24 hours a lifetime.

Used to weigh people's souls, honoured for symbolising victory and eaten with fried onions.

Pretty diverse list for a beautiful insect. 

I've always loved dragonflies and was happy to snap one today in the garden. 

Here it is! What a cutie.

But first, a bit of info. In the Triassic period, fossils of them reveal wingspans of over 2 feet! 

Loads of mad superstitions and tales involve dragonflies too. 

In Japan, legend has it that the Emperor of Japan was once bitten by a horsefly that was later eaten by a dragonfly. 

To honor the dragonfly, he named Japan "Akitsushima," or "the Isles of the Dragonfly."

In Swedish folklore, dragonflies were called "Blindsticka" and were rumoured to have had a penchant for picking out human eyes. Ouch. The Swedes also believed that dragonflies were used by the Devil to weigh people's souls, and that if a dragonfly swarmed around someone's head weighing his or her soul, that person could expect great injury.

                

                                              Bad Kitty chan

Not always just in stories though, in Asia they can make it to the dinner table. 

In Japan and other parts of Asia and the East Indies, dragonflies are considered a delicacy.

Dragonfly Nymphs
Num num

Children of the island of Lombok are said to catch dragonflies on long polls that are smeared with a sticky substance and then fried with onions. In Bali, dragonflies are fried with coconut oil, vegetables and spices. And in Thailand, Laos and other parts of eastern Asia, dragonfly larvae are served roasted up.

Something a bit more metaphysical..

Native American tribes believed and still believe that dragonflies are the souls of the dead.

                                          My fave..

Eat, Smoke, Meditate: Why Your Brain Cares How You Cope.

Most people do what they have to do to get through the day. Though this may sound dire, let’s face it, it’s the human condition. Given the number of people who are depressed or anxious, it’s not surprising that big pharma is doing as well as it is. But for millennia before we turned to government-approved drugs, humans devised clever ways of coping: Taking a walk, eating psychedelic mushrooms, breathing deeply, snorting things, praying, running, smoking, and meditating are just some of the inventive ways humans have found to deal with the unhappy rovings of their minds.

But which methods actually work?

Article continued below...

http://www.forbes.com/sites/alicegwalton/2011/09/21/eat-smoke-meditate-why-your-brain-cares-how-you-cope/

The Long White Cloud.

My first time in New Zealand. I found the people really friendly and warm and I loved it that the Maoris and immigrants had completely integrated. It's not like that in Australia unfortunately. Since I've been here I could count on 1 hand how many Aboriginal people I have seen. 

New Zealand had a lovely pacific island feel to it and from what I could see in my short time there, they seemed very proud of their heritage. 

When we booked the tickets I had no idea that the Rugby World Cup was starting up and the opening ceremony was scheduled to be in Auckland 2 days after I arrived. Well, the fireworks, party atmosphere and traditional dances/performances were a lovely surprise.

We were staying right on Auckland harbour, so we had a fantastic view of the fireworks. 

The streets were mayhem! 

I heard figures of up to 100,000 people had descended on the harbour for the opening night. 

The first match was between the All Blacks and Tonga. 

We went to Auckland Museum, which had a really impressive collection of Maori artifacts. Including an enormous, beautifully carved canoe carved out of one massive tree. 

This is one of the entrances of the museum, by the gift shop.

View from our hotel on the North shore.

 We went to Waiheke island for a few days. It was so gorgeous! Really lovely little place. 

This is little Oneroa beach..

This is the view from Mudbrick Vineyard where we had a super nice lunch! Very recommended. Doesn't it look like there are too many letters in recommended?

Reiko and I at dinner on Viaduct harbour. People were quite confused by us as we didn't look related and there was a fairly big age gap. Reiko didn't speak that much English during the trip and I translated a lot. In hindsight, I should have encouraged her to speak more. Oh well, you live, you learn! We still had a fantastic trip and loads of little sparks of luck followed us around. Looking forward to going back and seeing more of a lovely place.

Compassion

A beautiful talk by an incredible woman.
I love that she says about compassion being the opposite of moral outrage.
I was witness to a perfect example of this, this past weekend.
May we all have the patience to see ourselves in others and the awareness that everything is a reflection.

http://www.ted.com/talks/joan_halifax.html

What surprises the Dalai Lama?

The Dalai Lama was asked a question, recently during a talk,

“What thing about humanity surprises you the most?”

His Holiness replied,

“Man

Because he sacrifices his health in order to make money.
Then he sacrifices his money to recuperate his health.
Then he is so anxious about the future that he does not enjoy the present,
and as a result he does not live in the present or the future.
He lives as if he’s never going to die, and then he dies having never really lived.”