Category: differently observed

Really?

SF2 Comments

Could this get anymore awkward?

I blame myself. Nurse Farrell is trying to rehydrate Lucie. It’s a drip set up for water under her skin that will then spread into her body.

So it’s relatively straightforward and not intravenous. It’s twice a day and there’s lots of water.

Between us though we manage to add complexity.

Last night, after a major spillage of half the water it was relatively easy-going.

Next day, not so good.

First thing today Lucie decides to do a big shake as if she’d just stepped out of a river, presumably because the bad bad nurse dropped a smidgeon of water on her fur. So needle came out and I had to replace it and jab her again.

Next she was standing rigid, clearly uncomfortable, I got her to sit down. The early puppy training of SIT! being useless so it entailed manhandling. Eventually I get her to lie down without knocking the needle out but on my feet.

I’m now stuck here watching the interminable drops expecting it to last an age.

I have time to catch up with my writing. 🙂✍🏽🚴🏽🗄🧷🖌☮️🚭🔔 and realise there’s soooo many emojis.

But I’ve still not had my breakfast!

Do we really need to do this twice everyday? It’s taking hours. I’ll plan better with my paraphernalia around me…..

This was how the professional did it yesterday. Doc Bhagya.

So who’s the drip?

Update

The merciless drip drip dripping took three hours and we’ve now created a camel, perhaps more accurately a dromedary.

Evening drippping completed in 40 mins morning torture must have been something else problem. Only issue this eve was jittery ness from fireworks.

Farrell Factoid: Lucy has had both liver and kidney issues this year, primarily shown through, vomiting and ‘loose’ motions. She seems quite good in herself and most recent blood test suggests kidney situation has stabilised. This all might be due to age or Tick fever earlier this year.

are we?

SF1 Comment

are we inherently mean and selfish?

I don’t believe we are. Its an age old argument reflected in the views of Hobbes and Rousseau.

it goes something like this…

Left to our own devices:

A – humans will be in conflict, a sort of dog-eat-dog approach to life and fight for themselves or me and mine, OR;

B -they will care, show compassion and work cooperatively.

It’s simplified but bear with me … Which do you think is most accurate?

I’m reading humankind – a hopeful history, he challenges the theories that suggest we are individualistic when pushed into a corner and argues that we’re more likely to work together and help each other.

Sound Utopian?

He debunks the dominant stories, the research, established theories and especially what we hear through the media, reinforced through word of mouth that we default to ‘I’. His view is that we default to ‘we.’ ie we care rather than fight.

We follow what we’re told and learned to accept, rather than think for ourselves.

Here’s one example:

William Golding wrote a fictitious story : “Lord of the Flies’ about young boys shipwrecked on a deserted island and how they behaved. What happened? As you might expect, they fought for themselves ganging up against each other. The result was mayhem leading to death.

This has profound implications.

By contrast, Bregman discovered a true story of shipwrecked boys. The result, was the opposite, as they co-operated and worked together to be able to survive.

Which story had you heard?

Most of my day to day experiences in life demonstrate people think about me and mine rather than showing care for another but it doesn’t have to be that way. Manjula (OK, I’m biased) was an exceptional example who throughout her life was faced with tricky uncaring people being selfish and antagonistic but she never let it stop her caring for and loving others. She was inherently kind.

I think much of our problems in society and the damage we do to each other and the planet is because of this mistaken belief and because our systems reinforce particular ways. These allow the powerful to dominate and keep their unfair share. So this way of thinking benefits some people more than others and that’s why it continues. It’s like ‘Lord of the Flies’ and this is maybe why we’re in the mess we’re in.

I believe it was Malcom X that raised the question: What’s the difference between Illness and Wellness?

It’s I and We.

Cool eh?

It’s actually our choice

Manjula has the sweetest smile

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Looking on the bright side.

Manjula is my smiling kindness guru.

This morning I waved and gave a free smile to every cyclist. It’s a happy thing to do and helps connect us at this distant time.

I follow her and try spread her smile

and obviously need to do better.

……

At times I’ve slipped and realise I’ve adopted a local approach of: ‘It’s good enough’ and ‘it’ll do’, but it wasn’t and it didn’t do. That’s when the dark cloud engulfs me with sadness instead of just following me around. But this morning I was in the positive happy frame of mind.

…

What we give out is returned we just don’t know when, where and how.

My guru expects me to see and be the positive. I’m slowly learning.

Ripple effect

Sowbhagya (SB) has had a lot to deal with because of the situation at our house and been in quarantine with a big fat sticker on her door announcing to the world. Her neighbours have been ugly and unsupportive. She challenged her neighbours when they were claiming she was positive and announcing it on a Facebook page. A policeman was a great help.. The bright side is that she now feels strengthened and some of it comes from working here. Manjula’s kind, positive and continues to give.

Unfortunately it has also affected her father whose roadside food business has suffered.

It brings it home to me, how much we need to be aware of how our actions affect others, try on their ‘coat’ to better understand things from their point of view. Unfortunately, too often we don’t try or care.

Look on the bright side of life is a wonderful song from this film.

Monty Python’s Life of Brian

Dr Moonstone

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We were over half way into the Srirangaptnam cycle tour and after a brief visit to the bathing ghats stopped for a chai. This and the adjoining shops sold soaps, shampoos, jugs, Plastic loofah things for rubbing off old skin, towels, everything for pooja and even clothes.

Today the t shirts drew my attention.

In India many T shirts have slogans that are , possibly innocent and other down right weird. I expect that many who wear them have no idea what they mean. They can be hilarious.

Well at one of the stalls today was a T shirt with the word MOONSTONE emblazoned across the top. Know what that is? A semi precious gem stone found in many places, including India and Sri Lanka. The picture however was an image of the moon and a US Astronaut, a complete disconnect. Of course the designer had made an incongruous connection between the moon and the stone.

There is however another connection. What’s reputed to have been the first detective novel in the English language in the late 19th Century was also called Moonstone. Confusingly it’s referring to a fictitious diamond and not the gem.

The weirdest bit is the story is about An English army officer who steals the diamond and the consequences for him and his family. He gets the stone in the fourth war of Mysore, yes you’ve guessed it in Srirangaptnam.

Spooky eh?