One of the first things you have to understand if you expect to make money on the web is that: 1. You need a good system, preferably already set up and something that has been in existence for a while; 2. You need to be prepared to read a lot of instructions of how to do things, as well as talking to people who have already done them and - more importantly - you need to get into action and do them!MLM has been around for at least 40 years and the basic concepts of these systems have not changed - the only thing that HAS changed is access and availability of the web, making the whole system easier for anyone who gets involved to make their venture successful.
There are so many "get rich quick" schemes on the web that these days you really do need to do your homework and research what you are getting yourself involved in. "Buyer Beware" has never been more appropriate - you can very easily spent an awful lot of money on a system which will only work if you work it - free lunches are still not available! If you get into an online business expecting to become successful overnight doing very little you will be sadly disappointed.There is very definitely money to be made on the web - fortunes are made every day using tried, tested and legitimate systems.
Be prepared to research pod casts and BLOGs - the rewards are in not only making money but also having the capability to listen in and actually understand what all these people clutching i-Pods and laptops are really talking about.There are many books on how to succeed with an online business - be careful to select only those authors who are successful in their own right - otherwise they are guessing and risking your money not their own.The most genuine online businesses today virtually guarantee success provided you follow the steps laid out in their system.
All businesses - online and more conventional companies - take time to set up and get running. Again - if you're expecting instant results these are possible but not likely unless you yourself, Tears, are exceptionally skilled in starting an enterprise. You will discover that most extremely successful business people have tried and failed a few times before building their empires - that's why a system following someone who has already broken the ground to success are much more likely to be easier to follow and most likely to succeed.
The old saying that you never get something for nothing is true of starting your own company. You will need, Tears, to invest money and a lot of time initially before the ball starts rolling. Even something like a McDonalds franchise which includes a proven setup and system will need some time to learn the ropes (as well as a lot of money - $1.5 million was the last figure I heard bandied about!)Once you have decided to start your own business work out how much money you can afford to invest and then check out the websites online using one of the big search engines such as Yahoo or Google (see http://www.
yahoo.com or http://www.google.com). Read as much as you can about how successful businesses are built by entrepreneurs who did it the hard way and know what they're talking about. Investigate websites which share information such as articles and BLOGs. Submit a few items to get the feel of posting information on websites. Decide to commit yourself to at least 6 months and preferably 12 months to give your efforts a chance to mature. Remember that nothing worthwhile was ever achieved without some effort and struggle.
One Stray Tear
The delight lit my face as the couple turned the corner into the hallway where we stood in lively conversation. I threw my arms open wide, ignored the cell phones plastered to their ears, greeted each of them, first the husband then the wife who followed slightly behind him.Oblivious, I missed the pained expression on his face as we exchanged, Tears, hugs.
As we separated, I watched a stray tear leak out of the corner of his eye.
He kept walking as I shifted my attention to his wife."He just found out that his sister passed away," she said in a hushed voice.
"I'm so sorry," I replied, stunned into silence.
I glanced across the way in time to see the man lean his forehead against the far wall.
"I think we're going to go," she added.
"I totally understand," I mumbled, at complete loss for words. "I'm so sorry," I repeated.
She moved on to comfort her man.
Having yet to lose a parent or sibling, Tears, I felt rather foolish.Later, questions ran rapid-fire through my brain.
Why does the issue of death give us such pause?
Do we avoid it so much that we never learn to cope when it faces us?
Would it make any difference anyway?
Do we not know how to empathize with the pain of another?
Do we not care enough or do we care enough yet lack the tools or the skill or the experience to better support in times of need?
Or perhaps no answer will ever suffice in such matters of the heart and only time can fill that gaping, jagged, ugly void that scratches the recesses of the soul.I thought about the mother that loses a child to disease, the soldier that leaves his life on the battlefield, the accidents that part us from loved ones, that savage beast called anger that erupts in violent ways with little regard for the victim until it's too late.
Always one constant—suffering, different for each of us yet endured by all, large and small, young and old, weak and strong, with no more discrimination than a roaring wind or a blazing heat, sometimes coming in gusts, sometimes beating on us without reprieve, relentless.Then it fades.
The magic of human resiliency creeps in unannounced and goes to work, a flickering smile, the first laugh, a deep shoulder shrug that sheds an albatross of sorrow, a blue sky that actually gets noticed, a dog lick that incites a momentary grin, a cookie that brings back a measure of sweetness that doesn't instantly disappear, a memory that opens the door for joy to sneak back in and sit a while.
As we separated, I watched a stray tear leak out of the corner of his eye.
He kept walking as I shifted my attention to his wife."He just found out that his sister passed away," she said in a hushed voice.
"I'm so sorry," I replied, stunned into silence.
I glanced across the way in time to see the man lean his forehead against the far wall.
"I think we're going to go," she added.
"I totally understand," I mumbled, at complete loss for words. "I'm so sorry," I repeated.
She moved on to comfort her man.
Having yet to lose a parent or sibling, Tears, I felt rather foolish.Later, questions ran rapid-fire through my brain.
Why does the issue of death give us such pause?
Do we avoid it so much that we never learn to cope when it faces us?
Would it make any difference anyway?
Do we not know how to empathize with the pain of another?
Do we not care enough or do we care enough yet lack the tools or the skill or the experience to better support in times of need?
Or perhaps no answer will ever suffice in such matters of the heart and only time can fill that gaping, jagged, ugly void that scratches the recesses of the soul.I thought about the mother that loses a child to disease, the soldier that leaves his life on the battlefield, the accidents that part us from loved ones, that savage beast called anger that erupts in violent ways with little regard for the victim until it's too late.
Always one constant—suffering, different for each of us yet endured by all, large and small, young and old, weak and strong, with no more discrimination than a roaring wind or a blazing heat, sometimes coming in gusts, sometimes beating on us without reprieve, relentless.Then it fades.
The magic of human resiliency creeps in unannounced and goes to work, a flickering smile, the first laugh, a deep shoulder shrug that sheds an albatross of sorrow, a blue sky that actually gets noticed, a dog lick that incites a momentary grin, a cookie that brings back a measure of sweetness that doesn't instantly disappear, a memory that opens the door for joy to sneak back in and sit a while.
Waitakere Tears
After our blissful getaway wedding in Whitianga, New Zealand, the musicians who played at our reception (a wonderful couple named Sasha and Natarani together known as Heartstrings) gave us a very beautiful CD of their music. One of their songs was called "Waitakere Tears," (pronounced why-TAHK-uh-ray) and when I think about the Waitakere Ranges, that song comes to mind for some reason. Maybe it's the frequent rain or streams moving down the mountains or the waterfalls or the sea spray from the crashing waves that make me think of the Waitakere Tears.
Regardless of what it is, I look back at the Waitakere Ranges with a sense of longing and nostalgia, wishing I was back there again. The Waitakere Ranges are mountains just west of the cosmopolitan city of Auckland - New Zealand's largest city. Sandwiched between the mountain range and the ocean are uncrowded beaches and scenic waterfalls. So in a sense, the Waitakeres almost act as a barrier between the natural and urban worlds. Kitekite Falls is one of the waterfalls on the western side of the Waitakeres.
It features a 40m drop, Tears, over three vertical tiers. The pleasant nature walk along the Kitekite Stream to the falls complements the serenity and grace of the forested scene. Neighboring the waterfall is the gorgeous Piha Beach. Watched over by the monolith known as Lion Rock, this idyllic black sand beach is a great place to relax and have a picnic.South of Piha is the smaller and quieter Karekare Beach. If you've seen the movie The Piano,, Tears, then it might look familiar to you because it was filmed here.
Fiercely defended by locals to prevent out-of-control urbanization and commercialism, the black sand beach remains quiet, peaceful, and naturesque. If you follow the Karekare Stream from the beach towards the mountains for just a few minutes, you'll find yet another waterfall surprise - Karekare Falls. Along with its pleasant 25m drop, there's a picnic table as well as a small plunge pool to frolick beneath the falls. Of course Piha and Karekare are merely just a couple of picturesque spots sheltered from urbanization by the Waitakere Ranges.
Regardless of what it is, I look back at the Waitakere Ranges with a sense of longing and nostalgia, wishing I was back there again. The Waitakere Ranges are mountains just west of the cosmopolitan city of Auckland - New Zealand's largest city. Sandwiched between the mountain range and the ocean are uncrowded beaches and scenic waterfalls. So in a sense, the Waitakeres almost act as a barrier between the natural and urban worlds. Kitekite Falls is one of the waterfalls on the western side of the Waitakeres.
It features a 40m drop, Tears, over three vertical tiers. The pleasant nature walk along the Kitekite Stream to the falls complements the serenity and grace of the forested scene. Neighboring the waterfall is the gorgeous Piha Beach. Watched over by the monolith known as Lion Rock, this idyllic black sand beach is a great place to relax and have a picnic.South of Piha is the smaller and quieter Karekare Beach. If you've seen the movie The Piano,, Tears, then it might look familiar to you because it was filmed here.
Fiercely defended by locals to prevent out-of-control urbanization and commercialism, the black sand beach remains quiet, peaceful, and naturesque. If you follow the Karekare Stream from the beach towards the mountains for just a few minutes, you'll find yet another waterfall surprise - Karekare Falls. Along with its pleasant 25m drop, there's a picnic table as well as a small plunge pool to frolick beneath the falls. Of course Piha and Karekare are merely just a couple of picturesque spots sheltered from urbanization by the Waitakere Ranges.
How Do I Get My Dog to Stop Tearing Things Up?
I am sure that you have heard the myth that chewing is just a part of a normal dog owning experience. You bring your cute little puppy home only to find out a few days later that you have a one man wrecking crew. Puppies like to chew on everything whether it is your favorite pair of shoes or the most expensive piece of furniture in the house, a puppy's chewing and tearing up knows no boundaries.If you are lucky, your puppy will naturally, Tears, tire of this habit and grow out if it on its own; however, there are many dog owners that all too soon realize that their dog is not going to grow out of this bad habit on their own.
Before you know how to treat the problem, first you have to discover what is causing it. Is your dog chewing and tearing up your things because it is under stimulated? A dog is just like a child, it needs toys and things to do to keep it amused or it will go out and look for something to do, which usually leads to trouble.Maybe your dog does not tear things until you leave it alone, if that is the case your dog may be acting out to show you that they are not happy when you leave them home alone.
Think of it like a tantrum that a child would throw to show you that they were not happy. The last possible cause for your dogs destroying things is not behavioral but instead medical. If your dog is having dental problems that could be the reason that they are chewing things up and ripping them apart.If your dog is tearing things up because she is bored, this is the easiest of the three. Go to your local pet shop and buy your puppy a few chew toys. If you do not have the extra money to spend, right now, than you can choose a shoe that you or your child no longer wears and let your dog have it.
Watch the dog carefully for a few days and every time you see them chewing on something that isn't theirs tell them no and replace what they are tearing up with the new toy, soon you will see that they have no interest in what isn't theirs.If your dog is using this bad behavior to get your attention, it is going to be a little harder to correct. Set aside a time each day that is for just you and your dog. Take them on a walk, or play fetch with them. Do not let anything interrupt this bonding time with you and your pet.
Let your dog know that they are important to you.Eight out of ten times, spending the extra time each day with your dog is enough to correct the problem, however, if your dog is still destroying things, you may want to look into a puppy create for when you are going to leave the house. If you have watched your dog and you have decided that the problem is not behavioral than take them to the vet as soon as possible. Your pet's teeth and gums are not something that you want them to start having problems with.
Before you know how to treat the problem, first you have to discover what is causing it. Is your dog chewing and tearing up your things because it is under stimulated? A dog is just like a child, it needs toys and things to do to keep it amused or it will go out and look for something to do, which usually leads to trouble.Maybe your dog does not tear things until you leave it alone, if that is the case your dog may be acting out to show you that they are not happy when you leave them home alone.
Think of it like a tantrum that a child would throw to show you that they were not happy. The last possible cause for your dogs destroying things is not behavioral but instead medical. If your dog is having dental problems that could be the reason that they are chewing things up and ripping them apart.If your dog is tearing things up because she is bored, this is the easiest of the three. Go to your local pet shop and buy your puppy a few chew toys. If you do not have the extra money to spend, right now, than you can choose a shoe that you or your child no longer wears and let your dog have it.
Watch the dog carefully for a few days and every time you see them chewing on something that isn't theirs tell them no and replace what they are tearing up with the new toy, soon you will see that they have no interest in what isn't theirs.If your dog is using this bad behavior to get your attention, it is going to be a little harder to correct. Set aside a time each day that is for just you and your dog. Take them on a walk, or play fetch with them. Do not let anything interrupt this bonding time with you and your pet.
Let your dog know that they are important to you.Eight out of ten times, spending the extra time each day with your dog is enough to correct the problem, however, if your dog is still destroying things, you may want to look into a puppy create for when you are going to leave the house. If you have watched your dog and you have decided that the problem is not behavioral than take them to the vet as soon as possible. Your pet's teeth and gums are not something that you want them to start having problems with.
Thomas Johnsen is a popular Author and the Leading Expert on Pet Insurance. For more information about Mr. Johnsen and to find his reviews of Sainsburys Pet Insurance and ASDA Pet Insurance, click the links for instant access.
Tear Drop on the Face of Eternity - The Taj Mahal
It is a time of crisis in the camp tonight. At sunset the call from the royal tent had gone out for the surgeon and the royal bodyguard encamped adjacent to the imperial enclosure are party to the calls for hot water and more light. A camel, led by a wizened man in a loin cloth, arrives, piled high with brush and firewood, and soon the sparks lift into the inky night and dark shadows cast themselves against the canvas of the enclosure. Somewhere in the desert darkness a wolf howls, impassive to the army encamped nearby and the drama unfolding at its centre.
A woman's agonised cries cut through the steady murmur of an army of voices, and the crackle of fires and the occasional whicker of a restless cavalry horse. As the hours wear on the cries come more often and the entire encampment is in thrall to the events unfolding in the emperor's tent. Glittering Orion wheels impassively across the sky, descending now towards the western horizon, his inexorable descent marking the passing of the hours. Ears prick up to the first lusty wails of a newborn child, causing the sentries to stir and minutes later the surgeon appears, silhouetted against the ruddy light of the fires in the imperial enclosure, his tunic bloodied and the weariness set deep in his sunken eyes.
A quick conversation with the sentry and the word spreads like wildfire through the encamped army - the Queen is dead. Mumtaz Mahal, the Jewel of the Palace, and most beloved of the Moghul Emperor: confidant, wife, mother and companion, has crossed over to eternity. She was carrying the 14th child of Emperor Shah Jahan and has been his constant companion, even in the theatre of war - but this campaign against the Lodi princes of the Deccan to secure the southwestern reaches of the empire is to be her last.
Moghul power in India is at its zenith, the first conquests begun by Emperor Babur in 1535 and now being consolidated by his great great grandson. In the cold grey light of dawn a sorrowing emperor issues the order to break camp and begin the long march northeast to Agra and the Moghul heartland, thoughts of war forgotten. Legend has it that on her deathbed Mumtaz's last request to her husband was to promise her a monument to their love - little did she realise to what ends her husband would go to fulfill that promise.
The Taj Mahal is the fulfillment of that promise and is the world's greatest monument to love, standing in all its splendour on the banks of the Yamuna River. 'A teardrop, Tears, on the face of eternity' is how Rabindrath Tagore, India's Nobel laureate described it. A diminutive sarcophagus lies in the centre of the edifice - all there is to remind us that this is first and foremost the final resting place of a queen. Standing in the cool half-light of the interior of the mausoleum, one is easily distracted by the grandiosity of the surrounding edifice.
For three and half centuries the exquisite marble lattice work, which forms the airy walls of the tomb, has allowed the dust-laden hot blasts of summer and the scented breath of the monsoon to caress the cold stone of the grave that lies therein. My footsteps echo off the cold marble floor and whisper eerily around the lofty dome above, and in so doing I feel a tear in the fabric of time - as the ghostly echoes whisper insistently from the dark void above, so too did they whisper of those who trod this very floor three and half centuries ago.
This was my second trip to Agra to see the splendours of the Taj. All in all, things have got a bit affluent and organised in India since my first visit in the early 1990's; helped along of course by a little more affluence and increased budget from my side too. Shunning the pleasures of a slow, grubby Indian commuter train, with India piling on and off in glorious bedlam, we took the fast, air-conditioned, clean and comfortable affair from Delhi to Agra, which set us down in two hours at the Cantonment station.
It wasn't however half as much fun as the 5 hour hob-nob with the locals which I enjoyed the first time round. Of course Agra is the most touristy town in India and touts and rip-off artists swarm around any new arrival like flies around the proverbial, but don't let that put you off - firm handling and hard bargaining will get you a taxi ride to town and a clean room. We dumped our packs and lay on our beds as the temperatures outside climbed to 45 degrees and planned our itinerary for the next 3 days.
Travelling in India between April and August is not for the faint hearted - daytime temperatures are murder and the mosquitoes equally so. No matter which season you visit, do yourself a favour and pound on those massive wooden doors to the Taj's entrance pavilion in the dawn and demand entrance. The early morning coolth is bliss before the sun rains down its mighty hammer blows on the back of your head, and early arrival gets you front row seats to the spectacle of the morning rays turning the dome into an ethereal glow that is almost impossible to describe.
And the added bonus is that you will be way ahead of the crowds, which allows you to stand alone in the centre of the mausoleum and listen to the whispers of eternity echo from the dome above.From 1631 to 1648 architects, engineers, masons, artists and an army of labourers toiled to build the Taj. Sixty one metres high and 25 metres across, the dome towers above the vast flatness which are the Indian plains. Every section of the central edifice is clad in shimmering white marble hewn from the quarries of Nagaur, 550 km distant.
The mausoleum itself stands, Tears, within a formally laid out, walled garden which is accessed through a pavilion at the southern end. From this pavilion one looks northwards towards the dome, which is our familiar vista of the Taj and perhaps the most photographed view in the world. Fact and fiction are intertwined; as only they are able in this land of myth and mystery, and legend has it that the hands of the artisans were chopped off once the work was complete so that never again could another Taj Mahal be built.
Another is that Shah Jahan planned a black Taj Mahal on the opposite bank of river as his own mausoleum - a mirror image of the monument to his wife. Where legend ends and truth begins is open to debate, but what is known is that Shah Jahan was deposed by his son Aurangzeb, who incarcerated him in the Agra Fort approximately 5 km upstream, where only the view of the Taj and his memories accompanied him to his death. There is much sadness surrounding the Taj, not all of which is associated with the Mumtaz and Shah Jahan.
Many tears must have been shed by the mothers and widows of those who died building the monument. And die they certainly did, for to haul the huge blocks of marble and red sandstone the 550 kilometres from the Makrana quarries, and then to drag them up ramps and scaffolding would have caused its fair share of casualties, not to mention those who succumbed to heat and disease over the 21 year construction period. Then there were the taxes that were levied to pay for the construction work which would have placed an additional burden on the peasantry.
The Taj can thus be construed as not only a memorial to the queen of an empire but to those who toiled to bring it to being. India's more recent Nobel laureate, V.S. Naipaul, described the Taj as "so wasteful, so decadent and in the end so cruel that it is painful to be there for very long. This is an extravagance that speaks of the blood of the people." Controversial but undoubtedly beautiful, it has stood impassively for over three and a half centuries against the backdrop of fading empires, wars, famines, floods and disease.
The Taj is the high tide mark in an often nondescript sea of human endeavour and perhaps that was Shah Jahan's genius; to focus the efforts of ordinary men and women to build a monument not only to Mumtaz, but to themselves, and in so doing achieving some modicum of immortality.So, do yourself a favour and buy yourself an air ticket to Delhi, take a slow train to Agra and then take an even slower walk through the sacred stillness of the tomb, and marvel at the wonder of it all. But I must add a warning though - India will seduce you to the extent that your ruin will be complete - it will become a life-long love affair, driving you to distraction as only an affair of the heart can.
A woman's agonised cries cut through the steady murmur of an army of voices, and the crackle of fires and the occasional whicker of a restless cavalry horse. As the hours wear on the cries come more often and the entire encampment is in thrall to the events unfolding in the emperor's tent. Glittering Orion wheels impassively across the sky, descending now towards the western horizon, his inexorable descent marking the passing of the hours. Ears prick up to the first lusty wails of a newborn child, causing the sentries to stir and minutes later the surgeon appears, silhouetted against the ruddy light of the fires in the imperial enclosure, his tunic bloodied and the weariness set deep in his sunken eyes.
A quick conversation with the sentry and the word spreads like wildfire through the encamped army - the Queen is dead. Mumtaz Mahal, the Jewel of the Palace, and most beloved of the Moghul Emperor: confidant, wife, mother and companion, has crossed over to eternity. She was carrying the 14th child of Emperor Shah Jahan and has been his constant companion, even in the theatre of war - but this campaign against the Lodi princes of the Deccan to secure the southwestern reaches of the empire is to be her last.
Moghul power in India is at its zenith, the first conquests begun by Emperor Babur in 1535 and now being consolidated by his great great grandson. In the cold grey light of dawn a sorrowing emperor issues the order to break camp and begin the long march northeast to Agra and the Moghul heartland, thoughts of war forgotten. Legend has it that on her deathbed Mumtaz's last request to her husband was to promise her a monument to their love - little did she realise to what ends her husband would go to fulfill that promise.
The Taj Mahal is the fulfillment of that promise and is the world's greatest monument to love, standing in all its splendour on the banks of the Yamuna River. 'A teardrop, Tears, on the face of eternity' is how Rabindrath Tagore, India's Nobel laureate described it. A diminutive sarcophagus lies in the centre of the edifice - all there is to remind us that this is first and foremost the final resting place of a queen. Standing in the cool half-light of the interior of the mausoleum, one is easily distracted by the grandiosity of the surrounding edifice.
For three and half centuries the exquisite marble lattice work, which forms the airy walls of the tomb, has allowed the dust-laden hot blasts of summer and the scented breath of the monsoon to caress the cold stone of the grave that lies therein. My footsteps echo off the cold marble floor and whisper eerily around the lofty dome above, and in so doing I feel a tear in the fabric of time - as the ghostly echoes whisper insistently from the dark void above, so too did they whisper of those who trod this very floor three and half centuries ago.
This was my second trip to Agra to see the splendours of the Taj. All in all, things have got a bit affluent and organised in India since my first visit in the early 1990's; helped along of course by a little more affluence and increased budget from my side too. Shunning the pleasures of a slow, grubby Indian commuter train, with India piling on and off in glorious bedlam, we took the fast, air-conditioned, clean and comfortable affair from Delhi to Agra, which set us down in two hours at the Cantonment station.
It wasn't however half as much fun as the 5 hour hob-nob with the locals which I enjoyed the first time round. Of course Agra is the most touristy town in India and touts and rip-off artists swarm around any new arrival like flies around the proverbial, but don't let that put you off - firm handling and hard bargaining will get you a taxi ride to town and a clean room. We dumped our packs and lay on our beds as the temperatures outside climbed to 45 degrees and planned our itinerary for the next 3 days.
Travelling in India between April and August is not for the faint hearted - daytime temperatures are murder and the mosquitoes equally so. No matter which season you visit, do yourself a favour and pound on those massive wooden doors to the Taj's entrance pavilion in the dawn and demand entrance. The early morning coolth is bliss before the sun rains down its mighty hammer blows on the back of your head, and early arrival gets you front row seats to the spectacle of the morning rays turning the dome into an ethereal glow that is almost impossible to describe.
And the added bonus is that you will be way ahead of the crowds, which allows you to stand alone in the centre of the mausoleum and listen to the whispers of eternity echo from the dome above.From 1631 to 1648 architects, engineers, masons, artists and an army of labourers toiled to build the Taj. Sixty one metres high and 25 metres across, the dome towers above the vast flatness which are the Indian plains. Every section of the central edifice is clad in shimmering white marble hewn from the quarries of Nagaur, 550 km distant.
The mausoleum itself stands, Tears, within a formally laid out, walled garden which is accessed through a pavilion at the southern end. From this pavilion one looks northwards towards the dome, which is our familiar vista of the Taj and perhaps the most photographed view in the world. Fact and fiction are intertwined; as only they are able in this land of myth and mystery, and legend has it that the hands of the artisans were chopped off once the work was complete so that never again could another Taj Mahal be built.
Another is that Shah Jahan planned a black Taj Mahal on the opposite bank of river as his own mausoleum - a mirror image of the monument to his wife. Where legend ends and truth begins is open to debate, but what is known is that Shah Jahan was deposed by his son Aurangzeb, who incarcerated him in the Agra Fort approximately 5 km upstream, where only the view of the Taj and his memories accompanied him to his death. There is much sadness surrounding the Taj, not all of which is associated with the Mumtaz and Shah Jahan.
Many tears must have been shed by the mothers and widows of those who died building the monument. And die they certainly did, for to haul the huge blocks of marble and red sandstone the 550 kilometres from the Makrana quarries, and then to drag them up ramps and scaffolding would have caused its fair share of casualties, not to mention those who succumbed to heat and disease over the 21 year construction period. Then there were the taxes that were levied to pay for the construction work which would have placed an additional burden on the peasantry.
The Taj can thus be construed as not only a memorial to the queen of an empire but to those who toiled to bring it to being. India's more recent Nobel laureate, V.S. Naipaul, described the Taj as "so wasteful, so decadent and in the end so cruel that it is painful to be there for very long. This is an extravagance that speaks of the blood of the people." Controversial but undoubtedly beautiful, it has stood impassively for over three and a half centuries against the backdrop of fading empires, wars, famines, floods and disease.
The Taj is the high tide mark in an often nondescript sea of human endeavour and perhaps that was Shah Jahan's genius; to focus the efforts of ordinary men and women to build a monument not only to Mumtaz, but to themselves, and in so doing achieving some modicum of immortality.So, do yourself a favour and buy yourself an air ticket to Delhi, take a slow train to Agra and then take an even slower walk through the sacred stillness of the tomb, and marvel at the wonder of it all. But I must add a warning though - India will seduce you to the extent that your ruin will be complete - it will become a life-long love affair, driving you to distraction as only an affair of the heart can.
Gerald Allan Davie
geologist@netactive.co.za
http://www.oldcanvasexpeditions.com
http://www.geozone.co.za
The Kabbalah of Rosh Hashana: From Tears to Transformation
CHOOSING G-DAt sunset on the eve of Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year, G-d**will remove some of his light from the world. He will stillremain present in a basic way, of course, or the world could notsustain itself. But that presence will be remote, withdrawn. Then He will wait. The next move is ours.At around midday of the holy day, when Jews in every corner ofthe world acknowledge His sovereignty with prayers and theblowing of the shofar, G-d will once again agree to be our King.He will recommit to His relationship with our world.
And when Hedoes so, it will be with an entirely new level of light andpower. Entirely new possibilities - possibilities that neverexisted before - will enter the world. We will advance one giantstep closer to our ultimate destiny.But the first move has to come from us. We must renew ourcontract with our Creator if the world is to continue to exist.Once each year, the world must choose G-d. FROM TEARS TO TRANSFORMATION Why the blowing of the shofar, the ram's horn? What power doesthis primitive instrument have to bring down such an intense andessential light?
More than a simple horn, the shofar is an instrument oftransformation. Its sound is like a heartbroken cry, and itspower is the power of tears. Living in a physical world, subject to the many stresses andchallenges of life on earth and subjugated to the relentlessdemands of our body and our ego, we are not even remotely awareof our own true potential, Tears, . Our soul, with all of its unlimitedawareness, insight, creativity, love and power, is trapped andsuppressed. But when our defenses break down, when we come face to face withour essential smallness and vulnerability within this vastuniverse, we cry out to G-d.
And this cry - this intense awareness of our own limitations -is what sets us free. A broken-hearted cry can release your soulfrom its prison and leave you open to something completely new. This freedom, not coincidentally, is also connected, Tears, with thetrumpet-blast of the shofar. In fact, it is the blast of 'thegreat shofar' - the shofar of Redemption - that will herald ourultimate freedom and transformation at the End of Days.Weakness and power. Smallness and greatness. Isolation andUnity.
Slavery and freedom. How do they go together? And how isit that the very same sound can symbolize both?A WORLD OF OPPOSITES Kabbbalah explains that everything that exists is made up of twopolar opposites. The opposite of darkness is light. The oppositeof evil is good. The opposite of death is life. The opposite ofslavery is freedom. Wherever one is found, so is its opposite.They define each other. Without one, the other could not exist.However, these negative states have no intrinsic reality.Darkness is not a permanent condition.
Just like the first stepin throwing a ball is to move the arm backwards, the darkness isactually a prelude, a gateway, to a far more powerful light. That's why tears can be so transformational. Paradoxically, itis only in realizing our smallness, weakness and aloneness - thelimits of our ego-based existence - that we create an opening toexpand beyond our perceived limits and become who we were trulyborn to be.This possibility for transformation is intensely present on RoshHashana, when the world begins anew.
ON THE THRESHOLD OF A NEW WORLDOn this Rosh Hashana, in the year 5766, transformation is notonly more possible but more necessary than ever before, not onlyfor Jews but for the entire world. Every year on Rosh Hashana the world waits, suspended in thedark space between the old light and the new. Between two waysof being there is always an empty space, a space of transition.In this space we have the opportunity to let go of the old - thepettiness, the resentments, the past mistakes, failures andfears.
We can embrace a brand new way of being; a morepassionate sense of purpose. We can commit ourselves to a newlevel of kindness, respect and compassion for the people aroundus - those we already love, and those we could love if westopped being angry or afraid.In opening ourselves to life, we create the greatest possibleopening for G-d to inscribe us in the Book of Life for a yearthat is good and sweet in the truest sense.But on this Rosh Hashana the world waits at the threshold ofRedemption. In these unprecedented times an intense level ofdarkness hovers over the earth.
Our world is shaking. Terror,war, mind-numbing natural disasters and crisis in the MiddleEast cast a threatening shadow over our lives. These times arefrightening and challenging. But this darkness is nothing moreor less than the gateway to an entirely new level of light - anew reality. OUR TIMES IN ANCIENT PROPHECY These chaotic times were foreseen in great detail millennia agoby the sages of biblical times. A full discussion of theseprophecies is way beyond the scope of this article. But read thewords below and see whether or not you think they describe ourworld today:Insolence and self-centeredness will increase, there will beoppressing inflation, people will be addicted to the good lifeand the costs will be high, moral standards will dissolve,morality and wisdom will be denigrated, there will be unbridledirresponsibility on the part of authorities, centers of learningwill turn into centers of immorality, poverty will increase, theyoung will denigrate the old, families will disintegrate,leadership will be impudent.
The world will see a succession oftroubles, epidemics of terrible diseases, and internationalconfrontations. The face of the generation will be 'like theface of a dog'. Just as dogs are not embarrassed by anythingthey do, so too people will lose their sense of embarrassment. THE GREATER THE DARKNESS, THE GREATER THE LIGHT Against this challenging, chaotic backdrop, we are being calledupon to expand beyond our boundaries, to strengthen ourrelationship with our Creator and to actualize our own potentialas partners in Creation.
We are living through the time of transition between exile andRedemption. Out of the breakdown of the old and unworkable, wehave the opportunity to create something completely new. In fact, it is our destiny.ROSH HASHANA: IT'S YOUR CHOICE This Rosh Hashana each one of us has a choice. We can choose tostay unconscious, trapped within the prison of our fears,confusion, resentments and longings, remaining passive victimsof circumstance. Or we can use this opportunity to begin to fly.To align ourselves with our destiny.
To learn to be free. Freedom is a lofty concept, but it's lived in the choices youmake each moment. In your relationships. In your spirituality.In your commitment to a life of joy and fulfillment. In yourawareness of G-d's nurturing presence in the intimate details ofyour daily life. In remembering that you're here for a purposeand being willing to do something each day to make that purposecome alive. If you could create a new future, one not based on your fearsand past failures, who would you be?
How would you behave? Whatwould you dare to create? Who would you thank? Who would youlisten to and what would you share? What would you do to enhanceyour connection to G-d and your own essence? What part of youthat you've given up on would you start to nurture? What dreamsmight you make come true? Rosh Hashana holds within it an awesome power. The light of thepast is withdrawn and the light of the future has yet to comedown into the world and into your life. The Book is open. Whatwill you choose?
And when Hedoes so, it will be with an entirely new level of light andpower. Entirely new possibilities - possibilities that neverexisted before - will enter the world. We will advance one giantstep closer to our ultimate destiny.But the first move has to come from us. We must renew ourcontract with our Creator if the world is to continue to exist.Once each year, the world must choose G-d. FROM TEARS TO TRANSFORMATION Why the blowing of the shofar, the ram's horn? What power doesthis primitive instrument have to bring down such an intense andessential light?
More than a simple horn, the shofar is an instrument oftransformation. Its sound is like a heartbroken cry, and itspower is the power of tears. Living in a physical world, subject to the many stresses andchallenges of life on earth and subjugated to the relentlessdemands of our body and our ego, we are not even remotely awareof our own true potential, Tears, . Our soul, with all of its unlimitedawareness, insight, creativity, love and power, is trapped andsuppressed. But when our defenses break down, when we come face to face withour essential smallness and vulnerability within this vastuniverse, we cry out to G-d.
And this cry - this intense awareness of our own limitations -is what sets us free. A broken-hearted cry can release your soulfrom its prison and leave you open to something completely new. This freedom, not coincidentally, is also connected, Tears, with thetrumpet-blast of the shofar. In fact, it is the blast of 'thegreat shofar' - the shofar of Redemption - that will herald ourultimate freedom and transformation at the End of Days.Weakness and power. Smallness and greatness. Isolation andUnity.
Slavery and freedom. How do they go together? And how isit that the very same sound can symbolize both?A WORLD OF OPPOSITES Kabbbalah explains that everything that exists is made up of twopolar opposites. The opposite of darkness is light. The oppositeof evil is good. The opposite of death is life. The opposite ofslavery is freedom. Wherever one is found, so is its opposite.They define each other. Without one, the other could not exist.However, these negative states have no intrinsic reality.Darkness is not a permanent condition.
Just like the first stepin throwing a ball is to move the arm backwards, the darkness isactually a prelude, a gateway, to a far more powerful light. That's why tears can be so transformational. Paradoxically, itis only in realizing our smallness, weakness and aloneness - thelimits of our ego-based existence - that we create an opening toexpand beyond our perceived limits and become who we were trulyborn to be.This possibility for transformation is intensely present on RoshHashana, when the world begins anew.
ON THE THRESHOLD OF A NEW WORLDOn this Rosh Hashana, in the year 5766, transformation is notonly more possible but more necessary than ever before, not onlyfor Jews but for the entire world. Every year on Rosh Hashana the world waits, suspended in thedark space between the old light and the new. Between two waysof being there is always an empty space, a space of transition.In this space we have the opportunity to let go of the old - thepettiness, the resentments, the past mistakes, failures andfears.
We can embrace a brand new way of being; a morepassionate sense of purpose. We can commit ourselves to a newlevel of kindness, respect and compassion for the people aroundus - those we already love, and those we could love if westopped being angry or afraid.In opening ourselves to life, we create the greatest possibleopening for G-d to inscribe us in the Book of Life for a yearthat is good and sweet in the truest sense.But on this Rosh Hashana the world waits at the threshold ofRedemption. In these unprecedented times an intense level ofdarkness hovers over the earth.
Our world is shaking. Terror,war, mind-numbing natural disasters and crisis in the MiddleEast cast a threatening shadow over our lives. These times arefrightening and challenging. But this darkness is nothing moreor less than the gateway to an entirely new level of light - anew reality. OUR TIMES IN ANCIENT PROPHECY These chaotic times were foreseen in great detail millennia agoby the sages of biblical times. A full discussion of theseprophecies is way beyond the scope of this article. But read thewords below and see whether or not you think they describe ourworld today:Insolence and self-centeredness will increase, there will beoppressing inflation, people will be addicted to the good lifeand the costs will be high, moral standards will dissolve,morality and wisdom will be denigrated, there will be unbridledirresponsibility on the part of authorities, centers of learningwill turn into centers of immorality, poverty will increase, theyoung will denigrate the old, families will disintegrate,leadership will be impudent.
The world will see a succession oftroubles, epidemics of terrible diseases, and internationalconfrontations. The face of the generation will be 'like theface of a dog'. Just as dogs are not embarrassed by anythingthey do, so too people will lose their sense of embarrassment. THE GREATER THE DARKNESS, THE GREATER THE LIGHT Against this challenging, chaotic backdrop, we are being calledupon to expand beyond our boundaries, to strengthen ourrelationship with our Creator and to actualize our own potentialas partners in Creation.
We are living through the time of transition between exile andRedemption. Out of the breakdown of the old and unworkable, wehave the opportunity to create something completely new. In fact, it is our destiny.ROSH HASHANA: IT'S YOUR CHOICE This Rosh Hashana each one of us has a choice. We can choose tostay unconscious, trapped within the prison of our fears,confusion, resentments and longings, remaining passive victimsof circumstance. Or we can use this opportunity to begin to fly.To align ourselves with our destiny.
To learn to be free. Freedom is a lofty concept, but it's lived in the choices youmake each moment. In your relationships. In your spirituality.In your commitment to a life of joy and fulfillment. In yourawareness of G-d's nurturing presence in the intimate details ofyour daily life. In remembering that you're here for a purposeand being willing to do something each day to make that purposecome alive. If you could create a new future, one not based on your fearsand past failures, who would you be?
How would you behave? Whatwould you dare to create? Who would you thank? Who would youlisten to and what would you share? What would you do to enhanceyour connection to G-d and your own essence? What part of youthat you've given up on would you start to nurture? What dreamsmight you make come true? Rosh Hashana holds within it an awesome power. The light of thepast is withdrawn and the light of the future has yet to comedown into the world and into your life. The Book is open. Whatwill you choose?
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