Angels with only one wing

I felt the odd one out. There was an aura of excitement when I signed in  to ‘uni-class’ today. Students were already posting links, asking questions.  The numbers indicator on the new comments button kept rising.  I tried to keep pace,  to keep up with the flow of comments. It seemed to be about a “Dream reader.”

Are you serious  … is that the task?  I had been so interested in chatting before class I had forgotten to check the days assignment.  I looked at the blackboard, sorry Dashboard. No assignment there. I was on the wrong page.  A bit of searching and a couple of SOS messages later to the ‘Commons’ and I found the right page.  Yes… it’s there all right.

Today’s Assignment: publish a post for your dream reader, and include a new-to-you element in it.

“New–to-you element”  – Very nice !!   I felt the excitement now. I had enrolled to learn the tech wizardry of the blogosphere. The  incredibly supportive WP team had given necessary guidelines for tweeting, embedding videos, images etc. I don’t tweet (yet) but would like to try my hand at embedding a video.

The other part (to write about my Dream Reader) is another story – figuratively speaking, because I am going to have to put that story in this story!

Problem is, I’m not sure that I have a dream reader.  I am a sort of a  reluctant blogger … I blog for ‘me’.

I can hear many exclamations … what are you doing here … go keep a diary etc  … but am I the only one who feels that way?  Some one help me please.  Some one tell me you feel the same way too …!

I write to unravel my mind … to come to understand myself, others, life, our final destination, God.  And when a little bit of light comes in through my window, I open it wider … see if I can reflect some light back to someone else who needs it – who is trying the unravel the same issues.

Is that my Dream Reader then?

I want to postpone this task  as I have chores to do, but my mind has got into a tangle and I need to unravel it now.   WP team is really clever.  They set you thinking and get you focused with their questions … who are you, why are you here, who is your dream reader ….

Heavy stuff.  Or is it?  I am a thinker … an over thinker … an over over thinker if there is such a thing… and I have to remind myself to ease up, laugh at my self.  I remind myself that ‘the reason angels can fly is that they take themselves so lightly’.

I need to keep that in mind now.  Stop over-thinking. Keep it light.  it would be nice to have a picture in front of me so I Google it. First strike – many quotes on angels. Not really what I wanted but I read some of them :

The golden moments in the stream of life rush past us and we see nothing but sand; the angels come to visit us, and we only know them when they are gone. ~George Elliot  

Very nice. Reminds me of the day the lotus bloomed and I knew it not; Reminds me of me 🙂 .

      Philosophy will clip an angel’s wings ~John Keats .

Oh oh … I like philosophy but perhaps should not philosophize so much. My siblings complain about this. 🙂 But there is another quote that counteracts it.  I like this last part which in some odd way reminds me of my ramblings :

…(angels) speak their own (language) whether there be any who understand it or not ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

And then this one

We are each of us angels with only one wing, and we can only fly by embracing one another ~ Luciano de Crescenzo.

A song popped into my head and suddenly my Dream Reader was before me:  This is who I write for … my brother standing on the road with a heavy load from the seed he’d sowed;  My sister fallen by the road with no one to point the way  . . .

I write to unravel my mind.  I blog to share my journey, compare maps with fellow travellers, lend our compasses to each other because the joys and hopes, obstacles and hazards on the road are the same for all men.  

There were  many versions of this hauntingly beautiful song but I selected this one because the images bring you to silence. I hope you take a few minutes to watch…

 …  (even) with only one wing, we can still fly by embracing one another ~ Luciano de Crescenzo.

Who do I say I am?

Yikes … it’s self disclosure time. Again?

I thought I had left my calling card lying around ? … that you could get to know me through a ‘search and rescue’ operation in my posts.

But Blogging 101 suggests I put it right there on the table.

I agree it will be more considerate of your time. So as the earwig said when he fell of the wall … ‘ear wiggo’: A list of 10 more things about me.

Before I start  … I should warn you that my posts are a personal journal of moments on the road – shared with others on the journey.

I write about my Encounters  – with myself, with others and with my Lord.

Signposts on the road thus far :

1. I am the younger of twin girls. We have a younger sister and brother. I had written  my childhood memories in appreciation to my parents, and to share with my brother – who joined our family 13 years later 🙂
2. I enjoyed my youth, obtained a professional qualification, had an interesting career, married and moved to Jamaica.
3. We had glorious times there. Jamaica was like an unending summer. I loved my job and the times we had. My husband and I parted company after 12 years and I returned to Sri Lanka.
4. The divorce and my father’s death shortly afterwards left me pondering on philosophical and theological questions – the meaning of love, life, love, happiness etc. The questions remained in my subconscious awaiting answers.
5. I felt there was more to life than work 5 x 52 so I opted for early retirement and started consultancy with reduced hours.

Next 5

1. Finally I gave that up to go into full-time study for a degree in Theology – graduating in 2012.
2. I found answers to many questions I’d had; I learned the Word of God and studied interesting subjects like anthropology and evolution, philosophy, and other theology related topics. I did my thesis on what constitutes consent to marriage in Canon Law and would like to convert that to a readable lay format one day soon.
3. This past year, I returned to the ‘commercial world’ to help out with a travel agency … but an encounter with mortality intervened and I gave up work.
4. My other interests – my five gorgeous nieces and one nephew, siblings and mum, a loving church community, my road dog “Monster”,  nature and the environment, POTTERY, psychology and helping young persons grow to their full potential.  Also, of late, diet and good health habits.
5. Now, I would like to merge my head knowledge with my heart yearnings ….which is writing and sharing, synthesising what I have learned into easy reading for those who have not had the time to research and study as I have had.

And there you have it.

I hope this gives a clearer picture of who is writing and responding on the blogosphere … or as Chardin called it the noosphere.

I’d like to end with one of my favourite quotes from an unknown source.

I strut and prance on the stage of life

Hoarding each moment of thunderous applause.

But when the stage is set, and the lights are dimmed,

and the curtain falls for the last time.

Who will clap for me then Lord?

   YOU?

Credits for graphics:

http://blog.42floors.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/chickeneastercard.jpg

www.letstalklutheran.com