The Dark Path

[labelwench]

Not unlike real life, you head up your back-trail on-line, and you will find things change.....

The song I posted prior, has been removed by the user, but I was able to retrieve the words, and so repost them.

Yesterday, tomorrow and today

Everything occurs
Like a blur
Yesterday tomorrow and today
I am powerless
Set adrift
Yesterday tomorrow and today

Each one is a diva
That is a struggling for control
Callously batting the bubble of my soul
Life is a time machine

Floating like a dream
In between
Yesterday tomorrow and today
Everything occurs
Like a blur
Yesterday tomorrow and today

Each one is a diva
That is a struggling for control
Callously batting the bubble of my soul
Life is a time machine

Am pondering on the thought that while the inter-net has many useful applications in regard to moving information around, making connections, arranging transactions, and that it is available 24/7/365, barring power failure and service provider overload, it's not nearly as satisfying as having a 'real' experience.

Life IS a time machine, and none of us know just how much time we shall be privileged to experience......

This virtual reality has plenty to offer and is a useful tool with many applications, yet, why are we emulating life instead of living it?

The world wide web of connectedness is a spider, and we are all flies, becoming stuck to it, one by one......

Of course, someone will prefer the analogy of a wheel with many spokes......

But it's a net, and nets have but one purpose.......

[greenbug]

But it's a net, and nets have but one purpose.......

To convey that which is with in to its destination..


So dark of the label.. I say look at the trees.. Can they move or go any where? Could they enjoy life as much as us? Just look at them slightly swaying there. They are caught by the ground doomed to stay in one place but is it so bad? Most people strive to keep things the same, they fight their entire lives to keep what past they can with them.. Just what is real for a tree? The wind, the day the night, a cool rain, a shroud of snow? I think they have it made. Yet sometimes we believe our life/lives is/are so much better.

I look at it this way, I've been in a net my whole life. Sense they day I was born caught by a world thats conveying me to a destination. A world that no matter how I struggle I can not escape, my frustrations, my destination. I wonder Have I not been in a web or net?

[labelwench]

Interesting that you should choose trees for your analogy, Greenbug.

Trees......beautiful beings, trees. So diverse of form and function, all of which contribute to our ability to enjoy life on this planet. Through their being, they enrich the oxygen component of the atmosphere, they assist water through it's cycles of movement, provide shade, convert into heat, shelter many forms of life, provide food and building material, to name but a few.

There is nothing like sitting under the rustling leaves of a trembling aspen on a warm day, the air beneath the tree, more oxygen rich, cool and refreshing, and the leaves by their movement and a certain chemical emit, tend to discourage the biting insects of northern summer.

The lodgepole pine grows tall and retains it's even dimension of trunk, making it a superior medium for building logs and the tight woodgrain mills into excellent dimensional lumber. The home I reside in is of log construction, all of the trees from a small sawmill 9 miles (15 km) distance. I hired a friend, a Finnish logger, who leased the use of the mill and I worked the green chain, aiding in the process of turning the trees into logs, some of which were also milled into tongue and groove flooring for the house.

I learned how to work with three sided logs, 8" x 8" x 16 feet in length, and how to use a peevee and a cant hook to manipulate the raw logs that were considerably heavier than am I. Every log in this home had the bark removed by myself, by hand, with a peeling spud, and my palms were tough and calloused that summer, lol, after the blisters healed. I went through one devil of a lot of gloves that spring and summer, as one must keep their hands dry. We logged during January and February, as that is when the trees have the least moisture in them, and they season into better building logs, with less twisting and splitting, and also less settling in the final construction. Peeling such logs, though, is tougher work, for exactly the reason that there is little moisture in the layer which binds the bark to the wood.

With a chainsaw, we were taught to notch the logs to hold a spline, which would shape the rough openings for doors and windows, and how to make such that the logs could settle up to a few inches over the years of weathering. Our timing of the felling was excellent, and even the old Finn was amazed by how little the logs shrunk and settled. The same fellow also demonstrated to me how to use several sets of wooden shims to custom fit a tongue and groove floor, a task which I accomplished by myself, and which has remained a better fit than many since seen that were installed by those who do such craft for money.

Yes, from trees I have had much experiencing, and from the Finn, whose life was spent in logging and building with wood, I have learned many skills from working alongside.

These are the things which it is coming time to pursue yet again. Three dimensional learning and sharing.....

[labelwench]

This is not a dark story......perhaps there is hope for more harmonious relations between people yet, given the example set by these three predators.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...riendship.html

[labelwench]

Grandpa, Tell Me Bout The Good Old Days

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7E88R...eature=related

[labelwench]

The Last Thing On My Mind - The Cumberland Trio

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E5vK-...eature=related

[labelwench]

The sun was shining as I took the celery trimmings to Caramel, who trotted over eagerly for the attention and the treat.

Conflicted. That would be the word and the emotion.

After a cold and drear early day, which bade me nap, as I am exhausted, these flips from day to night with attempts to accommodate the needs and desires of friends and family on occasion, come with a price.

Now the sun beckons and my spirit yearns to follow, yet if I don't get planked within the hour, I shall be a hazard to all and sundry, and the shift to come is always the tough one of the week.

Some would say, 'What of it? Call in sick. It's not like they're going to question you on it.....' And indeed, there are many that do just that, whenever they take the notion.

Yet, employment is a mutual contract between the parties involved, and there is little to no overlap in our scheduling for certain tasks. When one person does not make their shift, it poses hardship for the other employees, and some work must go undone. In a circumstance of illness or family need, I would not bat an eye at calling in my unavailability, and my co-workers would rally, for good cause.

Sleeping and scheduling, however, is a matter of choice.

I have chosen this path for the many benefits it affords, and forsaking some sunny afternoons is one of the trade-offs. For the most part, there is balance in this choice, but on occasion, I grow wistful.....it's a passing state of mind....

[greenbug]

Its like I’m drowning and the only thing that seems to work is when I give up. It’s hard for me to turn off the machine. What ever it is in side of me that wants to keep going. It’s frustrating not to completely understand that side of me. There is want, drive, motivation, but for what? To me it remains unanswered and so an anxiety.

I don’t ever give up but I don’t know why I keep going. It’s like pushing on for some unforeseeable pay off. I’d be a lying to say I don’t dream or wish for grater things. But I don’t hope. I don’t wait for it I don’t work for it..

So its strange when I’m laying there trying to get my four hours of sleep, and it doesn’t come.

[labelwench]

Its like I’m drowning and the only thing that seems to work is when I give up. It’s hard for me to turn off the machine. What ever it is in side of me that wants to keep going. It’s frustrating not to completely understand that side of me. There is want, drive, motivation, but for what? To me it remains unanswered and so an anxiety.

I don’t ever give up but I don’t know why I keep going. It’s like pushing on for some unforeseeable pay off. I’d be a lying to say I don’t dream or wish for grater things. But I don’t hope. I don’t wait for it I don’t work for it..

So its strange when I’m laying there trying to get my four hours of sleep, and it doesn’t come.

Life is it's own reason, or so it seems to me. Even when there are times that one's life seems to be out of one's control, giving up the option of choice is not the default selection for most.

Diversity is my specialty and because there is always a 'work around' if one but seeks it, I am optimistic most of the time, and batten down the hatches and ride out the occasional storm. I do not lose sight of my goals, even when life may force me to take a circuitous route to their achieving, and I try not to get so focused that I cannot be spontaneous and fit in other options as they may arise, often neat ideas that may not have occurred to me.

Today, Caramel and I took advantage of the mild weather and sandwiched in a short, swift and satisfying 5 km ride. Last night was rugged but we got all accomplished, so historically, I can 'lick my wounds' and go a bit more gently on Sunday shift. I'll get my 4 hours sleep....barely......and I was in the process of catching a nap earlier when a friend from Nova Scotia called. We had a lovely visit, as we used to work together, she as my right hand 'wench. lol, and just the chat was energizing. Some people add to one's energy. We need more people like that.....

This graveyard shift has the most job security of the options presently available to me. In the 19 months since I departed my former venue, they have not found any who could stay the pace at my former task. Price checking, and other related duties, are repetitious and boring for most people, and those with families or an active social life do not find the schedule to their liking. Everyone has to eat, so it's the food supply line for me, for the foreseeable future. The knowledge of pricing structure and patterns also enables me to save considerable on groceries and household commodities, as one can transpose much of what is learned to other businesses through observation. Repetitious this job may be, but boring, it is not.

Appreciate your insights, as always....

[labelwench]

Music is one of the greatest means by which we may channel and express our emotions, especially those emotions which make other people uncomfortable. Through sharing the music, and the emotion, there is common assent, without the need for direct engagement. Those artists who have been strong enough to capture the pain in our lives have my greatest respect.

It is easy to sing of joyous things.

The artist bares their inner self when they put words and music to pain.

Jim Croce's music is eloquent in it's expression.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A2iS8XctJKo