"Some people believe that Astrology reveals the will of the Gods. Indeed, the Swiss psychiatrist and psychoanalyst, Carl Jung, held the view that the starry vault of heaven was an open book of cosmic projection. Whatever your feeling about the merits of astrology, be you sceptic or disciple, it has always seemed credible to me that for the galaxy to be created and to see the planets work in harmony to benefit the life of mankind on earth, that heavenly design and purpose has always existed ever since the moment of creation.
When I met my wife, Sheila, I was partially reluctant to accept that the planet and stars, along with their lunar positions are capable of being translated into meaningful earthly moments. And yet, even then, I was prepared to accept that something that I called 'fate' played a part in all our lives. I also believed that our outcomes were often determined at what precise movement we took; when, where and at what precise date and time. Before long, Sheila persuaded me that following the movement and positions of the stars and planets rarely results in leading one up the garden path! She told me that I was born in the Chinese year of 'The Horse'; a creature that I have always felt an affinity with.
Living and loving with Sheila has provided me with many astrological and Chinese customs and insights. The Chinese believe that those who take the least from the planet offer the most to their fellow beings, and despite their warlike past in the times of the Emporers, the Chinese believe that the ink of a scholar and writer is far holier to the searching soul and spirit of mankind than the blood of a thousand brave warriors and martyrs who died in vain.
Whatever intelligence level a person has, even a fool knows that peace is always preferable to war when it comes to one's overall health, happiness and wellbeing, whether it be in the minds or countries of mankind. Far better to live life than die on one's feet living a cowardly existence, reluctant to involve oneself with others in your community and afraid to love.
My own medical condition over the past six years has obliged me to re-evaluate my place and purpose in the world today. No one's place in this world is guaranteed to either start or end without its own particular difficulties. Not everyone is going to get an easy start in life or a happy ending. But life isn't about how it starts or ends. It's about how it's lived and all those precious times between cradle and grave that it is loved by the person living it. It's about the small things, for its the least of moments that make the best and most enduring of memories. The way our children in their innocence make small of life and the little things that please, stir their curiosity, excite them and leave them in awe and wonder, reveals them to be one with God and Nature and the stars that fill the heavens. Our children hold the key to both happiness and the Gates of Heaven.
The sight of a butterfly in the sunlight or a ladybird and caterpillar striding a cabbage leaf in strange courtship should astound the sight of all. The love and support of an old friend, along with the growing interest of a friendship new is a cause for future celebration instead of past regret. Recollections of dear family and friends who now rest their heads on the other side of the green sod; the times they made our life happier by their presence and enriched it with their laughter are dreams worthy of retaining. They might not be with us in body any longer, but they are with us in spirit. The feeling of something we'd thought long lost to us can be returned to present thought in the blink of an eye and the beat of a heart.
We ought never to take life, family, friends and loved ones for granted, for they are all we have and all we'll ever need. Those people that make up our daily life sustain us like daily bread. Those incidents that we daily experience by being a routine part of life are much more part of us than we ever appreciate and it is only when they no longer occur that they are greatly missed.
There is nothing strange about a person's life that is more mysterious than their birth. Every day on this planet, people are born, people die and stranger things happen in between. But I know my place now and my purpose past and present and I urge you most earnestly that no matter what trial you have to endure, to find your purpose, as the journey and experience are well worthwhile and any wait you may have in its discovery.
It would be wrong to end my post today without wishing my dear Facebook friend, Anne Lister, whose birthday it is today.
Love and peace Bill xxx