It is Budget Day here and my head is spinning. The size of the national debt is horrendous, and the measures they are taking to bring it down are equally horrendous. The retirement age is going up again it seems - we will know later in the year - and it is already 6 years later for me and that is bad enough. The pensioners' tax free allowance is being effectively cut, which means pensioners will have an awful lot more tax to pay. So all in all, it is migraine inducing stuff, and at the end of the day, we all pay more, have less income and prices still rocket skywards. Petrol will be going up too. (Sticks fingers in ears at this point and starts singing LALALALALA at the top of her voice.)
What a joy.
I am trying to think of how I can be thankful for this.
I am not doing very well.
Anyway, the sun is shining, I survived aquarobics (as opposed to aquazumba) and even though the legs closely resemble jelly, we will put up with that. I have even prepared supper, so I just have to switch things on. I am a paragon of virtue, aren't I?? Clean washing too.
The nights recently have been so clear and the stars and planets so bright. More awe-inspiring is the deep silence. I know this because I fall asleep on the couch and wake at 12, 1, 2am and then there is the rubbish to take out and washing to get in, and I stand there and I look upwards and it is so beautiful it almost takes my breath away. The silence, the heavy silence is all around me as the world sleeps, and way up there, between heaven and earth, little lights flicker as aeroplanes with their precious human cargo silently wing their way through the skies to far off places.
Sometimes, I see a shooting star, and other times, there are satellites or space stations which whizz by. It has become a habit now, to go out on clear nights just before I go to bed, to look upwards at the skies. And every time is different. No moon last night that I could see, so much brighter stars. And the moon - oh so much beauty. Do you ever go out in the dark and just stand there and look up? When I lived in South Africa, the skies were (obviously) different, and often I would go and lie down in the dark and gaze into the heavens. I would need a recliner now. Lying on the patio/ground could mean staying there for a considerable time.
I think it all started with Halley's Comet, back in 1986. The comet is not due back until 2061 and it is QUITE safe to say that I will not be here to see it return. The city lights were switched off to darken the skies so it could be seen more clearly. Actually, it was not that clear at all, but I certainly saw it. Something.
Whether it was awe-inspiring or not, it started a habit of looking to the heavens. And wondering. Thinking. Turning around and being filled with awe and a quiet sort of joy too.
We live in an amazing world, don't we.
We do and it's going to keep right on being amazing. Do I go out and stare at the stars before bedtime?! That would be a noooooo... I'd prefer to crawl into my bed and fall asleep without having been out in the chill night air. Sometimes I lie up there in my tall bed that lifts me close to the ceiling where I can look out my window and see the stars. Rare, though. Very rare.
ReplyDeleteI have often gone outside to sit and have a cuppa in the middle of the night when I can't sleep. I do like to look at the stars but usually I just enjoy the absolute quiet, no cars, no people, just peace...lovely!
ReplyDeleteIndeed it is! There is so much beauty all around us, especially when we are fortunate to live out in the country. I'm glad you can appreciate the night time sky even though you are in a much more populated area.
ReplyDeleteAh, and then there is the economic nonsense that we have to come back to - it's so crazy! So far here the retirement age has stayed at 65 but there is much talk about reforming the Canada Pension Plan so we shall what it brings me in 8 years. You can actually draw on your pension at age 60 (at 20% less but it's actually better over the long term to take it early) but old age security comes at age 65. I wish one didn't have to worry about those kinds of things so much!
Happy Star Gazing!
Love the warm pool and the exercise period, it is like meditation to me.
ReplyDeleteA friend once told me it is impossible to feel depressed if you are looking up, so I am sure you are healing yourself with your nightly sky gazing. I am sure that is why I love my sky scapes.
I have sent you an email, hope you got it?
XX
We certainly do Linds!
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