A new realm

Back to work today, feeling a little more human.
Teaching 40 kids about the most amazing birds in the world. Great fun.
Last couple of weeks have been a little lost, slightly unreal.

Speaking of unreal......

On the recommendation of dear mister Hobbit, I have been spending some time in Carmarthenshire.

After Triskele it became clear to me that I need to have a roleplay place in SL. Wandering around SL randomly confirmed much of what I felt when I first joined over a year ago. So much of the virtual world is shallow , concerned with commercialism and strangely false. Yet I feel at home in a roleplay environment, where the concerns are more human (or elf, dragon ,fae). More about people, less about money

Weirdly some of the most real encounters seem to come in these doubly unreal places. Perhaps it is because I am slightly shy. Taking on a mantle of 'Wren the villager' or 'Wren the healer' helps me to feel more able to speak to people. The words are still my own and generally come from the heart, but the mask helps (most of the time) to hide any awkwardness.

It probably says a lot about me that I find other SL interactions tricky, and invariable end up on the perimeter feeling like a wallflower. I don't suppose this is a good thing, but its me I guess.

Anyway, it seems for me to 'be' in the virtual world I need roleplay. So Carmarthenshire is being scoped, and so far it's looking very interesting.

For David

For my Grandfather
6th Sept 1921 - 12th June 2008
who looked for the goodness in humanity,
and who carried so much of it within himself.
.
Imagine

.

Imagine there's no Heaven
It's easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people
Living for today
.
Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace
.
You may say that I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will be as one
.
Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world
.
You may say that I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will live as one
.
John Lennon

Sacred Nature

My husband and I were watching a documentary the other night about the nomadic horse peoples of Mongolia.
As part of this documentary it was noted that they regarded the animals at a particular lake as sacred, the wildfowl and particularly the whooper swans which nested there.
There have been similar documentaries we have also watched recently in which certain cultures or religions hold animals in a high regard, as special or sacred to their Gods.

It occured to me that Christian belief doesn't have this connection to animals and nature.
Is this right?
Thinking back on my Bible stories I cant think of any which venerate animals or nature? (other than the Arc) and I am unaware of any animal sacred to Christians.
I am sure those of you who know your Bible better than me (I am looking at you Old Crone!) might put me right, and I welcome any stories that I don't know about.

But perhaps this is part of the reason I have always felt a little detached from the Christian tradition (that and the role of women, which OC and I were also discussing recently).
I find in my RL as well as my SL, that I gain great spiritual strength from the natural world. For me just 'being' with the world can reveal wonders and beauty which often my everyday life can block.
When I spend time outside I can almost feel the connections that bind us to each other as humans, that connect us to the rest of creation and , I believe, connect us to something greater.