Best wishes for less Suffering, more Happiness with Good Health and Time to Enjoy it. Welcome to Japanese calendar year Reiwa 4.
Sharing a timely aspiration:
“Karma.
Be kind.
Be fair.
Be honest.
Be true.
And all these things will come back to you.
What goes round, comes around."
Attributed to Buddhism (since 483 BCE to present)
If having no reason to celebrate this month, here are 3 prepared earlier:
- 5-12 July: NAIDOC Week (Australia)
- 18 July: Nelson Mandela International Day (International)
- 30 July: International Day of Friendship (International)
This edition we visit the topic of Re:volve.
From Middle English (in the senses) = turn (the eyes) back; restore; consider; from Latin revolvere:
re = again; express intense force; focus
volve = roll, turn over, individual or reoccurring orbit
- move, in a circle from a central axis. Ie, the ceiling fan revolved slowly
- reliability, consistency, reoccurring predictably
- devotion/loyalty. Ie, his life revolved around his husband's career
- reflection. Ie, her mind revolved the possibilities
- decisive action. Ie, it was time for thoughts to revolve
- resignation. Ie, the current document should revolve to an earlier iteration
- motivation, determination. Ie, the meditator's actions revolved on the need to cause less Suffering
Some frivolity is onboard so Patience may be required as we circumnavigate* the information.
(* circum-navigate = negotiate, steer or move around usually in a circle)
Remember, information may contain misunderstandings, deliberate omissions and complete fabrications. Accept nothing blindly. Test for usefulness: if useful keep; adapt for personal circumstances if necessary; or if unuseful discard. Be your own guiding light.
The following monthly curation from publicly available information is offered below for consideration.
Topics
- Guest Sings
- Street Jives
- Wisdom Reconciles
- Media Writes
- TED Talks
- Music Challenges
- Acknowledgments
1. Guest Sings
- Otyken - Storm (if wanting subtitles, turn closed captions on)
2. Street Jives
Approx 2 min presentation3. Wisdom Reconciles
- BBC Reel: Evidence ancient Babylonians were far more advanced than we thought (5 mins)
- ZULA Between Us | EP 3: LGBTQ+ Individuals And Their Parents React To Their Coming Out Stories (13 mins)
- Vox: Why the Wingdings font exists (3 mins)
- Philosophies for Life: Marcus Aurelius – How To Build Self Discipline (Stoicism) (13 mins)
- Kings and Generals: How Old Is Chinese Civilization? (22 mins)
4. Media Writes
Approx 5 min readsStephanie Bunbury explores gender, physics and art on display in Liliane Lijn’s work, declaring "Bored by physics? These ‘very strange things’ might change your mind” via The Age
Peter Craven explores gender and an emerging Australian identity on the world stage, reviewing when a collection of essays is "‘Like the finest champagne’: This is a dazzling showcase of our greatest essayist” via The Sydney Morning Herald
Natasha Johnson, gender, sex and changing societal norms, citing "Julie Peters on 50 years at the ABC and 30 years blazing a trail as a trans woman” via ABC Backstory
Intra
Benjamin Law explores dicey topics Religion, Money and Bodies and reasons why "Artist Atong Atem: ‘Black women saved my life, I would say’” via WA Today
James Polson explores gender, sex and segregated competition, reasons why "‘I transitioned to be happy’: Lia Thomas breaks silence, reveals Olympic goal” via The Age
Thien Nguyen explores overcoming uncertainties, difficulties and obstacles, recalling how "At 18, I did not see any light for my future. Then I found faith” via The Sydney Morning Herald
Inter
Samantha Selinger-Morris explores uncoupling, independence and navigating new paths uncovering "The unexpected joys – and challenges – of a midlife divorce” via The Sydney Morning Herald
Monique Farmer explores the value of collaboration, cooperation and communication in the home when "I bought a house in my 20s with a friend, and we’re still friends” via The Sydney Morning Herald
Adam Carey explains history, truth and education towards a shared brighter future in "How students will be taught Victorian history through Aboriginal eyes” via WA Today
Multi
Susan Horsburgh explores empathy, kindred spirits and overcoming challenges recounting why "‘It was messy at home’: A 50-year friendship forged from chaos” via The Sydney Morning Herald
Jewel Topsfield explores prison, rehabilitation and reintegration in "How do you get a job after prison? Ask former inmate, Luke, who has beaten the odds” via The Sydney Morning Herald
Kerrie O’Brien explores documenting, archiving and retrieving, revealing how "‘None of us knew’: How Wil Anderson surprised David Wenham on his ABC special” via The Age
All
Adam Carey explores remoteness, education and language when "Walking in two worlds: the Territory kids discovering a new school” via The Brisbane Times
Maida Pineda explores connecting, camaraderie and being present, reasons to "Put down your phone: Saying hello can be the antidote to loneliness" via The Age
Anita Punton explores gender, othered and balancing, declaring why "My all-girls education failed to give me the skills I now value most” via The Brisbane Times
Togather
Bridget McManus explores democracy, dedicated media and balancing coverage in "How SBS is changing the course of TV history” via The Age
Nick Miller explores creativity, ingenuity and connecting the dots in this origin story of why "She hacked an old knitting machine to weave the universe into a work of art” via The Brisbane Times
Sumeyya Ilanbey explores identity, visibility and representation when realising that "‘Not that long ago it was an offence for us to be who we are’: State gets first openly gay ministers” via The Age
Nobly
Sumeyya Ilanbey explores housing, support and pathways to independence as "Funding cut reversed for ‘brilliant’ program that houses the homeless” via The Sydney Morning Herald
ABC Backstory explores identity, difference and diversity with "You Can't Ask That co-creator Kirk Docker on what happens behind the scenes and the most brutal question he's had to ask" via ABC News
Jack Latimore explores reconciliation through respectfulness, truth-telling and fairer trade with "Bill to establish body to negotiate treaties with Aboriginal Victorians” via The Sydney Morning Herald
5. TED Talks
5-20 min presentations- Jessica Wise: How fiction can change reality (5 mins)
- Andrew Zimmerman Jones: Does time exist? (5 mins)
- Suzie Sheehy: The case for curiosity-driven research (9 mins)
- Adam Savage: How simple ideas lead to scientific discoveries (8 mins)
- Aaron Reedy: Sex Determination: More Complicated Than You Thought (6 mins)
6. Music Challenges
Approx 30 min presentation + reflection timesIf desired, a short selection of publicly available material on a chosen theme for personal reflection.
For best results, sit comfortably with a straight back, have headphones in a shared space, after each clicked link, allow a little reflection with your personally-held view before clicking on the next link.
Get ready to Reflect!
Choose your playing level:
Be introduced at 1.
Be soothed at 2-4.
Be shocked at 5.
Be inspired at 6.
Fuller illumination 1-6.
You be the judge. Or not.
Cryptic Clue:
When is the right time to show up for your life?
- Inspire
- Perspire
- Collaborate
- Engage: Test for personal circumstances, if useful keep, if unuseful discard, if exceeds needs, share mindfully
- Endure: Adapt for present times without sacrificing intent
- Endear: (Inspiring Others To Tend the Flame) live/ demonstrate/ inspire/ teach experience with others
journey
[jer'nee]
From Middle English: from Old French jornee = day, a day's travel, a day's work; based on Latin diurnum = daily portion, from diurnus = daily, from dies = day.
- an act of travelling from one place to another. Ie, an eight-hour train journey.
- a long and often difficult process of personal change and development. Ie, an individual's spiritual journey towards enlightenment. Ie, the actor was excited with their character's journey in the film.
- travel somewhere. Ie, they journey south.
- (Astronomy) the measurable path, direction, frequency, regular and recordable movement of things. Ie, the Earth’s journey is around the Sun taking 24 hours.
conception
[con’cept'shen]
From Middle English; via Old French from Latin conceptio(n-), from the verb concipere: com- = together + capere = take + ion = a noun, an atom or molecule with a net electric charge due to the loss or gain of one or more electrons; a suffix, forming nouns denoting verbal action (Ie, communion, rebellion); a suffix, denoting a resulting state or product (Ie, oblivion, opinion).
- the action of conceiving a child or of one being conceived. Ie, an unfertilized egg before conception. Ie, a rise in premarital conceptions.
- (Religious) the moment at which a fertile egg has been fertilised with a fertile sperm, the result being now a vessel ready to hold a spirit, soul or mind and the deemed start of a new life.
- the forming or devising of a plan or idea. Ie, the time between a product's conception and its launch.
- the way in which something is perceived or regarded. Ie, our conception of how language relates to reality.
- an abstract idea; a concept. Ie, the conception of a balance of power.
- a plan or intention. Ie, reconstructing Bach's original conceptions.
- ability to imagine; understanding. Ie, they had no conception of politics.
birth
[berth]
From Middle English: from Old Norse byrth; related to bear: carry the weight of; support; endure (an ordeal or difficulty); give birth to (a child); from Old English beran, of Germanic origin; from an Indo-European root shared by Sanskrit bharati, Greek pherein, and Latin ferre.
- the emergence of a baby or other young from the body of its mother; the start of life as a physically separate being. Ie, the child was curious from birth. Ie, despite a difficult birth the baby is fit and healthy.
- the beginning or coming into existence of something. Ie, the birth of democracy.
- a person's origin, descent, or ancestry. Ie, the mother is English by birth. Ie, the child is of noble birth.
- give birth to (a baby or other young). Ie, the mother birthed five children within ten years.
alive
[ah'lyve]
From Old English = on life, literally in life.
- (of a person, animal, or plant) living, not dead. Ie, hopes of finding anyone still alive were fading. Ie, the patient was kept alive by a feeding tube.
- continuing in existence or use. Ie, keeping hope alive. Ie, fortunately the old recipes are very much alive.
- alert and active; animated. Ie, the songwriters come alive when hearing their music played.
- engaging; having interest and meaning. Ie, educators hope to make history come alive for the children.
- (alive to) aware of and interested in; responsive to. Ie, the teacher was always alive to new ideas.
- (alive with) swarming or teeming with. Ie, in summer those trees are alive with crickets and cicadas.
life
[lyfe]
From Old English līf, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch lijf, German Leib = body.
- the condition that distinguishes animals and plants from inorganic matter, including the capacity for growth, reproduction, functional activity, and continual change preceding death. Ie, the origins of life. Ie, cats require visual experience during the first few weeks of life.
- living things and their activity. Ie, lower forms of life. Ie, the ice-cream vendors were the only signs of life. Ie, the valley is teeming with bird life.
- the existence of an individual human being or animal. Ie, a disaster that claimed the lives of 266 people. Ie, the patient didn't want to die. Ie, the students loved life. Ie, from first to last breath, this is an individual life.
- a particular type or aspect of human existence. Ie, the child’s parent decided to start a new life interstate. Ie, a teacher will help new students settle into school life. Ie, revelations about the celebrity's private life.
- (Literature) a biography. Ie, a life of Shelley.
- (Christianity and some other religious traditions) either of the two states of a person's existence separated by death. Ie, the deceased departed this life on 28 March 1912.
- (Hinduism and some other religious traditions) any of a number of successive existences in which a soul is held to be reincarnated. Ie, a spiritual pilgrimage into their past lives.
- a chance to live after narrowly escaping death (with reference to the nine lives traditionally attributed to cats). Ie, we were called to the hospital, but the old rogue had nine lives and seemed to be negotiating for another two.
- (various games) one of a specified number of chances each player has before being put out.
- (usually one's life) the period between the birth and death of a living thing, especially a human being. Ie, they have lived all their life in the country, Ie, they became friends for life.
- the period during which something inanimate or abstract continues to exist, function, or be valid. Ie, underlay helps to prolong the life of a carpet.
- (informal) a sentence of imprisonment for life.
- vitality, vigour, or energy. Ie, the performance was beautiful and full of life.
- (art) the depiction of a subject from a real model, rather than from an artist's imagination. Ie, the pose and clothing were sketched from life.
Optional
-- Chant Mantrastyle
Start today.
As the case may be.
Or not.
7. Acknowledgments
This curation is an interpretation of the universal basis of re:lig:ion (Latin = again:uniting:energy). This email invites a sharing of countless thoughts, words and actions wishing, causing and receiving less Suffering and more Happiness. For benefit initially of the individual increasing in beneficiaries until it includes all across the 3 times and 10 directions. As each case may be. Or not.
It is not personal, it just the way things are.