On Nano-Zanosphere Complexes

I've been sick for most of the last week and I dumped about half a can of insect spray on a huge black jumping spider yesterday. Now to the backstory. I wasn't on top form physically during the week, and then as the weekend arrived either a bug or a virus (and they are different) reached it's optimum threshold for inflicting pain, discomfort, and general sickness within my biological tenancy.

I did get onto the computer for a while, and gave the blog a new look. And of course that was overdoing it. I have an innate tendency to overdo things. I get onto an idea and then I just have to pursue it. The word balance becomes theoretical when I am onto something - and while this can be a great advantage in some settings, such as a laboratory, it is not good when I am not well. So I ended up even sicker, in bed, and in between sleeping, feeling sorry for myself, and nuking the jumping spider (the exciting highlight of the weekend), I did some thinking.

It's amazing what thoughts pass through the mind when ill. The whole gamut of human experience - from considering whether eating fish all week made me a semi-vegetarian to mentally listing the features of Al-Quaeda cell groups that make them the same as a cult. And I was aware of a stillness and peace within despite feeling like a dog's breakfast. When I was feeling a bit better I read some of Bosom Buddies by Deborah McKinlay. I love this book. In one part she says:

"Smart people have got very rich on account of the Hope in a Jar Industry. These people understand that women know there is no such thing as a Nano-Zanosphere. Women don't care.
When a woman shops for beauty products she generally goes it alone. A woman will discuss, at length, the benefits of the newest Nano-Zanosphere Complex with her nearest and dearest friends. A woman knows which particular Nano-Zanosphere Complex is currently favoured by her nearest and dearest friends, but the actual expedition-to-purchase is often a solo venture.
... If a woman hesitates in the Nano-Zanosphere jungle a Sherpa soon appears.
Nano-Zanosphere Sherpas...
*Wear a smock and matching lipstick
*Speak special lingo: "A breakthrough microsphere with an exclusive bio-crystal texture."

I think anyone who reads my blog knows that spirituality is important to me. And I hope that I convey a perspective in which spirituality is not some transcendent escape but is the thread of meaning running through the reality of life. Sometimes there can be a temptation to want a Nano-Zanosphere spirituality. It sounds good, and it has it's own special lingo, but it is disconnected from everyday experience. I mention this because I had been feeling irritated. I had wanted to read a good solid book, and I wanted to get some hefty spiritual insights. But I couldn't and instead I read Bosom Buddies, which made me laugh and accept that the most spiritual thing I could do was live with what was on the menu for the day.

Sometimes I confess there is a pull to want life to be more than it is. This can be a good motivation, and important things are achieved and accomplished. It can also become a Nano-Zanosphere Complex. Who knows what each day will bring? As King Solomon (a favourite of mine) said:

"The race is not to the swift,
Nor the battle to the strong,
Nor bread to the wise,
Nor riches to men of understanding,
Nor favour to men of skill;
But time and chance happen to them all."

Every experience has it's significance. I'm feeling better though not 100% just yet.