Blossom @ MindSay

(An analogy that needs re-working. i just jotted this down on a whim. It seemed interesting, so I'll try to improve it. Thoughts?)

 

 

A flower does not bloom overnight. From the moment it first sneaks a peak at the outside world, when it pushes through that soil bed to first taste the sweet kiss of sunshine upon it's face. It grows and feeds. Living on the it's basic necessities to obtain the blossom that it seeks. Sugar and water, light and minerals. All that it requires are provided by the world around. It roots itself in the ground. Deep root. Strong roots. Roots to hold it in place. To withstand the harshness of the environment that surrounds it. To withstand all the hardships that life may throw its' way. It grows. Its strong base pushing to escape the darkness of the ground it rooted in. It breaks the surface, and spreads it's stem as it pushes  to grow ever higher. Then one day, the blossom begins to form. In slow steady stages, t thrives off the love the environment shows for the flower. And finally the blossom can appear. in all it's brilliance, it opens it leaves to the sweet nectar of morning dew on it's petals. It soaks in the song as it at last breathes in the scent of it's full beauty. It spreads it's joy as the passing creatures spread it's pollen to ensure it's survival in years to come. A tear or two is shed in happiness at the knowledge that the love of it's environment has allowed it to grow and bloom as it does today. It smiles at the warm sun, ducking from the coolness of the moon, not from hatred, but to preserve it's grace and beauty for the mother that warms it so. One day, blossom will bloom no more, and the petals will, one by one, drop to the ground as falling rain. That one day is not so close. So long as it feels that love and prsence of it's neccessities.

 

-Whispering in the Winter Wind-

*~Jewl~*

 

Never thought there was so much attached to a little flower until I began delving into the origins of the lotus. I am drawing one to use as a base for an art project I have devised. That's when I began finding the mythology linked to it. Apparently it has a lot to do with what is called creation mythology, which is really just the creation story as told by many different cultures and peoples.

The Lotus Flower - Padma
The Lotus Flower is the symbol of spiritual development. It is the symbol of the manifestation of beauty and mental purity (the ability to rise above) - for although it has its roots in the mud of ponds and lakes, it raises its flower in immaculate beauty above the surface of the water.

Sesen

A Lotus Flower. This is a symbol of the sun, of creation and rebirth. Because at night the flower closes and sinks underwater, at dawn it rises and opens again. According to one creation myth it was a giant lotus which first rose out of the watery chaos at the beginning of time. From this giant lotus the sun itself rose on the first day. A symbol of Upper Egypt

Buddhism
The roots of a lotus are in the mud, the stem grows up through the water, and the heavily scented flower lies above the water, basking in the sunlight. This pattern of growth signifies the progress of the soul from the primeval mud of materialism, through the waters of experience, and into the bright sunshine of enlightenment. Though there are other water plants that bloom above the water, it is only the lotus which, owing to the strength of its stem, regularly rises eight to twelve inches above the surface.

Thus says the Lalitavistara, "the spirit of the best of men is spotless, like the lotus in the muddy water which does not adhere to it." According to another scholar, "in esoteric Buddhism, the heart of the beings is like an unopened lotus: when the virtues of the Buddha develop therein, the lotus blossoms; that is why the Buddha sits on a lotus bloom."

Significantly, the color of the lotus too has an important bearing on the symbology associated with it:

• White Lotus (Skt. pundarika; Tib. pad ma dkar po): This represents the state of spiritual perfection and total mental purity (bodhi). It is associated with the White Tara and proclaims her perfect nature, a quality which is reinforced by the color of her body.
• Red Lotus (Skt. kamala; Tib: pad ma chu skyes): This signifies the original nature and purity of the heart (hrdya). It is the lotus of love, compassion, passion and all other qualities of the heart. It is the flower of Avalokiteshvara, the bodhisattva of compassion.
• Blue Lotus (Skt. utpala; Tib. ut pa la): This is a symbol of the victory of the spirit over the senses, and signifies the wisdom of knowledge. Not surprisingly, it is the preferred flower of Manjushri, the bodhisattva of wisdom.
• Pink Lotus (Skt. padma; Tib. pad ma dmar po): This the supreme lotus, generally reserved for the highest deity. Thus naturally it is associated with the Great Buddha himself.

Awesome like Blossom.

It doesn't quite rhyme.  It doesn't really make any sense.  Yet, I really want to say it.

19-10-05 00:32 - One More Day's Light

Saturday the 24th of September was the Annual Alexander Blossom Parade. As I have for the last three times, I went. This time I had a moustache, but as I've been well ignored every other year I expected no less. I sat in a pub's garden, drinking beer, & watching the parade go by. Recently I had been thinking about travelling a little, mainly because my friend Mark Shelton has abandoned the UK & is off seeing the world, & my Hong Kong friend Bonson Jim has moved to Brighton in the UK to attend Uni. However, the horrors of just a single day away from home have left me trembling & afraid to leave the house again any time soon.

There was a scheduled power cut on the 30th of September, so I took the opportunity to do some repairs on my house's wiring. Whoops. There is a light in my bedroom (former living room) that has never worked. Everytime you switch it on you are greeted by a sharp bang from the fusebox. I planned to fix this problem. The wiring in the house is old & poorly done, infact the plastic shielding on the wires crumbled to dust at my touch. This made me panic, & it's not a good idea to panic in a small, stuffy, dust-filled place. Especially if you're crouched on a groaning, Borer-infested joist over a twenty foot drop. Argh! Borer! All houses in New Zealand are apparently infested with woodworm & they don't care. I want to rebuild my house with a steel frame. Anyway, the wiring was all going wrong, so I decided to just rip it all out. I hadn't planned on having to replace all of the wire, so I didn't have enough. I wired the important places, the kitchen, the bathroom, & the windowless hallway, but I didn't bother with the bedrooms. The net result is I now have less working lights, but now I don't have to fear burning down my shitty worm infested junkpile. Oh, & the fusebox makes me cry. I don't understand how these stupid colonials didn't all die off years ago.

Jarv Goes To The Cinema, or '50 Ways Of Saying Fabulous In Wanaka':
I should of written this up as soon as I got back, but it was late & my brain too jazzed to sit still & type. On the sixth of October I was rudely awakened several times between half-seven & midday by family members declaring that I had to go to the cinema. Despite all my witty retorts to the contrary, I finally got out of bed & made it as far as the shower before falling asleep again. I needed to cut & colour my hair, but that takes too long, & I hadn't the bleach then. I settle for brushing my teeth & washing my mountain of hair at the same time, resulting in shampoo in my mouth & eyes. I stumble back to my room & find my best clothes laid out & my brother hovering with my fine suede jacket (worn all of three times in the almost six years of owning it) on a clothes hanger. Dressed I head to the radio station to get the tickets, which haven't arrived. I notice I haven't shaved & I still have the goofy 'tache, but now with a few days stubble. My dad is on the phone trying to find someone to tell about the ticket lack, but eventually gives up after a garbled conversation with someone on a mobile phone. He elects to drive as I can't stand up without something to lean on & we head out.

The drive from Lawrence to Wanaka takes about two hours if you don't get stuck behind some slow moving vehicle or livestock. I spent the time enjoying New Zealand, because I love New Zealand despite hardly ever letting myself see it. The first half to Alexandra was old hat as I had just been there for the Blossom Festival a few days before, but I hadn't been up to Wanaka since arriving in the country years ago. Which is odd, seeing how close to Arrowtown it is, & I've been there several times, ok, it's not so close, & Wanaka isn't a place to go if you're a spend-thrift. You see the lake, you see the mountains, you see the mountains next to the lake, you drive to the next town. After a stop in Cromwell to get some food & a toilet break, I smash them bidets good, we arrived in Wanaka about half-four. Drove through the town looking for the cinema, reached the lake having failed to spot it, so we stopped & looked at the lake, looked at the mountains, & then looked at the mountains next to the lake. We decided to walk back through the town to try & spot the cinema, but at a leisurely pace as we didn't need to be there till half-seven. I noted sadly that there is now a Subways overlooking the lake. As we walked along the path the road veered off on a curve & we decided to cut through a park as it looked like it went the way we wanted to go. As it curved round it became more apparent that it was a mistake. We exited the park a few short metres from where we entered, but we then turned away from the road thinking we would loop back around. After walking through some backlots we reached the road further up & decided the cinema must be back towards the lake if the map we had seen outside the subways was correct. We passed the Wanaka Arts Centre & thought that be it, but when we went inside we found no people.The Information Centre is on the lakeside, & the idea of trying it was a joke as we expected it to be as useless as the one in Lawrence. However, when we reached the information centre we found it closed at five, & it was already seven past. We got back in the car & had some food before driving to a nearby hotel to ask directions, which consisted of "The Cinema? It's up the road on the right, you can't miss it." Yeah? Can't miss it? We missed it driving in, & on foot! OK, we didn't. When we finally reached the cinema, we found it below a huge grassy bank that blocked it from the road's view, & we hadn't walked far enough on foot.
I don't like to rag on colonials in public, mainly because I'm scared of being beaten up, but also because I like their spirit, except they don't know how to build. I don't like the UK, but at least the bloody poms know how to put up a house, or in this case a cinema. I was expecting some big, stone fronted building with a large sign showing the movies playing, not a small purple with orange trim painted wood shed with a couple of cheap posters tacked up in the window. I hadn't been to see a movie in at least five years, so my ideas were hazy. The director, Stuart Main, eventually arrived, looking very nervous & Jaffer (Aucklandish) in his fancy clothes. Sure, I was in equally outlandish clothing, but I needed a haircut & shave, so I wasn't completely letting Otago's side down. Whereas my dad was simply wearing his new batch of the almost uniform of the region. He had shaved though. We did the interview just in time as people started arriving for the premiere as we finished. We didn't have our tickets, but presscards are better, & we got our free drinks with no worries.

From the promotional leaflet I recognised Harriet Beattie as she came in the door with her parents, so she got whisked off for an interview, but I didn't spot any of the other stars before being herded into the theatre. Best Movie Theatre Ever! It had rows of comfortable sofas, & even a yellow open top Morris Minor to sit in. The car had already been taken by the Douche Morning Crew from the local More FM (Canwest owned radio network, I ranted about Canwest sucking a few entries back) opt-out. The jerks from More FM didn't do any interviews, & seemed more interested in guzzling the free booze. They seemed threatened by me actually having a microphone so they kept following me around talking loudly to each other about how they work on the radio. I saw the local car from the Otago Daily Times drive by, but I don't know their Wanaka reporter, so I don't know if he was there. It amuses me to think the ODT just did a driveby coverage.
Me & my dad got seats in the front row that were perfectly spaced for the huge screen to be in perfect viewing position. Perfect. After the movie I wanted to take the couch with me as it was so very comfortable. The director came out & thanked everyone for coming & did a speech that I cannot remember anything about so many weeks later, then he left as he can't stand to be in the room when people watch his movie. I get that, I hate hearing my own voice on the radio.
The movie was preceded by a very funny 11 minute short called "Nothing Special". Good plan, playing something hilarious before your comedy to get everyone in a good mood. As the short was playing I noticed that I was paying more attention to what I was going to say about it afterwards rather than watching it in the first place, so I stopped myself & enjoyed the moment. That was stupid. I'm paid to have opinions, so I should take the time & form them. Afterwards I realised I had nothing to say about the movie, except that it's good. The final ten minutes of the movie were a nightmare as I desperately needed to piss from all the drinks, & I cursed myself for staying silent as I listened to the director tell the tech not to put in the cinema's usual interval halfway. Sure the break would of sucked from a movie viewpoint, but my bladder is tiny & likes to scream if full. The credits stopped rolling, & the lights came on & I was out the door like a shot, stopping only to put my empty bottles in the recycling. So dire was my need, I didn't care that it was a woman that came out of the stall before I dashed in, but once I exited I was very polite to the confused woman outside who wanted to now if the toilets were sexed. At least there were no screams.
Did a post-viewing interview with the director, & he repeated some of his speech in such a way as to be perfect for radio, alot of people don't so I was happy about that. Then all that was left were the cinema's clean-up crew, so we departed to get started on the two hour drive home.

On the 18th of October I was watching The Life Of David Gale, & I noticed the corner of my first wisdom tooth pocking through my gum, which leads me to worry that others might come through. While I have space on the top for a single extra tooth on each side, I will be screwed if I get any on the bottom. Actually, I'm not sure I'll be fine with the ones on the top, as my front teeth are already becoming painful, both to have & to look at.

The trip to Wanaka was great fun, & makes me want to travel. It's a shame it looks like I won't be going anywhere anytime soon. Mark Shelton is having a great time on his world tour, & I'm jealous.

I haven't spoken to Bonson Jim for what seems a long time as he's now in Brighton for uni. & When I do next talk to him, it's going to be a shame to tell him that I'll probably fail to keep my word, but then he probably expects me to, which saddens me.

I haven't been to the I-Mockery forums for about as long as I haven't spoken to Bonson, mainly because I don't seem to fit in there at the moment. I have been reading the recent updates on the main site, & it seems that now Mr. Mockery works on it as his fulltime job that his articles are more fun.

I've been playing Kingdom of Loathing since the beginning of October, & I've found it to be fun, so it'll be a good replacement for both AChimp's defunct Legions of Might & that jerkhole NationStates.

I'd been playing Age Of Empires for a few weeks, & had reached the point where all the missions had been replayed & my homemade levels were getting boring, so I had a look online & found a copy of Total Annihilation which afforded much amusement & grief until I found that the unit stats were stored in notepad edittable files, which afforded super troops that quickly soured the game. I also found a copy of the original Command & Conquer but the Nod missions were corrupt & I hate playing as the GDI. I had never played SimTower before, & now I know it's the easiest SimSomething game ever. SimLife was the hardest, & anyone that has completed it is a liar.

It's amazing how much a haircut plus bleaching & a shave can cheer me up. I'm always astonished at how much I hate my natural hair colour, there were several points where I was certain my hair was completely fucked up, but once the bleach was done it just looked great. My 'tache has been hiding behind several week long stubble, & I hadn't noticed it so much, but now it's back to stark relief & it's full absurd quality. I look hauntingly like my father in these pics.