S'Wonderful, S'Marvellous

Tonight's picture is from NASA (ok, I subscribe to customisable Google - what can I tell you, it's addictive; I got the pony today and all it does is eat grass and wag it's tail - I love that pony). It shows the Gemini VII satellite, currently orbiting some 160 miles above Earth. But don't take my word for it, check out the NASA Image of the Day site and see for yourself.

I love finding out about science. Not because I understand it - most of it leaves me baffled, especially cosmology and all things space ship - but because reading or learning about science often acts as a metaphor for me to understand something else. They say that what makes a witch is her ability to make connections between seemingly unrelated things. This picture makes me think about the simple effect of distance to change our understanding of a situation.

Beneath that satellite, on that beautiful planet in the picture are millions of people, living out their incredibly intricate lives. I know this because I'm one of them. I'm guessing that you probably are, too.

I think of my life right now, all the people I love, all the things I distract and fill my day with; I think about the past, all the people I have known and shared moments (yes, that's a euphemism) with, all the minutes that have made up my life so far; I think of my future, the millions of moments waiting to happen, the lives of other people edging closer to intertwine with mine in days to come - if I think of all these things and then multiply them by the number of people on the planet, then I can see how intricately complex it all is.

I think of my own perceptions like this tonight, too. Often I cannot see what is happening under my own nose because I am too busy reacting to a million and one tiny little things: I'm late and I'm tired, that meeting didn't go as well as I planned, someone's cancelled on me - all these small details of daily life that, when I pan the camera out, I discover are rarely important at all. I want to learn to be mindful. As much of the time as I can. I want to stop reacting (and in the process giving my power, my self, away) and start responding to the people around me. I want to see further than my own nose. I want to live as if I can see the whole picture.

Loads of fabulous things happened today. The first thing that happened wasn't fab, as the inspirational Chief wasn't very well and had to stay home and get better. The office isn't the same without him. Still, you know what they say about the absence of cats and the activity of the mice that are left behind...the entire office spent the day in the pub, having pool competitions, betting on the horses and organising our own pub quizzes.

Just kidding. Or am I? It could be a KGB double-bluff.

The gorgeous Clarky wasn't in today either, and Miss Sally and I were at first disheartened. We soon put our positive-thinking heads on, however, and decided that we would have to try double hard to have a good day even though two of our very favourite people were missing. As a reward, the Universe treated us to some special powers of making silence and an extra heightened sense of humour, which meant we spent a lot of the day laughing AND we managed to get work done!

We decided to go for an elevenses-pre-lunch coffee at Costalots and headed for the exit. Unfortunately the door downstairs had broken , so Miss Sally and I hopped in the lift to get the other exit. When we arrived at the first floor, the doors to the elevator opened. And then they didn't. That is, the first set of doors opened and there was another set of doors there that were closed. It was like some terrible incident in the Twilight Zone where hell turns out to be a lift in the Civic Offices that you can't escape from (or that other episode where hell was a job in the Civic Offices that you can't escape from - Just kidding, obviously, I love my job. No, seriously, I really do, it's not a KGB double bluff. Honest).

A lot of people may have been afraid at this point, but not the Fantastic Two - we started to giggle, as though being trapped in the lift was simply a piece of hilarious tomfoolery (I think I should like to write a story featuring a character called Tom Foolery, I like to think of unusable character names, it's my sleeping trick instead of counting sheep - last night I thought of Miss Paige Turner and laughed so long I woke myself up again). The ever-bold Miss Sally then bravely stepped forward and attempted to prise open the doors with her bare hands, which I thought extraordinarily bold. It didn't work and only made us laugh the more.

If it were down to me, we would probably still be in the lift, but Miss Sally (formerly a secret commando for some underground women's resistance movement, I'm certain) used her initiative and ordered the lift to another floor and back. Both doors obeyed and, when we arrived at the first floor again, both opened.

Such adventure, and all before 11.30. And even more fabulous, Miss Sally was at the Carols gig last night and someone asked her if she was 'the' Miss Sally from the blog. How amazing is that?! I've made Miss Sally famous - she is now officially the most glamorous, intelligent, super-spy starlet as well as a secretarial genius!

Quote du Jour

Each friend represents a world in us, a world possibly not born until they arrive, and it is only by this meeting that a new world is born.

Anais Nin

Today's Beautiful Things

1. Saying nothing that I wanted to and by my silence meaning everything I cannot say

2. Stuck in a lift with Miss Sally, of course!

3. Wishing I was better and always trying harder

Most Surprising Moment of the Day

Shonagh calling me in the office, to sing the theme tune to the Archers and then hang-up. Awesome.