Less than a month till Solstice! Which means soon the pendulum will swing back the other direction, the sun will grow closer and warmer again, plants and flowers will come alive, and we'll all get more vitamin d and our collective seasonal affective disorder will slowly melt away.
During these darkest weeks I will try to remember to take my vitamins and eat better, and move my body even though lately all it wants to do is sit under a blanket.
I am borrowing a second-hand virtual reality headset and have been using it to explore ancient temples around the world that I'd like to see but can't due to lockdown. I generally am averse to weird dystopian-esque tech gadgets but I'm super enjoying the ability to see wonders of the world from multiple angles up close. It's a lot more wonderful than small 2D photos and is a much needed escape from the confines of my four walls.
Virtually being inside the orange canyons of Petra was kind of mind blowing. I also saw Dendera Temple in Egypt and my eyes were so happy. I love seeing the details you could only see in person, looking up and seeing stars painted on blue ceiling, feeling the magnitude and scale of it all.
I also learned that the temples at Palmyra were at one point converted into mosques, so why did ISIS stupidly bomb such magnificent historical structures? The patriarchal thirst for destruction is so tragic. That anyone would feel so threatened by a long-abandoned pile of bricks in the middle of the desert is profoundly pathetic.
Maybe today I'll "travel" to the Minoan palace in Santorini. Did you know it had flushing toilets and hot and cold running water, 1500 years before the Romans?! In the Goddess-worshipping city, even ordinary homes had plumbing and elaborate built-in heating systems under the floor. Pretty fucking cool.
The idea that we have become more technologically advanced as time progresses is a myth our egos tell us.
In other history nerd news, I've also been researching ancient oil lamps. All you need is olive oil and any kind of twine for the wick so I'm going to make one with self-drying clay, because I get excited about things like that.
9:20 a.m. - 2020-11-29