Content Catnip

Book Review: Daily Laws by Robert Greene

Clear, sparkling, universal and timeless short-form wisdom from one of the masters of self-development Robert Greene.

Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Genre: Non-fiction, self-help, self-development, psychology

Publisher: Penguin Random House

Review in one word: Brilliant

Robert Greene‘s Daily Laws are clear bite-sized wisdom taken from his vast oeuvre of incredible writing. Written in Robert’s direct, accessible, deeply compelling style – this book is a rich treasury of knowledge that will spark daily insights and realisations. It’s a book to shock you out of your daily ennui that may sometimes occur with the regular work, sleep, eat cycle.

I have mountains of respect for Robert Greene and his work. He is the author of several highly impactful and internationally best selling books including Mastery, The 48 Laws of Power, The Art of Seduction and The Laws of Human Nature.

A self-made man and an autodidact who studied Classical History, throughout his early life, he consumed endless books ended up being a translator, magazine editor, construction worker, and Hollywood movie writer. However he was deeply dissatisfied with these jobs and always wanted to be an author. He met a lot of people along the way and a lot of the basis of his books are about these experiences with various people and workplaces.

On initially encountering Robert Greene and his work about a decade ago, I was a bit suspicious, who was he to be dishing out advice on what power and seduction means and the laws of human nature? I looked for the PhD in various things to call him an expert. I now realise this was a huge bias on my part.

I humbly eat these words because having read Mastery, The 48 Laws of Power and The Laws of Human Nature, I can honestly say Greene’s wisdom, knowledge and advice for life is steeped in huge historical, psychological and philosophical depth. He goes far deeper than most other authors and uses real world examples of individuals from throughout history to illustrate the complexities and oddities of human behaviour.

At various points in my life, reading his books has changed the course of my life – and only in the best kind of way!

Reading Mastery about 10 years ago spurred me to realise the immense power of bootstrapping myself with consistent daily work and how achieving great things takes a lot of time, persistence, ambition, dogged determination and the main elusive ingredient – finding joy and working towards a higher goal of purpose and meaning.

Sound vague? It really isn’t in the way Greene explains it. As a direct consequence of reading his book, I got off my ass and started a global animal rights and indigenous rights movement which ended up being very successful.

Reading the Laws of Human Nature made me realise just how alike I was to other people. No longer a strange outsider, I felt a sense of kinship with others, in how I saw the world anew, and saw how the world sees me – that quite frankly nobody gives a shit about me and what I do. That I had the power to create myself in whatever way I choose, not in the way that society deems appropriate for someone of my gender, skin colour, ethnicity, family, socio-economic status etc. All of this was hugely liberating for me to realise. Realising as well how everyone else experiences pain and has painful and traumatic memories (not just me) also made me have greater empathy and understanding of others.

If you are new to Robert Greene, are time-poor and want some fast nuggets of timeless wisdom, I highly recommend this book. Equally so, it’s worth subscribing to his Youtube channel for bite-sized chunks of wisdom in short video format. It’s perfect to have on your bedside table and to glance at its daily passage (wisdom according to a particular calendar day) before going to sleep.

Each passage is 300 words or less long, with a short and punchy summarised version at the end. I know that I will be re-reading this book of wisdom for many years to come and still finding something new to understand.

Some examples from the book:

Do Not Let Success Intoxicate You

“Daily Law: After any kind of success, analyze the components. See the element of luck that is inevitably there, as well as the role that other people, including mentors, played in your good fortune.”
Robert Greene

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio on Pexels.com

See Into Your Own Nature

“We’re very complicated. We don’t know where ideas come from. We don’t know where our emotions come from. But you can get closer to that. You can have some degree of clarity. You can start to see that kind of shadow side or that stranger within. And that’s really the only hope because when you’re in denial, you don’t realize that you’re being a narcissist, you don’t realize that you’re being governed by your emotions. You could think you’re superior to other people just because of the opinion you hold. You can let your shadow side come out without even being aware of it. You need to come to terms with the fact that 95 percent of your ideas and opinions are not your own—they come from what other people have taught you, from what you’re reading on the internet, from what other people are saying and doing. You’re a conformist—that’s who you are. I’m like that and everybody is like that and you realize that only by throwing some light on yourself and realizing that these qualities, these flaws that are built into us, they are inside you too.

“Only then can you begin to overcome them and use them for productive purposes. Question, question, question. Don’t assume that the reason that you feel something, and that it’s right just because you feel it. And in that kind of process, you will become rational, you’ll become somebody who can use empathy, you will have the ability to judge people properly and accept them for who they are as opposed to continually moralizing, wishing people were something that they’re not. You’ll have a much smoother path through life, and you’ll be much calmer and more peaceful without all that emotional baggage that drags you down. But it starts with looking inward and questioning yourself and not assuming that everything you feel or think is right.”
Robert greene

The Madness of Crowds

“Whenever you feel unusually certain and excited about a plan or idea, you must step back and gauge whether it is a viral group effect operating on you. If you can detach yourself for a moment from your excitement, you might notice how your thinking is used to rationalize your emotions, to confirm the certainty you want to feel.
Daily Law: Never relinquish your ability to doubt, reflect, and consider other options—your rationality as an individual is your only protection against the madness that can overcome a group.”
Robert Greene

The Power of Association

“Humans are extremely susceptible to the moods, emotions, and even the ways of thinking of those with whom they spend their time. The incurably unhappy and unstable have a particularly strong infecting power because their characters and emotions are so intense. They often present themselves as victims, making it difficult, at first, to see their miseries as self-inflicted. Before you realize the real nature of their problems you have been infected by them. Understand this: the people you associate with are critical. The risk of associating with infectors is that you will waste valuable time and energy trying to free yourself. Through a kind of guilt by association, you will also suffer in the eyes of others.”
Robert Greene

Think for Yourself

“You need to be fearless. You need to be able to get rid of everything you’ve ever believed in before. You need to get rid of all the strategies you’ve used before. All the conventional ideas. Commandment: You need to think for yourself and not be tied to what other people have told you is reality.”
Robert Greene

Comforting Thought: Be the humble apprentice of life

Confront Your Dark Side

“Daily Law: Recognize and examine the dark side of your character. Once subjected to conscious scrutiny, it loses its destructive power.

Comforting Thought: The people we know by smell alone ocean gif — Comforting Thought: The people we know by smell alone

Accept People as Facts

“Interactions with people are the major source of emotional turmoil, but it doesn’t have to be that way. The problem is that we are continually judging people, wishing they were something that they are not. We want to change them. We want them to think and act a certain way, most often the way we think and act. And because this is not possible, because everyone is different, we are continually frustrated and upset. Instead, see other people as phenomena, as neutral as comets or plants. They simply exist. They come in all varieties, making life rich and interesting. Work with what they give you, instead of resisting and trying to change them. Make understanding people a fun game, the solving of puzzles. It is all part of the human comedy. Yes, people are irrational, but so are you. Make your acceptance of human nature as radical as possible. This will calm you down and help you observe people more dispassionately, understanding them on a deeper level. You will stop projecting your own emotions on to them. All of this will give you more balance and calmness, more mental space for thinking.”
Robert Greene

I hope you will enjoy this book and treasure it as much as I do. You can buy it at all good independent bookstores!

Content Catnip

From Dr Damon Ashworth’s blog, he is a Clinical Psychologist.

10 Interesting Things I Found on the Internet #142

Bewitching forest sprite sculptures made with loved by Georgian artist Polina Nol

This week’s #InterestingThings: a hearty and simple #potato soup to nourish your #soul, welcoming #jazz #music with vocals to inspire, the deepest places on #earth, #cadejos, enchanted #creatures made of #wool, deep listening, rock wrapping and more #ContentCatnip.

Open This Wall – Berlioz

Berlioz’s jazzy house cuts are really inspiring, warming and timeless. This album could have been made 50 years ago or yesterday, it has a classical feel to it. If you want to feel uplifted and like you just walked into a breezy Matisse painting, you will enjoy this. The cover has a lovely Matisse vibe to it as well.

Healthy and comforting potato soup recipe

The deepest places on earth

Cadejos symbolise the light and dark creatures of our psyche

The Cadejo is a mythical creature from Central American folklore, often described as a large, dog-like animal with glowing red eyes and sometimes with the ability to become invisible. They are said to appear at night to wayward travellers, with two main variations: the white Cadejo, which is considered benevolent and protective, guiding travellers safely through the night, and the black Cadejo, a more malevolent force that leads people astray, or causes them harm.

These contrasting creatures represent the struggle between good and evil, with their stories serving both as cautionary tales and cultural symbols of protection and danger in the night. Via Jussi on Twitter

Portrait of a young Berber woman

Berbers of North Africa were colonised by, interacted with and outlived Phoenicians, Romans, Byzantines. Recorded history of these civilisations hardly mentions women. Indeed, history of pre-Islamic women is mostly recorded in funerary steles that were erected in their honour. This is in contrast to Berber culture, in which women play a prominent role. Found via Archeohistories on Mastodon

Portrait of a young woman, Tagounite, High Atlas, Morocco 1989. (Photo by Dominique BERBAIN / Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images).

“Early Hours of the Day”, 2024, Francisco Fonseca

Via Reddit

How to become more shame resilient by Dr Damon Ashworth

Understand shame.
Recognise what triggers shame for you, both externally (e.g., other people’s critical messages) and internally (e.g., your unrealistic expectations).
Check to see if these criticisms or expectations are realistic or accurate.
Realise that being imperfect does not mean the same as being inadequate or unworthy of love.
Reach out to people who have earned the right to hear your shame experiences.
Talk about what makes you feel ashamed and whatever else you may be feeling about the experience.
Ask for the type of support that you need from them. It could be some kind words or reassurance. It could be something they can do for you (even if it is turn up and listen). It could be some hand-holding, back rubbing, or a hug. Or it could be some quality time, something to cheer you up, or a fun outing to help you change focus and move on.

Once our previously shameful experiences are out in the open, we begin to own our story and realise that we are loveable and worthy, just the way we are. Although it is easier to experience this if our closest relationships provide us with unconditional acceptance, love, and belonging, we only need one person we can open to for shame to reduce and improve. If there is no one in your life that you would feel comfortable talking to about your shame, then a psychologist you feel safe with can help.

Deep listening by Buddhist philosopher and monk Thích Nhất Hạnh

Cinders and Sparrows by the Balbusso Twins - love self peace connection — Cinders and Sparrows by the Balbusso Twins – love self peace connection

Nhất Hạnh emphasized the importance of deep listening, or what he called “compassionate listening.” He was referring to deep listening and compassionate listening interchangeably, because compassion is needed to listen to others deeply.

For Nhất Hạnh, deep listening means understanding the other person, and listening without judging or reacting.

In his book The Heart of the Buddha’s Teaching, he wrote:

I am listening to him not only because I want to know what is inside him or to give him advice. I am listening to him just because I want to relieve his suffering.

He also explained that compassionate dialogue is composed of loving speech and deep listening, making mention of what’s known as “right speech” in Buddhism, which advocates abstaining from false, slanderous and harsh speech along with idle chatter:

Deep listening is at the foundation of right speech. If we cannot listen mindfully, we cannot practise right speech. No matter what we say, it will not be mindful, because we’ll be speaking only our own ideas and not in response to the other person.

When we listen deeply to better understand others, including their suffering and difficulties, we feel with them and compassionate speech comes more easily.

Compassionate listening also requires refraining from being judgmental while we listen. That doesn’t mean giving up engaging with what others say. Instead, it involves switching the focus from self to others.

Trying to understand when it’s difficult

Compassionate listening also involves a tension between the attempt to understand others and the acknowledgment of the limited ability to do so.

It requires a willingness and effort to understand others. As Nhất Hạnh put it, compassionate listening happens when we listen with the sole purpose to understand others. Underlying genuine deep listening is the genuine concern for others’ well-being: If we don’t care about others’ suffering, why would we listen to what they have to say?

In Buddhist philosophy, every being is interdependent and interconnected. In this light, caring for others is also caring for ourselves since our own well-being is interrelated to the well-being of others.

When we show compassion for others and help relieve others’ suffering, we actually help relieve our own suffering as well because in changing our focus from self to others, we start to see and learn to transcend our previously under-recognized greed, hatred and ignorance — in Buddhism, the three root causes of dukkha (suffering) that arise from self-centeredness.

Via The Conversation

Rock wrapping by Caroline Kahler

The Thing Is by Ellen Bass

A hillarious electro ballad about the world’s richest man, chrome dome overlord of Amazon, Jeffrey Bezos

How photos were cabled across the Atlantic ocean in 1926

Some vintage and nostalgic steampunk vibes going on here. Via Lori Emerson on Mastodon.

Bewitching forest sprite sculptures made with loved by Georgian artist Polina Nol

I was delighted to discover the enchanting world of Georgian artist Polina Nol, a masterful artist who creates mixed-media sculptures that weave magic and reality.

She uses a blend of steel wire, polymer clay, faux fur, acrylic, and glitter, brings to life whimsical creatures straight out of a fairy tale. A highlight of her work is ‘The One Who Collects Summer Lights,’ a captivating sculpture of a squirrel-like creature.

Step into Polina Nol’s extraordinary universe where fantasy meets the tangible – continue the journey on her Facebook page. Found via Inspiration Grid on Mastodon.

Did you enjoy this collection? let me know what you think of it below. Thank you for reading my dear friends!

Content Catnip

Tales of Chefchaoen: Blue-Walled City

Donkey in Chefchaoen. Copyright © Content Catnip 2009 www.contentcatnip.com

When I was in Morocco I went to the blue-walled city of Chefchaoen. The beauty of this place is unfathomable. It is nestled in the Rif mountains amongst harsh arid desert and sparse trees. Everywhere people are sweating and struggling to wrangle goats and donkeys and not in the kindest way.

Chefchaoen rises out of the dust of the unforgiving desert like a radiant, lush oasis of blue calm. The calm itself comes from the azure and cerulean blue shades of the buildings and mosques. In the Souk marketplace, there are big heavy flowers and fruits framing doorways and draped leathergoods on railings, big velveteen carpets of many colours, piles of practical leather sandals, ornate glass lanterns and hand-painted bowls and cups. There are people going about their business, carrying food and water and touting for goods. Wandering through the shaded labyrinthine alleyways, there’s a sense that nothing changes there about life itself, just the flesh and blood people who walk around. The urge to buy everything was palpable but I resisted as I had nowhere to put anything and needed my money.

There was a lot of cats, dogs and donkeys looking tired, thirsty and hungry and so I bought bottled water and gave some for the cats. Bought a felafel and gave some for a donkey. Some had bung eyes and looked like they had had a tough life. I wanted to rescue all of them. I realise that going to places, it’s like you are a passive observer and cannot change the unfairness of life for other beings in a meaningful way, at least not when put on the spot in the moment, which depressed me at the time.

The sheer beauty of the different shades of blue from pale to deep lapis lazuli everywhere stays within my heart. I’ve been a big fan of blue and gold ever since. In my clothes, my home decor choices and in how I do graphic design for clients. Blue is the king of all colours!

Cat in a doorway. Chefchaoen. Copyright © Content Catnip 2009 www.contentcatnip.com — Cat in a doorway. Chefchaoen. Copyright © Content Catnip 2009 http://www.contentcatnip.com

Moroccan door, Chefchaoen. Copyright © Content Catnip 2009 www.contentcatnip.com — Moroccan door, Chefchaoen. Copyright © Content Catnip 2009 http://www.contentcatnip.com

Blue Dye in Chefchaoen Copyright © Content Catnip 2009 www.contentcatnip.co — Blue Dye in Chefchaoen Copyright © Content Catnip 2009 http://www.contentcatnip.com

Marketplace during summer, Chefchaoen. Copyright © Content Catnip 2009 www.contentcatnip.co — Marketplace during summer, Chefchaoen. Copyright © Content Catnip 2009 http://www.contentcatnip.com

Leather markets during summer, Chefchaoen. Copyright © Content Catnip 2009 www.contentcatnip.co — Leather markets during summer, Chefchaoen. Copyright © Content Catnip 2009 http://www.contentcatnip.co

Copyright © Content Catnip 2009 www.contentcatnip.com — Marketplace during summer, Chefchaoen. Copyright © Content Catnip 2009 http://www.contentcatnip.com

Content Catnip

Via Wonderful Engineering

I’ve given a few speeches and talks, it makes me tremble in fear

Rainbow lorikeets in tree birds australia animals

Have you ever performed on stage or given a speech?

Why you ask? When I was a teenager of 15 and incredibly shy and self-conscious, I needed to give a talk in school.

I was so used to being laughed at and ridiculed in many subtle and not so subtle ways at home that I was scared of standing out, being put on the spot and being judged and analysed, inevitably found to be wanting. For me, being in front of the class felt like being analysed and judged harshly. It felt like a way to commit psychic suicide.

So during my talk I froze up. It was like my mouth was filled up with peanut butter, the muscles in my jaw were unmoveable and my legs were trembling. The ground was a swirling and unstable morass of mud threatening to consume me. I felt the cascading waves of embarrassment go to my face I could feel the red of blood go to my skin.

The teacher said to me: “Speak!! What the hell is wrong with you?! Stop wasting everyone’s time”. This admonishment further added to my frozen pose. My peers sniggered and chortled, looked away.

I grabbed my bag and ran away, to the park, to the supermarket, the beach, away. It felt great to run and escape. I really never stopped running after that. The act of train travel and feeling the rumble of the carriage underneath of me, lulling me and carrying me on to places, felt like a loving gift from life. I became obsessed with travel after that. It was like seeking gold at the end of a rainbow that was unattainable, until I had money, independence and the maturity to travel as an adult, I simply had to imagine the places I would go, and doing so carried me through and made it easier to cope.

Fast forward 20 years and I’m in a senior role, doing design and marketing, campaigning and activism. I’m still terrified of the “ruthless crowd” AKA the audience. But reading plenty of books, having a lot of different life experiences and seeing different experts for advice made me finally see the crowd in a different way.

As wounded, insecure, turbulent heaving sacks of mortal meat who will one day expire and turn to dust just like I will. Sometimes wonderful and sparkling, sometimes deeply depressed. Sometimes vicious and dangerous, sometimes amiable and empathic. Sometimes full of ego and violent will to power. Sometimes humble and unassuming. Just completely random, completely chaotic but no better or more wise than I am. They were and are nothing to be afraid of.

So in 2023 and 2024 when I had to give a series of speeches at animal rights and environmental conferences, I was still trembling but I was much less afraid than when I was 15 and people said they liked the talk. I don’t know if they were being polite to me or really meant it. However, it meant everything to me this encouragement and I held it like a beacon inside of my heart. Each time I give a talk it gets easier and easier.

Afterwards, it’s like the endorphins kick in and the feeling of happiness (lasting for days) is better than any drug I’ve ever tried.

How about you, do you have a love-hate relationship with giving speeches, if so, why?

Comforting Thought: You hold the key

Psychological Healing Through Celestial Art by Myriam Wares

“if anyone is magically going to appear
and suddenly make your life better,
just know that person
is always going to be you”
good grief, brianna pastor

Comforting Thought: Wild Geese by Mary Oliver

Comforting Thought: Getting Real, the Velveteen Rabbit

Comforting thought: A 10th century Japanese poem about courage

Comforting Thought: We see into the life of things

Read the full review of this book, which I gave five stars. Buy on Amazon and in good book stores

A deeply moving book of prose and poetry that captures the bittersweet and dark nature of grief and letting go. This is a timeless companion for people of all ages, stages and phases of life. If you are going through something, letting go of something or someone then this book will see you and take the measure of your sadness, anger and fear – letting light into your life for clarity and connection with self and the world.

Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Genre: Poetry, psychology, non-fiction, spirituality

Publisher: Self-published

Review in one word: Salutary

10 #InterestingThings I Found on the Internet 141

The Enchanted Hour: An interactive digital artwork that changes according to where you are viewing it from

This week’s #InterestingThings include how #autistic and #neurodivergent people express #love, how #animals see #colours, 90’s throwback #house music, armchair travelling to #Uzbekistan and much more, get ready kids.

Baianá by Nia Archives

This reminds me of the OG jungle and DnB tunes of 90’s UK from LTJ Bukem and Goldie. It’s an iconic bangin track. The videoclip set Rio has an energetic, vibrant and youthful dancey vibe. My gosh…there is so much 90’s rave nostalgia packed into it. Listen and let me know what you think!

Mixing a full set here of classic and new jungle tracks…

Amazing video shows how animals experience colour

Traditionally, efforts to replicate animal vision through methods like spectrophotometry have been hindered by their inability to capture moving images and their time-consuming nature. However, a breakthrough in camera technology now enables researchers to record videos in four distinct color spectrums simultaneously: ultraviolet (UV), red, blue, and green. This innovative camera system provides ecologists and zoologists with a tool to accurately depict how animals perceive their surroundings in motion.

What a millennial mid-life crisis looks like

I can say I’ve experienced three out of four of these scenarios as a mid-life milennial. I guess that makes me basic AF hahahaha 😆

The ways that autists and those with ADHD express love for each other

I am well familiar with these and they fill me with joy.

It’s always tea time by Sumegha Malhotra

Via Titania on Twitter

Donny Benet – American Dream

I found this funky wonder about six months ago courtesy of the Youtube algorithm and I discovered that Donny Benet is from Melbourne! and has worked up quite a following over the past ten years for his particular brand of summery jazzy house and retro 80’s synth groove. American Dream is just the tip of the iceberg and he is incredibly talented. I recently saw him live and it was one of the best live shows I’ve ever been to!

The joy of mending, altering and restyling your existing clothes

In this Guardian article, they propose a challenge too cut down on consumer waste, only buy five new items of clothing per year – excluding underwear and socks. One woman only ever keeps 33 items in total in her wardrobe at any given time! When I was backpacking for several years I only ever owned about <20 clothing items including underwear plus one pair of sandals one pair of walking shoes. Gradually this has increased I am sad to say and I have again accumulated more crap than I need.

Autistic human animals

Jorn Bettin has the most incredible blog, all about the cultural, economic and psychological aspects of being autistic. He deep-dives into incredibly insightful realms of understanding. His blog resonates deeply with me, particularly the part where he says that being autistic means being highly sensitive and having a reduced capacity for cognitive dissonance. Also understanding the interrelated nature of interspecies justice and why fighting for it is necessary, it’s no coincidence so many animal rights and human rights advocates are neurodiverse. Please follow Jorn’s blog Neuroclastic I think you will gain so much from it.

The unusual heightened baseline sensitivity profiles of Autistic human animals means that they have a reduced capacity for maintaining cognitive dissonance.

Autistic human animals are unconstrained by culturally defined gender norms and have the capacity to relate deeply to other human and non-human living beings. Their sensitivity profiles limit their ability to think hierarchically and engage in transactional human busyness.

In the hypernormative culture that dominates the modern world, it is hard to explain to non-Autistic people what the immersion in healthy Autistic culture feels like and what the development of healthy sacred lifetime relationships between Autistic people feels like. In mainstream society people don’t understand how Autistic human animals support each other, love each other, and care for each other in ways that go far beyond the culturally impaired neuronormative imagination.

70’s Synth and International Dance Mix

This might bring a cheeky smile to your dial….infectious.

Ear Scratches give this doggo a brightening smile that will make you smile too…

Travelling to an underrated gem of the Silk Road: Uzbekistan

From the incredible travel blog Strafari. I highly recommend you follow this blog. I now have a fervent dream of going to Uzbekistan because of this post!

The fragrance of incense mingles with the smell of shashlik (skewers of marinated meat grilled over a wood fire). Stalls along the streets and in the courtyards are full of beautiful silk and cotton silk fabrics, gloves and hats made from camel wool, fluffy woolen telpek hats, or traditional embroidery. The ochre walls contrast with the blue of the domes and mosaics. At twilight, dusty shades are added to the color palette.

Travelling to an underrated gem of the Silk Road: Uzbekistan

Big Blue Sky: A Christmas Story

This is the heartwarming and uplifting story of two turkeys named Clarence and Luca who live jammed into a factory but dream of seeing the blue sky for the first time. A festive happy ending ensues for them. Download the full Christmas story for free and make sure you follow the amazing writer and illustrator Violet Plum on her blog! She has some great and meaningful books for children (and adults) about animal rights on her website.

I wonder why, under this sky,
That some are free and some are pie.
The joy and love and other things
That Christmastime’s cold season brings,
Are cancelled out, it seems to me,
Because they serve up death for tea

‘Big Blue Sky: A Christmas Story’ by Violet’s Vegan Comics

Big Blue Sky: A Christmas Story by Violet Plum

Giant versus tiny baby Jesus statues in Mexico

Giant baby Jesus in Zóquite, Mexico. He has a weight of 750 kilos and a height of 6.5 meters. Via Reddit

‘El Niño del Cacahuatito’ is the smallest venerated baby Jesus in Mexico. It is 5 cm tall. It was found in 1810 while digging a hole in search for water in Mezquitic, Los Altos de Jalisco region

'El Niño del Cacahuatito' is the smallest venerated baby Jesus in Mexico. It is 5 cm tall. It was found in 1810 while digging a hole in search for water in Mezquitic, Los Altos de Jalisco region
by ininterestingasfuck

Thich Nhat Hanh’s inspiring message about the Buddha nature in everything

I think God is on Earth, inside every living being.

What we call “the divine” is none other than the energy of awakening,
of peace,

of understanding, and of love, which is to be found

not only in every human being, but in every species on Earth.

In Buddhism, we say every sentient being has the ability to be awakened, and to understand deeply.

We call this Buddha nature.

The deer, the dog, the cat, the squirrel, and the bird all have Buddha nature.

But what about inanimate species: the pine tree in our front yard, the grass, or the flowers?

As part of our living Mother Earth, these species also have Buddha nature.

This is a very powerful awareness which can bring us so much joy.

Every blade of grass, every tree, every plant, every creature large or small are children of the planet Earth and have Buddha nature.

The Earth herself has Buddha nature,

therefore all her children must have Buddha nature, too.

As we are all endowed with Buddha nature,

everyone has the capacity to live happily and with a sense of responsibility toward our mother, the Earth.

– Thich Nhat Hanh

Being social is a skill

As I’m a person who enjoys her own company immensely, I loved this succinct tip on how to socialise better with others, by one of my favourite writers Robert Green.

The Enchanted Hour: An interactive digital artwork that changes according to where you are viewing it from

The Enchanted Hour is a mesmerising digital artwork by Ryan Koopmans and Alice Wexell. The duo breathes new life into forgotten architectural marvels. As the hours unfold you can witness a majestic owl glide through the space, marking time’s passage with her hoots. This piece is a modern twist on the classic cuckoo clock, transforming each hour into a moment of wonder. The digital artwork revives historical structures with lush vegetation, cinematic lighting, and animated surprises, creating a bridge between past and present in a virtual world. Via The Inspiration Grid and the Enchanted Hour.

Watch the video here of the owl and time transition at 7pm!

The greatest poem ever known by Christopher Morley

By my dear blogger friend Noir/ Sedge808 who writes insightfully and beautifully about his own life overcoming a lot of early life trauma and PTSD and he shares a lot of his photography. A very interesting blog and one you should definitely follow. Here he shares a poem, I had never heard it before this and it blew my mind! This really captures the essence of childhood for me and the beautiful innocence of children that should always be protected.

The greatest poem ever known
Is one all poets have outgrown:
The poetry, innate, untold
Of being only four years old.

Still young enough to be a part
Of Nature’s great impulsive heart,
Born comrade of bird, beast and tree
And unselfconscious as the bee-

And yet with lovely reason skilled
Each day new paradise to build
Elate explorer of each sense,
Without dismay, without pretence!

In your unstained transparent eyes
There is no conscience, no surprise:
Life’s queer conundrums you accept,
Your strange Divinity still kept…

And Life, that sets all things in rhyme,
May make you poet, too, in time–
But there were days, O tender elf,
When you were Poetry itself!

Christopher Morley

“I would love to live like a river flows, carried by the surprise of its own unfolding.” ― John O’Donohue

Terry-Watkinson-Dawn-at-Stillwater-Creek — Dawn at Stillwater Creek by Terry Watkinson

Did you enjoy this collection? let me know what you think of it below. Thank you for reading my dear friends!

Content Catnip

Book Review: Eleanor Rigby by Douglas Coupland

A weird and funny feel-good story of an unlikely adventure by an unlikely middle-aged adventurer who discovers love and connection in the most unfathomable places.

Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Genre: Fiction

Publisher: Bloomsbury

Review in one word: Revitalising

*Contains no spoilers.

This is an unusual and amusing tale, although it begins in a rather depressing way. Eleanor Rigby is the story of Liz Dunne, a woman who by her own confession is unremarkable in every way, chubby, plain and lonely. She is aged between 38-42, works in a job she hates and lives a solitary existence in a depressing, drab and colourless one bedroom apartment in Vancouver.

Yet all of this suddenly changes when a blast from the past occurs. Jeremy, her long-lost son whom she gave up for adoption when she was a young teenager comes careening back into her life and with him he brings a world of colour, randomness and quirky, eccentric ideas into her world.

Without delving further into the plot and giving away too much, this is an unpredictable, warm, funny and human book. The themes of loneliness, connection, love, lust, self-discovery and the need for adventure are all deeply relatable.

This is darkly funny and emotionally charged book, but without being too corny or over-the-top. There’s a lot of mention of technology that gives away the age of the novel (it was written in 2004 after all) but other than this, it’s a timeless story and the characters are beautifully and vividly rendered. Everyone has a Jeremy or a Liz in their lives. Either that or you possibly have been lonely and desperate for change in your life at one stage or another.

I casually started reading this and was a bit curious. I’d never heard of Douglas Coupland before (turns out he is a well-known author). Several hours later and I was halfway through the book and deeply committed to the larger-than-life characters and the story. I heartily recommend this book for some pleasurable weekend or holiday escapism.

Content Catnip