Fire, Fire, Burning bright!

Wow sometimes you realize just how fragile you are and utterly insignificantly impotent against the natural forces of this world.
Last night as we stepped out of my room for a break from band practice, Colin noticed above the roof of the house (we were stood in the courtyard) an orange glow in the sky - we climbed onto the roof to survey the damage that was being dealt by the fearsome runaway fire.
Looking at the width and size of the fire and seeing that our little town was in it’s intended path, just left us a little muted and beyond fear, it makes you realize all you can do is pray sometimes, and if that fails come to terms with the fact that everyone’s time must come.

I know it sounds fatalistic but that’s basically what I did last night as I got into bed, said my prayers and consigned myself to the fact that staying up the whole evening wasn’t going to turn aside that fire - the brave people who are trained and have the equipment to deal with it were just managing to minimize the damage that inferno was wreaking. As the one official was quoted this morning - there’s no way to fight a fire like that, you do your best just to bring it under some kind of control.

We did manage to get some pictures on Jeremy’s camera, but I failed to put them on disk to bring in, probably because due to the fires our electricity was playing up, the lights dimmed and we’re still dimmed when I left for work this morning.
As we drove out of town the destruction the fire had and almost had wreaked was evident, ashes and charred remains of trees and whatever else that managed to have the misfortune of being in the Fire’s Path, not more than 300-400 meters from our home.

Thank God for the brave Souls that fought off the worst of the blaze through the dark and smoke and heat of the hell that last night would have been for them, may he bless and keep them, and those whose lives were lost in the ‘cause, may he take and keep them always.

A dream with wings

I’ve just now remembered part of a dream I had last night, its strange how you can have a memory of it later, and I takes you a while to remember it was a dream. Well in this case not so long, ‘cause flying is just impossible – pity that.

It’s been a long while since I’ve flown or floated in my dreams and I really love it, I wish I could take a dream flight every night – I tried googling the meaning of flying in dreams and got a whole lot of stuff, a lot of which is contradictory, but they say it’s a from of lucid dreaming, when you’re aware and awake in you’re dream and can control it.

All the times I’ve had flying dreams, I’ve started flying in different ways – in the one I start by taking bigger and bigger jumps, and end up taking massive high strides 10’s of meters into the air, in the one I was falling and ended up swooping before I hit the ground, and there have been various other ones. In this one I started kind of jumping not even a meter up and flapping my hands at my side, and rotating slowly, before I put my feet back down. It was almost like I was weightless in space, then realizing this (and obviously realizing I was in a dream I started floating around… then soon I was swooping and soaring… I can’t wait to dream again tonight.

What the Numbers Reveal...

As A distraction from work today, I was looking up chinese year signs and so on, and then found a link to this Numerology site, wherer they offered to do a "short" free reading - so I thought why not and while later I got a reply, they did a reading on three numbers they work out for you, - your life path - your expression and your soul urge or hearts desire. They let you know how they work it all out, but I haven't put that here as it's a bit long winded with the bulk of my reading which I've already included. This entry links through, so if you want you can link through and try it for yourself.

I'm not the type of person who holds a lot of stock with Star signs and all the rest, though I do enjoy reading them - saying that though, I was pretty amazed at how accurate some of this report was, most of what's written below applies to me.



"Your life path says a lot about you, so please read the following very carefully ...

Liam, your Life Path of 2 ...

As a '2', you are all about peace, harmony and finding balance in everything. You are happiest when you are with a soul mate or at the very least, a really good business partner or friend. Your concern for others and diplomatic ways assure you of popularity and plenty of friends and supporters throughout your entire life.If you are a number 2 you have an uncanny ability to understand others. Many of you are blessed with enhanced intuition and you make great doctors, psychiatrists and healers. As so many are willing to support your biggest belief, which is that "justice should prevail" many of you also end up becoming beloved politicians or columnists. You are at your best when working in a team rather than a leader. Your perfect position is the leader's right hand man or woman. You make a great husband or wife! The reason you often fail at being a leader is because you want to please everyone and don't have the heart to say no! Your ability to cooperate with others often pays off handsomely for you. Your prime concern is not being rich, but "doing what you love so the money will come." You have a humane and humorous approach to life that others find very attractive. However, you are often self-sacrificing (sometimes to a fault) because you also need the approval of others. Being a two, this is because you see others reactions to you as being a mirror of who you really are. If others are unhappy with you, you risk experiencing an unhealthy dissatisfaction that can lead to a lack of confidence or low self-esteem. The number 2 life path usually includes one other person that is with you or is a heavy influence on you for your entire life. You might have a tendency to see your lover and yourself as one soul or one person. Depending on how healthy this connection is you might be with this person your entire life or waste a lot of your life yearning to be with this person. Unrequited love is more painful for you than other numbers. Love, beauty and art are also very important to you. You love the idea of symmetry and this leads to a love of classic art, poetry and of course music. Your surroundings are also very important to you, as they are a reflection of who you are. You love old things, sentimental things and collect objects that touch your heart. If you are not an artist yourself, then you will at least have an interest in the subject. Many 2's often find a soul mate in another artist and become the patron. This is because you love it when others hold up beautiful mirrors of society. Sometimes 2's are vulnerable to obsessive compulsive behaviors because they are so addicted to perfection. In fact the karmic path of many number twos is to learn not to become depressed or disappointed when people or situations turn out less than perfect. You are sensitive to other's feelings but are also easily hurt when others are incapable of returning the consideration. Many 2's spend their early years learning how to not take the actions of others personally. You are the best friend that any other number in numerology could possibly have are often self-less to a fault. Others sense your deep faith in human nature and are so touched by it that they often fulfill your desires just to see you smile.


Your Expression - which describes your potential natural talents and abilities - works out to be a 5.

What a '5' Expression Means About You
Now that we've done the calculations, what does this actually mean?
Liam, your Expression of 5 ... Your Potential Natural Talents and Abilities
You are optimistic, inquisitive and embrace change. You are a freedom-loving individual who expresses their love of independence often through a bohemian or unusual life style. You are blessed with a brilliant creative mind that is never at a loss for a solution to a problem. As your independence is so important to you, you thrive best in creative occupations that allow you a great deal of travel. You have an eye for design and appreciate the good things in life. In fact, you may spend a lot of your time trying to figure out how to get these things without having to work too hard. If you are a typical five then you will meet with the most success by selling some aspect of yourself or your talent. The height of your personal expression is in your talent for persuasion. This is why you are best suited for jobs in media, marketing and design. You very much believe that a person is defined by what he does and not what he wants to do so any business or project that you start will be very much branded with your personal flair. It is a number 5 that tends to name a business after himself or send out a resume with a photo. When it comes to business you also tend to have a "hands on" approach as you rely a lot on your wit, charm and good looks to get what you want. Once the deal is sealed, however, you sometimes have difficulty seeing it through to completion. This is because your brilliant mind is captured by so many other interests that it is difficult for you to focus sometimes. Sometimes your need to express your independence brings you to a critical point in both your professional and personal relationships. You are terrified of being stuck in one place or having your free spirit suffocated by labels and possessiveness. For this reason many of you feel quite suffocated in relationships or are unable to hold down a day job for any length of time. You are very popular socially because you are the life of every party. You have light nimble mind and have excellent verbal skills. You also have enormous powers of analysis that gives you an edge when it comes to investing money, judging others and avoiding harmful situations. You are also very accepting of new people and new ideas. The last thing that could ever be said of you is that you are closed minded. You will try anything once and you often respond willingly to a dare. However, sometimes your permissiveness leads to relationships with odd or unstable individuals. Romantically others may find you hard to get close to as you would rather sit and chat than get intimate. Others fail to understand that the most valued expression of your love is the expression of your hopes and dreams to another. You are also very pragmatic when it comes to all of your relationships and believe in treating everyone equally. Deep down you are very philosophical about relationships and believe that no person should be so important that he or she should have the power to make you happy or sad. This can often distress your soul mate who doesn't feel that special in your presence. Part of your challenge might be showing through your actions, how loving all without sacrificing one can be achieved.


Now, Let's Examine Your Soul Urge(also known as your "Heart's Desire")
In your case Liam, this totals 9.

Liam, your Soul Urge of 9 ...What You Desire To Be, To Have, and To Do In Your Life
The highest expression of your soul's urge is to connect in a mystical way with others. Although your aspirations are lofty, you are also a humanitarian who is often gifted with a sharp intuition and keen analytical skills. Often you give up opportunities that should be yours, simply to help another. This is because your faith in yourself, god and the future is so strong that you live by your conviction that the universe is always unfolding as it should. Others simply do not possess your spiritual sophistication and may be amused or repelled by what they see as your irrational talk or beliefs. You may be accused of being stupid or foolish simply because you won't take the bait (of a job or money) at the expense of your ethics. Compared to the other numbers, you excel at letting go of lovers or opportunities simply because you know you can't take emotions and material goods with you when you die. As you are driven more by compassion than common sense, you are the first to fall on your sword for a worthy cause. You may often be broke because you see money only as a tool of change. You would much rather spend money on art, charity or a trip. In fact, ostentatious displays of wealth anger and disgust you because your ideal is a world where all humans are equal. You might appear very eccentric to others who don't quite understand your fascination with the spiritual world or your insistence on being a seeker of truth. Furthermore nines tend to get carried away when it comes to trying to heal or connect to others. The biggest mistake you could make is to try and be an "agent of karma" by meddling or interfering in other people's affairs. As you are so talented psychically, you often become a liability in business simply because people in authority resent your ability to perceive their secrets. You rarely rise very high on the corporate ladder simply because others see you as a threat to their cloak of political intrigue. You have a soul that must be continually assured and fed with new sources of spiritual information. To stay healthy, your psyche may require that you make special trips to holy or mystical places. You may have to seek out special teaching to help you understand and cultivate your talents so that you are in control, as opposed to terrorized by them. Being able to foresee the future or see through other people is often painful, so some therapy might be required in your life to help you detach from your own sensitivity. One of the sins you are most vulnerable to is spiritual pride. This can bring you situations that cause your faith to be seriously tested or where your pride can take a big fall. Many nines often find themselves subject to a lesson in becoming humble by the cosmos simply because they were too boastful of their talents. Making money off of your psychic talents may also cause you some problems, as part of your path is to heal without the expectation of reward. If you are working professionally as a psychic and are a nine, then remember to tithe at least one tenth of your earnings towards a worthy cause. However the highest calling of your soul urge is to share your intuitive talents for free."

My Stylus & Me

It really gets to you when you don’t have the time – or are to tired to make the time to do the things you want, I wouldn’t say I’m being overworked – but I’ve been pretty busy between work and music, there’s so much I’d really like to do and get in order, like doing some illustrations.
A friend of mine has written a children’s story and has asked me to do some illustrations for it, which I’m really keen to do, but I haven’t done anything besides a couple of doodles while I’m on the phone.
I also want to use my Genius tablet at work more (thingy that allows you to draw straight onto you’re computer) – sigh! I think I need to do some time management to fit in stuff I want to do.

Alongside is a quick sketch a managed to scribble out with it today when I had a moment – it’s actually amazing how similar you can allow it to be to regular sketching, even the amount of pressure you use, giving you the lighter and darker strokes – it’s pretty cool.

My Bonsai

I’ve been growing a bonsai for about 5 years now, I pulled this “Chinese Maple” sapling that was growing into our fence and decided I would try my hand at making it into a bonsai. I’m definitely no expert, and I initially followed the advice of a friend of mine who is pretty clued up. Apparently when you first uproot it you need to let it sit in whatever you potted it in for at least one to two years, so the new root hairs can take. Only after this period can you re-pot it.

It’s a very long process and you only see it taking shape over the years, I don’t know all the traditional shapes they’re supposed to take, so I’ve just been shaping it as I go, twisting the trunks and branches around one another into a shape that I think fits my little tree.

It’s a very calming process, I guess anything to with gardening is, but it’s nice to have a little project, and a project that could span a lifetime – maybe one day I can pass on a 40 or 50 year old bonsai onto someone.

I managed to get this picture before all the leaves had fallen off for winter.

Winter

A few days ago, it seemed summer was reluctant to leave, getting cooler, but still getting fairly warm during the day, now it seems winters just barged in and taken over – over night, I woke this morning with stalactites hanging from my nose – well not really – but it was a real feat of will power to get myself out that bed.
Even though it’s cold I still do like cold days (not constantly) – you tend to feel more energized and alert, less likely to drift off while working. Then you’ve got all the things that you can do and use the weather as an excuse to do them, like lying in bed reading or getting all cozy under a blanket while you watch a movie, sipping on some hot drink… oohh Gluewine, or mulled wine, mmmmm. The rubbish thing about winter is trying to get up in the morning, and that’s about my only downside, I don’t mind being cold, I’ll just put on more clothes.

Busy but Good

Okay it’s been over a week since I’ve written anything here, shocking I know, it’s like nothings been happening in Liam’s life, nah that’s not the case - Between work and the band, and my very limited social life I’ve been stretched pretty thin. Though I’m not complaining it’s been a pleasant type of busy, I’ve managed to find some enjoyment in my work again, probably because I’m avoiding the stuff that makes me bored and usually takes ages to do, though eventually I’m gonna have to get back to it, but for now I have other distractions and am doing those, because I seriously can’t face redrawing maps at the moment.

The Bands Just finished doing their Demo Recording (you can hear the tracks if click here to link through to our myspace) which I’m happy with. Now the next step is to start working on the actual tracks for an eventual album release and practicing for our upcoming Gigs. So life is busy but good.

I think I’ve realized that you can’t let all the stresses of life get on top of you; you can only tackle one task at a time and do your best to juggle your time to fit everything in. But if you let it stress you out;
1. You’re not going to enjoy life as much
2. You’re not going to be great company to be around
3. You’ll be too distracted to notice the amazing and beautiful things that are happening right under your nose.
4. You’ll probably put yourself in an early grave.
5. you’ll probably end up taking your tension out on those nearest and dearest to you.
So make peace with the fact that stressing over things doesn’t get them done any quicker.