I genuinely did not know that Australia's seasons are inverted. But I guess it makes sense. This means that Australia spends their Christmas days during the... summertime. That's genuinely the strangest thing I've learned in months. The concept of a summery Christmas has never even crossed my mind.
It's the whole southern hemisphere. I freaked out when I realized that too, and had to contact somebody I sort-of knew online to ask if it's really true—and she told me yes, winter down there is like June, July, August, and I'm not sure what other months. And summer is November, December and January or some such. My brain did not want to accept that as a reality.
I spent a year there in the north in my youth, and there are just two seasons - the wet and the dry. The wet freakin sucks, let me tell you. Dry is from ~May to October. Wet is ~November to April. I didn't do enough research and got off the plane in late January. Immediately I was like,
the weirdest thing about it to my mind is that it’s made no impression on our conception of Christmas. There’s zero consciousness that people in South Africa, Argentina, Australia, etc. celebrate it under summery conditions at all. You’d think it’s something that people would think about but it’s not. The one and only time ever learned about it was in second grade and I just happened to remember it.
Maybe because we know people in LA do the same. We see it in movies like Lethal Weapon, where the only snow was cocaine.
Grateful that spring is creeping back. ever so gradually. Grateful that my son's annual physical exam went fine. Grateful, as one friend says, that I am still upright and taking nourishment -- including a visit this morning to my favorite breakfast place, for pancakes, eggs, coffee and hashbrown potatoes.
That's right. Late November, December, January, and February here are when it starts getting warm (and then seriously hot, and in some places, also seriously humid). I have no idea why people get dressed up as Santa under such conditions. Unless they want to lose weight. Or are serious masochists. Yikes. The Northern regions of Australia are closer to the equator. Late January equals Hot + Wet ... i.e. Hot and Humid. Yeesh! Well, that's one way to lose weight.
Here's something that made me smile today ... I work in accounting, and it's my job (among others) to do a bank reconciliation every day. For those unfamiliar with bank reconciliations, it basically means going through the bank statement, figuring out which bills people are paying us, entering the payments into the accounts system, and then reconciling -- i.e. making sure the final total agrees with what the bank statement says. I don't normally get a barrel of laughs here, but one of this morning's payments did stand out. It read: "COW CREDITORS V12022 ..................... $7,146.20". I was, obviously, a little disturbed (and amused) by that. We definitely don't get payments from cows! So, it was time to do some digging. Unfortunately, no-one in any other department could tell me what this was. On the verge of tearing my hair out, I noticed an email from some people called "City of Whittlesea". Could this be "COW"? I quickly opening the attachment, which told me they were paying us $7,146.20, and included the invoice number. Success! Still, they could've made it clear that it was them. Holy Cow. If I hadn't solved it, that could've become a ... Cow-tastrophe. (Sorry-not-sorry)
Grateful for a good night's sleep and for a partly sunny, if a bit chilly, dawn. And for the gradual realization that all is well, despite the sometimes disappointing details.
We have a head-cold going through the household. I'm not grateful for that per se, but in this post-COVID time I'm grateful that we've all tested negative for the virus. I'm even more grateful that we have access to various OTC meds for comfort, and warm beds, healthy foods, and clean water, etc. for getting over it. And I'm grateful that if things should take a turn for the worst, we have reasonably access to reasonably good, reasonably affordable professional health care. So many people in the world have none of that.
Sheesh. I'm grateful for waking up in my own bed this morning. Let me rephrase that. So, I had a freaky dream last night. (I don't usually remember any of my dreams, but this one was so vivid). I was on a train, heading home from work, when suddenly it ... changed, somehow? ... and I was on a double-decker train, heading west across Australia. (But I had no idea, because the rhythmic motion of the train lulled me to sleep). Anyway, in the dream, I'm beginning to stir, just in time to see the train stopping at a place called "Fishy Pizza Junction". (I told you it was a freaky dream). I know this isn't my usual station, so I ask someone where I am, and am told that we're approaching the South Australia border. I jump up, yell "Holy Crap!" and rush out, and the train takes off ... and then I realise it took my bag, and all my stuff (wallet/keys/etc.), with it. But that's not the end of it, because when I approach the ticket office, the woman from Kill Bill is in line, and she waves a katana at me. And when I finally get to the ticket window, a walrus with a moustache says "Goo goo g'joob?" ... and at that point, I woke up -- and I was in bed, in my own flat. Phew. The thing is, I've no idea why I had this dream. Does it have a meaning? I don't know. Is there a meaning? Or is it just a bunch of stuff that happened? Whatever. Where's the coffee?
Often a mode of transport in a dream represents how you're living your life, especially with reference to whether you're in control of it or not. Being on a bus for instance means someone else is 'driving,' as does you being a passenger in a car someone else is driving. But in the case of a bus it's a stranger just doing their job. A train seems to mean your life is on a particular pre-set course and you're not driving it. I'm not sure what the switch to a double-decker would mean. The thing to do, if you want to understand a dream, is to first write it down in as much detail as you can remember, including things like if it was day or night, plus any feelings or ideas attached to it (like "I need to disarm the bomb before midnight or Taylor Swift is going to die!")Then write down any associations you have to each part of the dream and every person/object that seemed important. By which I mean, what does a double-decker train mean to you? Does it have any particular importance? Did you ever have an experience involving one (in real life or maybe a movie that really grabbed you or something)? What you're looking for in particular are memories that carry a lot of emotional power. Those tend to be the things dreams are referring to. Then what kinds of associations do you have with Uma Thurman? In particular as The Bride in Kill Bill? Or maybe it's more the yellow jumpsuit, or the sword. Think through it all and write every idea that occurs to you. One of them might suddenly jump out as making perfect sense. Often a dream will show you some image that calls to mind a particular feeling or memory. I'm not sure if you're serious ( ) about the walrus? That part sounds like a joke, or you've been listening to the Beatles. Oh, I should add, many things that show up in a dream might be what's called Day Residue, meaning things you happen to have seen or thought about over the last few days. Maybe you saw a trailer for Kill Bill, or heard I Am the Walrus. Also think about what South Australia means to you. Wild country, where nobody lives? (I don't know). Also think about fish and pizza and junctions. The three things could all link up in some strange way in a memory, or maybe they're separate. But the idea of getting off at the wrong station (or being lost, or being two years late for a class you had totally forgotten about, or not able to remember where you locker is, or not having a pencil and it's test day, or realizing you haven't gone to work for six months, and they're probably going to be mad) are very common in dreams. About as common as discovering you're naked walking through the mall or school. They usually mean you feel a bit lost or left behind in life in some way (most of us do, most of the time). Also, the majority of dreams are negative, and involve being lost or late or pursued by someone or something dangerous, or just having a sense of anxiety or panic. It isn't known why this is, but it seems to be true.
Hmm. Since I can never remember my dreams, I don't know if they have any meaning. I can't even remember if I dreamt the walrus, or if I thought of it later. The mind is a strange thing. It can convince you that you saw something imaginary, and then later you figure out it was something completely prosaic. Goo goo g'joob, indeed.
That's the funny thing: usually, after waking up, I can't remember any dreams. But this one was so vivid and dramatic, I remembered it after waking up. *shrug* Is that weird? I don't know.
When this is the case it usually means the dreams are important and you should pay attention to them—try to understand them. The train symbolism may or may not mean your life is currently not under your own control. It depends on what riding on a train means specifically to you. If you ride them frequently it could just be a reflection of that simple fact. Or if something significant happened to you on a train or relating to a train that might be what it's referring to. And don't worry, if it does mean your life is currently not under your control, that's true for most of us. I've had many dreams telling me I wasn't in control of my current course, like a few years ago I dreamed a lot about trying to park my car in my driveway and it wouldn't quite stop, no matter how hard I pressed on the brake. It would roll slowly backwards (me being unable to see clearly behind me) until it felt like I must be in the neighbor's driveway or yard and about to hit their car or their house. In retrospect that was a pretty good descritpion of how my life was going at the time (backwards and slightly out of control), but I didn't want to admit it. Dreams use symbolism like this to show us when we need to try something different in the way we're living. It doesn't necessarily mean in a big way, it could be something very simple, and it might not take much to get it back under your control. It's just your subconscious telling you what you know deep inisde is true, but maybe you're refusing to lsiten. I looked up Southwest Australia and it sounds like it's a huge wilderness area filled with an amazing diveristy of flora and fauna. That sounds like wild undiscovered country filled with surprises, which in a dream could mean you're headed into new territroy where you don't know what to expect but it's rich with possibilities. But I live on the other side of the planet, and you probably have a much better idea of what it means, how thast region is generally characterised. Or it might carry some particular meaning to you because of some book you've read or a movie you've seen about it. If you think about it for a while, maybe write your thoughts down, something might suggest itself that makes sense. Plus often, if you have trouble understanding a dream, you'll have more relating to the same set of ideas that will help to clarify it. And once you start to pay attention to your dreams you should be able to remember them better.
I've no idea, I never tried to interpret dreams. My life's so busy, everything's crying out for attention. I ride them every weekday to work and back. That explains that. But last October, I had an accident, slipped while on a moving train, and fell heavily on my back. I've been dealing with whiplash-related injuries ever since. I've gotten back to work (I work in accounts, so it's staring at screens all day), but at the end of the workday, I'm usually exhausted. (I've been seeing a physiotherapist for months, too). That, plus trying to write a book for months, plus rehearsing for a concert that's coming up soon ... and not enough sleep. Bleh. Maybe I'm just sleep-deprived and imagining things. As for South Australia -- heh. South Australia is one of our states, just like CA and WV, etc., over in the USA. It's a gigantic state, but I've never actually been there, although I've read a book or two set there. I'm in Victoria (down in the southeast of Australia), and South Australia is to the west of me. Here's what Australia looks like: As you can see, we have much fewer states than the US. That said, I've tried studying US geography, and I think I can name most US states and their capitals. Hopefully that's not too bad for a non-USian.
I don't know flowers well, not even the ones in our back garden, but I found one this morning that had burst from its bulb and pushed up to the spring sun -- only to be buried under several inches of snow. Grateful because the weather is at or above freezing, so this flower and its friends will likely be all right. So I'm grateful for both the message of promises to arrive, and for the reminder that cold cannot forever prevail. I'm grateful for all the springs I have lived through, and for having experience enough to know that droughts and floods both pass. And I am grateful, when I consider all those who have gone before me, grateful that I am still here, and still hopeful that I will still find time to understand, or at least appreciate, my place in this marvelous thing we call existence. Thanks for all of it.
Grateful for people who annoy or frustrate me, because they give opportunities to discover and practice patience. Grateful for growing up in relatively safe and reliable society. Grateful for the times dumb luck saved me from the potential consequences of stupid mistakes.
"The freedoms we possess consist of being born human, having the leisure to pursue spiritual practice, possessing physical health and intelligence, contact with the teachings and moral sensibilities to appreciate those teachings and feel compassion for others. . . . Many human beings do not have endowments and leisure that are necessary for spiritual practice." Traleg Kyabgon, The Practice of Lojong (Shamabala 2007) p.21. I'm grateful.
