The Place where Time Begins

Instead of going to work today I put on my walking shoes and braved the cold and crispy roads that lead to Greenwich. Home of the Prime Meridian, the place where time officially begins and the world is separated into the eastern and western hemisphere. 

An eternal starting point from which you can emerge cleansed and rejuvenated. Like a private New Year's Eve.

I walked through the park to get to the Meridian Line.

Quiet.

The stillness of the ancient trees seemed to laugh at all my “real life”/ “work related” stresses. (Some of the trees are around 400 years old - yes I know I’m a nerd - I like it) If the trees could sing they would serenade me with the Beatle’s song “Because”. Or maybe that’s just the mood I’m in.

“Because the world is round it turns me on”. If you’ve never heard it you’re in for a treat.*
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZ6pmRlwP6Y&feature=related)

So I climbed up them, I climbed the trees and remembered what it was like to be a kid. By the way if you don’t remember getting up is the easy bit. On the way down you have to calculate the jump. It was challenging. A good thing to imagine is the roll you must perform during a parachute landing, even if you’ve never done one. I've never done one but it works.

And that’s when I saw them. He wore a pink knitted hat with a bobble and she was all covered up in layers and lying in his arms. They looked out towards London and had their backs to me. 

I took their picture and walked on when an urge came and spread it’s tentacles across my brain.

Urge: Go give them the picture! 

Me: I’ll look stupid.

Urge: You’re a grown woman who was climbing a tree a minute ago. 

Me: They didn’t see it, they’ll think I’m stupid.

Urge: Go give them the picture. 

So I walked back. 

I cautiously approached and showed it to them. In my best "I’m not weird" face. (What does that even look like? I must check in the mirror).

You know what happened? 

They laughed, they were delighted. They were happy that their combined image had inspired someone to take a photo. It was romantic. I sent it to them whilst we were still talking and left them to their giggling (Instant Good Karma). 

Having spent the morning looking and acting stupid I stepped over the Prime Meridien feeling a little bit renewed, with a smile on my face.

A Very Old Game

So here we are. Since the evening of Friday 13th January 2012 Europe has been thrown into a new crisis. (I bet whoever picked that date for the announcement did it for effect)

9 countries credit ratings have been downgraded by S&P (Standard and Poor’s - A purposefully ominous name?- If I was reading this in a script it would come across too corny. I’d ask the writer to change it at this stage.)

Is it time for the collective to Panic and Freak out? 

Let’s back up a bit. This is all constructed and I’m not referring to conspiracy theories. I’m talking about the basis of our society. 

Our economy and the way it works is just an idea, a game, created by similar minds to the ones that brought you the hula-hoop, chewing gum, tetris, the army, the spaceship and the cat flap. 

The economy as we know it today was constructed by Adam Smith in 1776. He wrote a book called "The Wealth of Nations", which is considered his magnum opus and the first modern work of economics.  A few others pitched in with ideas but Adam Smith is the one that's known as the father of Economics. He was also often described as having a very large nose. 

There are no credit ratings decreed by God. If we started living in a different way all these ratings would mean nothing. 

The money you have in your bank account and in your pocket is your score. It’s what you win when you play, whatever the game you chose to play during your 9 to 5 may be. 

The less you do for bigger amounts the smarter you are and vice versa. This is how we measure achievement in our society.

We could stop playing! Take a moment to think what it would be like if we stopped playing and started a different game.

(Long pause for effect)

Are you smiling?

My instinct tells me that Life is not a series of tasks we have to complete. I have a strong feeling that we are here to enjoy ourselves. Everyone makes such a fuss about us when we’re born. Are they just delighted at the arrival of a future tax payer?  They talk about the joy the new arrival will bring.  New arrivals have such easy access to joy and very little concern about PAYE, free medical or dental. 

Anyway, this game we’re playing, it has very old rules made up by very old minds. It’s not working and I’m absolutely sure it’s time to change it. 

In fact I’m certain of it. I know the way you know about a good melon. 

The Year of Alternative Thinking - It’s only a miracle until you understand the science behind it.

Begin the Begin

We are all alike. Flesh and Thought. 

Complicated, multi-tasking, always-dreaming, forward- planning. Human, in short. 

We walk the earth coming up with thoughts and turning them into the reality we see around us. 

Sometimes we begin on a journey that gives us great joy but for some unexpected and inexplicable reason we stop halfway through, like impatient gardeners that stop watering their plants because they aren’t growing fast enough.

Why do we stop cultivating our dreams? Self sabotage? Fear of failure? Fear of success? Fear of judgement? All of the above? 

I write this publicly in an effort to change a pattern and also because I see and meet lots of you out there who are frustrated by it and I just want to say: 

"Hey, I understand that you feel you’re not where you should be. How about trying to take for granted that it’s happening and start again?"

Then again there are things that you make happen for yourself with a complete lack of effort. 

Examples? 

Your job, your warm home, your circle of friends, your ability to provide for yourself, the people you have in your life who love you.Whether you’ve created some or all of them, it’s all your own work. 

Still your dreams sit on your shoulders and talk straight into your minds eye. "When will you make us exist?" 

They did the same to Goethe who learnt to take them for granted and make them realities. Here’s what they taught him: 

“Until one is committed there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back. Concerning all acts of initiative and creation, there is one elementary truth, the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. 

A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in ones’s favor all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamed would have come his way. Whatever you can do, or dream you can do begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it. Begin it now.”

Happy New Year!