What's in a name?

Yesterday, in a maxi taxi from St. Augustine to Macoya, I jotted down the names and symbols I saw on the windscreen of each vehicle that approached, heading in the other direction (see list at end of this post). For those who don't live in Trinidad and may not know, some drivers stick names or phrases on the windscreens of their vehicles as a form of identification.

Looking at the list below you might deduce that we live in quite a spiritual society. The most repeated name was OM (ie. the symbol, not the letters OM). Interestingly, yesterday I came across some information (click here for the online source) on the threefold symbolism of OM. The first in a list of symbolic equivalents for OM is: COLOURS: RED, WHITE AND BLACK. For those who don't know, those are the colours of T & T's national flag.

Jai Hanuman
OM (symbol)
Bless Child
OM (symbol)
King of Hearts
Who God Bless
Fires
Yin/Yang (symbol)
Web
OM (symbol)
Frankenstein
Thumbs Up
Praying Hands (symbol)
Earthquake
God is Love
Hurricane
Precious Babes
Super Fats
Moos
Sweet Rose of Sharon
God is Good
Praying Hands (symbol)
Sai Baba (image)
On My Own
Sinfull Effects
Rustic
Bless
Road Trip
One Super Power
Live & Let Live
God's Gift.

Giving birth to ourselves

"He allowed himself to be swayed by his conviction that human beings are not born once and for all on the day their mothers give birth to them, but that life obliges them over and over again to give birth to themselves."

(Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Love in the Time of Cholera)

Survey for upcoming project. Please partake.

Dear All,

I am conducting a survey for a project soon to be revealed and would appreciate you answering the following questions. You can leave your answers in the comments section below or email them to me using the link in the 'About Me' section in the side bar.

1. How do you feel when you open the mailbox and find personal mail from a loved one (i.e. not bill, bank statement or flyer, etc)?

2. When last did you receive a personal letter, card, gift, etc in the mail?

3. Do you send personal snail mail to loved ones? (If yes or no) Why? 

4. Would you like to receive more personal snail mail? (If yes or no) Why?

Are you comfortable with any or all of your answers being used online as part of the project? (N.B. It is a reputable and inspiring project with which I'm sure you would like to be associated. You will know what it is before your answer is used).

If yes, please let me know how you would like your name to be shown online (e.g. Sally Jones, Sally, S. Jones, S.J.)

Thanks.

Elspeth

Double Rainbow = Double Gold

If at the end of a rainbow there is a pot of gold, then seeing a double rainbow on the ferry to Tobago on Monday was definitely a sign of the extra treasures that lay in store.

Two days of magic, success, healing, kindness, great connections, gentle sea water, cool breeze, fabulous sunsets, amazing star-scapes and more ...

"Important Pubic Notice"

Yesterday, walking with a friend along the waterfront from the Breakfast Shed to the Hyatt, I saw this sign. My eyes first fell on "Pubic Notice" and I chuckled. Some idle person had removed the "l" from "Public" to be funny.

As I read on, the message began to take on disturbing undertones. It seemed like a warning message to parents and guardians "of all children" to "be extremely vigilant" and "be alert & careful" in open public spaces where who knows what can happen. Suggestions of predators/male exhibitionism ("while he front off") and nuances of incest/child abuse (perhaps because cases of such are prevalent in Trinidad and Tobago) seemed to be at the core of this warning.

Did someone deliberately rip these letters off in fun ... or to sound a warning?
Did those particular letters just happen to peel off for themselves in all the rain we've been having?
Did I happen to read "more" into what is actually there?

Whatever the answer, the fact is, parents and guardians do need to be extremely aware and vigilant of what is happening with their children ... in public and private spaces.

Supreme Being

I was recently in Tobago (8 - 14 July) as film facilitator for this year's EMA environmental camp for youths. The camp started off with environmental lectures (this year's theme was "Green Economy: Does It Include You?"), then the 15 students were separated into Drama Group (10 students) and Film Group (5), each under a facilitator ... with 4 days to develop pieces based on the theme.

We stayed at Footprints Eco Resort where the creating took place. The above video, Supreme Being,  is the resulting film product, written and filmed by the 5 youths in my group. 

Enjoy.