500 year plan

Last night I was having a chat to friend Michael Auty - he is a very interesting man, from Melbourne recently moved to London. We have recently started taking our children to The Woodcraft Folk meetings and while the children learn about Fair trade, where their food comes from and about people all over the world (well, that was just last night). We sit and chat, and last night he was telling me how his family always have a 500 year plan, such that, whatever they do, they think about the impact it will have in 500 years. I never pressed him for any of his specific goals...however, I really like the idea of thinking about the bigger picture rather than just our and our childrens generation. Imagine if the government and big business thought like this? What a different place the world would be. At a party not long ago I was telling someone that I had a 5 year plan and this arrogant nob was going on about how ridiculous that was. How do you know how you will feel about it in 5 years? He doesn't plan 1 year ahead... Imagine if we thought beyond ourselves and our own little lives more.

Moving along that line. Recently I have been made aware of how we tend to concentrate so much on ourselves, inward looking. We think about "me" all the time. At uni in Eng Lit, we studied the notion of "me" and then read Virginnia Woolfs 'Mrs Dalloway'. And talking in the seminar, so many people live UNCONSCIOUSLY. They are not aware that they have 'a little voice' that they are sepearate too and that they can control the little voice. Virginnia Woolf was exploring alot of that and being a bit of a mad ol girl alot of the time, certainly made it interesting reading! I love reading about all the psycho /philosophical stuff. I have spoken to people lately who don't seem to be able to step outside themselves and be objective and then powerful in their lives. They get swept along in their stories, emotion and 'poor me' syndrome - when I see this, I see that here are people that do not want to be responsible for their lives. I see it because I was like that for a long time. The mind is a fascinating thing. today I will be reading John Keats sumptous poetry - yum! He's a favourite of mine:

Ode to a Nightingale: (stanza 2)

O, for a draught of vintage! that hath been

Cool'd a long age in the deep-delved earth,

Tasting of Flora and the country green,

Dance, and Provencal song, and sunburnt mirth!

O for a beaker full of the warm South,

Full of the true, the blushful Hippocrene,

With beaded bubbles winking at the brim,

And purple stained mouth;

That I might drink, and leave the world unseen,

And with the fade away into the forest dim:

He says he'll Get pissed and be away with the birds. Today is Friday - Bring on the Weekend (I don't drink through the week...) Did you know the nations favourite sound is the glug glug glug of wine being poured, mine too! I recently watched a program called "The Food We Eat". A BBC production that my friend was a guinea pig in and they say we should drink 1 glass of red wine every day, it is proven to improve health, heart, cholestrol and alzeihmers. I'm thinking I will change my no alchohol through the week rule...only thing is - can I stop at just 1 glass? worth a try me thinks!