today was a good day and i am grateful for that . . .this morning my sister and i visited the shop
of one of my dearest friends . . . she always makes me smile . . .
there i bought the beautiful little ceramic flower (above)
that sat atop my friend cate's wedding-shower-high-tea-present
( this afternoon's activity )
and it was there i sat with the fabulous madeleine
who i am so pleased to say now has a blog too
( check it out HERE )
and i also got to chat with the delightful danielle
who runs the gallery kiln in paddington
then i headed to the ideas festival with my brother & sister
to listen to a talk about robots (yes robots) by helen greiner
truth be told robotics isn't something i know anything about
( or for that matter am interested in )
but it is one of my brother's major passions
and the field where he wants to work . . .
so it was good opportunity to go into his world
and embrace new things . . . the surprise though is that
i took more from the talk than just new information
and time with him . . .
helen's humbleness and humour
and her passion for her path in life spoke volumes.
amongst the scientific nature of the talk
she spoke of the pitfalls and mistakes,
the non-believers and the believers,
of ethics and of time . . .
and in the journey home
(after my brother answered some of my questioning questions)
the three of us discussed
something that really had little to do with the actual talk
and more the metaphor that came from it for us :
that the way helen explained her work
seems to be with the knowledge that
the work she does is greater than herself . . .
she is part of it, in it, but a vessel for the work
to happen . . . maybe this is true passion
you get the distinct impression that she knows
that time will pass, that some of the things she hopes for
and works hard for
may happen in her lifetime, but many will not,
she knows it is all about the steps.
it reminded me of the quote i love by isaac newton:
if i have seen farther than others
it is because i have stood on the shoulders of giants
so for this poet/potter (whatever i am) this talk about robots
spoke to, and reminded me somehow
of patience and persistence . . .
and that whether you are a potter or a plumber
a runner or a robotics engineer
we are all part of now and a stepping stone to the future . . .
there's irony in there somewhere or is irony not the right word ?!
so . . . the day started with sarah telling my sister and me
that her precious daughter miss a was
soooooo excited this morning
because she found the pink tutu she thought she'd lost
and my sister remarking that there's something for all of us
to be learned in that simple joy
. . . to
an afternoon of beautiful conversation with inspiring women . . .
to a talk on robotics !
the day kept giving me these little things to cherish
and i thought i'd share them with you
( and remind myself of them too: i need that at the moment )
but now it's time to turn the lights, computer
and other electrical things off for our dear earth
night night
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