Claudius in what was then considered an incestuous relationship. Talk about injustice! Oedipus complex! Fratricide, regicide and Hamlet being tormented by the ghost of his father…

No wonder the poor guy is half insane, depressed and contemplating suicide. (The famous soliloquy “To be or not to be” quickly follows.)

But back to the quote. One man’s trash is another’s treasure; the glass is either half empty of half full.  However, true wisdom comes in recognizing that there is innately nothing good nor bad in anything, but what we BELIEVE about it makes it so.

If, for example, I have a peanut allergy, then I better not eat peanuts. Unless I want to swell up, break out in hives and possibly die.   But if I am a vegan, peanuts might be my life blood. Unless I want a  protein deficiency and the myriad of diseases that go with it.  I would actually take this idea one step further and say the peanut allergy ITSELF is a result of fear based thinking. The adherence to vegan principle ITSELF is  also a result of fear based thinking. “The thinking makes it so.”

We live in a dichotomy (not to mention a propaganda machine)  that teaches us to believe in the well defined nature of GOOD and BAD.  For example —  Life GOOD: Death BAD.  Justice GOOD:  Crime BAD.

Fair enough.

However, death might be good for one who is suffering a disease, or better still, one who recognizes that in the bigger metaphysical picture, there actually IS no death. Regarding crime and justice, who defines it?  A lot of stupid laws have been written and a lot of innocent people have been wrongly punished. Conversely, a lot of criminals with great lawyers have committed heinous crimes and gone free.

Take politics. (I realize this is a dangerous limb, and  the views expressed are NOT my own.) But let’s just say.  Guns GOOD: Enemy BAD.  Fetus GOOD: Abortion BAD.

Fair enough?

But what if a gun gets into the hand of a child who accidentally shoots himself?  Abortion might be a good choice for one who knows she cannot adequately support a child in the current economic system. (Or better still, one who recognizes that in the bigger metaphysical picture, there actually IS no death.)

However, if you are not going to be able to sleep at night without a gun beneath your pillow, then by all means, keep a gun!  If having an abortion will cause you emotional anguish for the rest of your life, then by all means, have the baby!  Even the Bible itself quotes Jesus as saying ‘Judge not lest ye be judged.’ Because, the TRUTH is:

“There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.”

 

 

 

Quote Challenge – Day 2

 

 

Which is why you will always find PICTURES and CONVERSATIONS on this blog!

 

Quote Challenge – Day 1

 

 

I would like to thank Married With a View  for nominating me for this challenge. I love quotes and I think this will be a lot of fun 🙂

Rules for the Quote Challenge:

Thank the person who nominated you.
Post 1-3 quotes a day for 3 consecutive days.
Nominate 3 bloggers to do the same. 

My quote for Day 1 is:

 

I am a huge fan of the Bard and I have always loved this quote. The line is from Hamlet. It is spoken by  the character Polonius as advice he gives to he son Laetres just before Laetres leaves for France.  (Actually, Polonius is a bit of a wind bag — taken completely in context the speech was possibly meant to be more annoying than profound. Plus Polonius has some dirty dealings of his own, like sending a spy to France to keep an eye on Laetres…)   But no matter. They are still great words and they fit well into the sound byte world of today!

“To thine own self be true.”  It means do what is right for YOU regardless of what others think.  Be yourself.  Your cup of tea is not going to be everyone’s cup of tea and that is fine. That is actually necessary. Imagine what a boring world it would be if everyone were homogenized.

“And it must follow, as the night the day; thou canst not then be false to any man.”  If you are true to yourself, it will follow that you are honest and authentic with others.  People will be able to trust who you are. This has something to do with directness.  People who are authentic then  give others permission to be themselves as well.

Words of wisdom from Mr. Shakespeare, the master, Bard, swan of Avon,  playwright pontificate and keeper of all keys 🙂

For my 3 bloggers I will nominate:

Mad as a Hatter

Sinister Dark Soul

Harmony Autumn Wood

 

Confessions of an Anglophile on 4th of July

 

This blog was inspired by Tony Burgess’ post Happy Treason Day, Ungrateful Colonists!

Treason day indeed…  Now don’t get me wrong. I love apple pie and freedom just as much as the next guy.  But truth be told, I often do feel like a treasonous American.  All my life I have been an Anglophile and felt a bit out of place here in my home country. I  blame it on Shakespeare. Or more specifically, Franco Zeffirelli. I saw  his Romeo and Juliet movie when I was a little girl.  I then became obsessed with England, Shakespeare, and all things Elizabethan.

I also blame it on Lewis Carroll, his tales of Alice, powerful queens, rabbit holes and  mad tea parties.

 

Oh yeah, and I really blame it on the Rolling Stones!  Once they hit town I was completely hooked, sold, crossed over.  A total traitor to the New World 🙂

 

When I was 17 I got my chance to go to the UK for the first time. It was my senior class trip,  a memory I still hold dearly.  First time to see Stonehenge, the Tower and those stoic soldiers who never blink an eye.  First time to ride the Tube and hang out in pubs with scruffy backpackers from all over Europe.   Since then, whenever I could scrape together enough money, I’d hop a plane and head back to England. I still love everything about the place — the gardens, the cobblestone streets. And especially the pretty cottages where I’d love to live one day.

 

I have been fortunate enough to visit the stomping grounds of all my heroes. Oxford, Canterbury, Stratford,  Liverpool, Abbey Road.  Over the years friends have gravitated to me who were just as Anglophilian as myself. We have theories that all of us have lived past lives in England, which I am certain is true.

This always made me feel a bit guilty.  American by birth but British in my heart.  Since the Revolution, other wars (specifically WWI and II) have brought England and the U.S. together, inextricably bound against our common enemies.

When it gets down to core values and principles, maybe we are not really so different after all.  As for me, I will always love America, the land of my birth. But I will also embrace England, the land of my heart, hopes and imagination.

Hope everyone had a safe, sane and fantastic Fourth!

 

 

Fun With Four

 

 

This is in response to Vicky V’s blog: A Study In Fours

Four names people call me other than my real name:
Ms. V
Aunt Krissy
The Rabbit
Stine

Four Movies I’ve Watched More Than Once:
Midnight in Paris
Last Tango in Paris
A Streetcar Named Desire                                                                                                                 Interview With The Vampire

Four Books Or Authors I’d Recommend:
Anything by William Shakespeare
Anything by Anne Rice
The Great Gatsby by F.Scott Fitzgerald
On the Road by Jack Kerouac

Four Places I’ve Lived:
Only ever the Midwest, U.S. A.

Four Places I’ve Visited:
England  (for Shakespeare, Stonehenge and more)
Paris  (hoping to time travel back to 1920’s, hmmm…)
Spain ( for Flamenco, Tapas, and general all night hell raising)
New Orleans (because it is the best place on earth!)

 

Four Things I’d Rather Be Doing Right Now:                                                                         I am  writing, aren’t I?  So this is pretty good 🙂

Four foods I don’t like:
I like everything!!!

Four of my favorite foods: 
I like everything!!!

Four Shows I Watch: 
Game of Thrones
Outlander
American Horror Story
Poldark

Four Things I’m Looking Forward To This Year: 
Summer!
Spending time with animals
Hiking/ swimming
My ‘to read’ list

Four Things I’m Always Saying:
It’s possible.
It’s OK.
Everything is the opposite of what it seems to be.
“To thine own self be true.” (Will’s line, not mine.)

***  If you like this and want to join in the fun, consider yourself tagged! ***   Just copy and paste to your own blog and fill in your own answers.

I can’t wait to read All About You, my pretty ones 🙂