Where Icarus dwells

My beautiful Annushka, what lovely words you weave in response. Yes, yes, you read it so truly & know the sentiment & you are right, there is beauty in the grief (there is beauty in most everything if we know how to look) & in fact that grief carved me so deeply that it taught me so much better how to look for the beauty in everything, so in my way I am grateful (though of course I would never have wished it!) Thank you for your sentiment & wishes, in a way I am in a place where "bliss is sovereign", though life is life & will always carry challenges & demands in it's daily play... I am loving the passing of years... the way it allows us ever more ability to manage our challenges in peace & with greater joy & harmony. I have less awareness of what I feel Mark would think now, so much time has passed, I'm not sure if that's better perspective (not to impose my story of how he would respond) or the distance from certainty because memory fades & I can't guarentee I am correct these days (not wanting to be arrogant & assume), so I let peace carry the necessarily one-way reflection into the ether. I miss you my wonderful friend, I am limited still without email except on my ipod, but we are moving closer to having the massive changes of house & workload balanced better, I hope in a month (hah, I wrote moth at first, it made me chuckle & conjure all manner of connections) or so to be able to come back to Neo more regularly, though still limited, but once a week would be better than rarely. Much love & admiration for you Norwegian wonder xxx Cheers Anni~ "To thine own self be true, and it must follow, as the night the day, thou canst not then be false to any man." ~William Shakespeare, Hamlet.

Hey lovely generous Gee! Oh that's a mean looking bike lad. Thanks for visiting in my absence, I sneak on when I can, I miss you all very much as well... I read that you were not well yourself, I wish you a firm bunch of healing vibes from this lovely sunny day here in Aus. The birds are so jolly there is a choir out the window & no other sound but the hum of the puter fan! (I am so blessed to live in such a beautiful quiet town (except on weekends & holidays when the tourists fizz about the place with massage table indents on their foreheads & the smell of essential oils, good coffee &, in the winter, log fires. I digress ... as is my want! You are right I'm sure... but as always, there is a duality when grief is involved, I was so young when Mark died, barely in my 20's, I wish I'd known then what I knew now, I would have loved him far better for his relatively short & extremely precious life... I guess that's greatly due to his legacy though, I realised BECAUSE of losing him, how much more I'd have given & shared if I'd known he was to die... so since then I just don't limit it... with anyone, if I feel endeared to someone, I let them know & why etc. His gift to me & the world, & my efforts to spread the best of me are my offering to him I guess, I know he'd rather others benefit if he can't... who knows perhaps he can! The Otters are thriving despite the conditions (squeezed into my tiny house amid building & planning & rearranging etc.), I am so proud of them & concerns I had previously are not evident at all, I have never seen the kids (otterlets) so consistantly happy, so I guess something is right. Dear Gee, I do hope your life is wonderful & your family thriving, I feel so out of touch, as I said to Annushka (our queen, Sir Gee), I hope to be able to factor in at least once a week visit to Neo in a month or 2, having instant family after more than 10 yrs of just me & my very easy going young lad is far more time consuming than I had realised... but I am not complaining, they are all a joy in very different ways, I feel very lucky. Take care my friend, get better & write lots, I will have lots to catch up on when I do make that time, & I look forward to it very much. Cheers xx Anni~ "To thine own self be true, and it must follow, as the night the day, thou canst not then be false to any man." ~William Shakespeare, Hamlet.

Dearest Theo... they really do, don't they... I do love courage so much. I love this wonderful comment & thank you, it's a joy... I do feel that courage in you, funny isn't it, how we can get a sense of someone we never meet & grow in admiration & affection without ever meeting. One of my best friends & cherished confidants lives thousands of miles away & we have never met. He adopted me as official "sister" about 3 years ago (of course I reciprocated), & I feel there is nothing I wouldn't tell him if it was relevant. I enjoy your icons, is it an art instalation or a budhist flag ceremony thingy? I am intrigued always as to the images. Just rereading your comment (oop, visitors, I'll return!)... "Another soulful aerobatic", yes, what a wonderful metaphor, I feeeel it... & yes we do that I think... I'm loving the current inverted perspective, & as I said to Annushka, I am loving the addition time brings to the management of our aerial manouvers. Thank you, you wonderful enigmatic creature, I so love your visits & your persona here on Neo, I miss you hugely also, & am looking forward to more time to explore your writing & share communication heartily over the abundant cornucopia of lierary fair. Hope you are well & thriving also. Cheers xx Anni~ "To thine own self be true, and it must follow, as the night the day, thou canst not then be false to any man." ~William Shakespeare, Hamlet.

Hi Stuart Reiss, & welcome to Neo, you are probably well welcomed by now, but I feel I should offer my own version. Thank you for visiting my page & leaving such warm & encouraging comments. I did laugh about the alien abductions, but in an appreciative & welcoming tone, I love that you got that impression (it is fine to interpret as you will, feel free, it takes a lot to offend me, though I do appreciate your tone of query rather than assumption. I think it's really enjoyable when someone has a perception & shares it about any of our writing, but I do love the respect most of us offer each other realising none of us can actually KNOW for sure the true inspiration or motivation behind any write, your comment is a lovely light & inclusive one & you are most welcome). I always feel we feed each other with any communication, it is always my intent to offer sustainance that is wholesome & nurturing, criticism is perfectly good, but can be descructive if it detracts from confidence or rides roughshod over sensitivities, I am such an advocate for positive angles & support wherever possible... Now I am rambling. Anyway, do stay warped I had a fantastic image at your response & it made me chuckle, even made me consider a go at writing such a scenario... we should both have a go & see what comes up... do let me know if you do, I wont be around much for a while, but will make sure I watch for your work when I can... I must go check out your page & discover what I can about your style... You have a lovely presence from what I see here... Good luck & write much.... PS yes a waterfall wash then a head in the clouds style!!!! Cheers Anni~ "To thine own self be true, and it must follow, as the night the day, thou canst not then be false to any man." ~William Shakespeare, Hamlet.