This seemingly small country has something rather unique and wonderful about it. Rather than measure the growth of a country by it’s economy it measures it by how happy the people are. According to Gross National Happiness they ask a selection of citizens how they feel about a variety of areas of living including: Time use, Living Standards, Good Governance, Psychological Wellbeing, Community Vitality, Culture, Health, Education & Ecology.

And according to Wikipedia in 1972 the ruler of Bhutan king Jigme Singye Wangchuck announced that he wanted a system of monitoring the growth of his nation that fitted in with the country’s Buddhist religion and so Gross National Happiness was developed.

I think the world would be a much better place if other countries adopted this system of measuring their growth. I’m sure many of you could argue against this and I’m sure the system has plenty of criticisms. But for me given the choice between happiness and money, I’d go for happiness every time as money can’t buy happiness.

Just thought I’d share something that brightened my day,

Antony

(Image provided by Google Maps, Copyright reserved by Google)

So impressed with this artist’s work that I wanted to know more. So I did some research:

Susan Seddon Boulet, a San Francisco Bay Area artist whose work is widely known, died at her home in Oakland on Monday, April 28, after a long struggle with cancer. She was 55.

Susan Boulet was born in Brazil of English parents who had emigrated there from South Africa. Her early childhood was spent on a large cattle ranch which allowed her great freedom and where she first developed the love of fairy tales and fantasy that would later be revealed in her paintings. She was educated in Sao Paulo, Rio de Janiero, and later in Switzerland. It was here that she began her training as an artist. She came to the United States in 1967, but always retained a great love for the land and people of Brazil.

Susan Boulet’s art has had a profound influence on many people. She was a prolific artist whose themes ranged from portrayals of medieval figures and fantasy characters in her early work to goddesses and shaman figures in more recent images. Working principally in oil pastel, inks and occasionally pencil, she developed a distinctive personal style characterized by the use of color applied in layers from which dream-like forms emerged. Susan Boulet drew her inspiration from a wide variety of sources: mythology and poetry, Jungian psychology and worldwide spiritual traditions, as well as a deep love of animals and the natural world. Underlying her work is a spiritual quality and a universality which strikes a chord in people from many walks of life. Her paintings have been widely reproduced and are held in collections around the world. Published works include Shaman: The Paintings of Susan Seddon Boulet (1989), and The Goddess Paintings (1994), both published by Pomegranate Artbooks in Rohnert Park.

The inspiration that people drew from Susan Boulet’s work was often heightened by their meeting her in person. She loved to be present when her paintings were shown and those who met her, however briefly, were invariably touched by her empathy, gentleness, modesty and charm. Her ability to listen and make personal connections won her innumerable admirers. Indeed, one of her greatest challenges was to balance her artist’s need for solitude with her love of friends. At a recent gathering in her honor a large number of people paid tribute to her generosity, sense of humor and the profound influence her art had exerted upon their lives. Susan Seddon Boulet was married to Larry Boulet who died in 1980. She is survived by a son, Eric, and a brother, Patrick Seddon, of Oakland, California, and her step-mother, Naide Seddon, and a brother, Ernani Seddon, of Sao Paulo, Brazil.
(from: http://www.well.com/~davidu/boulet.html, Last Accessed: 14th November 2009)

I was saddened to read that she has passed away, such a talent gone off this physical plane. I was also disapointed that I was unable to find Gods Knowledge cards and couldn’t create some now that she had passed away.

I loved both of the packs of cards and knew that two of my pagan friends would too. So I bought them for Simon and JL for Yule.

If you want to view more of the truly beautiful and inspirational artwork by Susan Boulet you can google image search her name or click here.

In love and light,

Antony

“In this modern world don’t we need to laugh, more than we’ve ever needed too before in history?” Dame Edna, Just for Laughs 2005

“Absolutely, Dame Edna.” Antony Simpson, 15th November 09

Unfortuately, I don’t get to write as often as I would like (apart from this blog of course). But it is on my Magickal Grand Plan, under creativity to write a fiction book. So I guess I need to get my ass in gear and get writing.

Update you soon,

Antony

Magick can be done in many creative ways. So I decided to come up with a Grand Plan for the next 5 years of my life. How do I weave the magick in to it? With colour and symbolism through a collage. See below:

My plans are stuck on the fridge so everyday I will see them. Everytime I see them they will go deeper in to my subconcious (until they are imprinted there) and my subconcious will gather the energy required on the astral plane to meet all of my plans in the next five years.

Why don’t you try it?

What I’ve learned about magick is that after a while it just sorta happens. I find myself doing less spells, potions and brews and simply wishing and it happening. In Edain McCoy’s book Advanced Witchcraft: Go Deeper, Reach Further, Fly Higher it calls this Wishcraft. (There’s loads of more interesting reading in this book – so if your pagan I would highly recommend it.) Although I am still learning with regards to the craft (and most definitately always will be), I recognise how far I’ve come.

With thanks to my muse – who inspired me to express my grand plan in such a creative and fun way.

In love and light,

Antony x

I know I have started to feel stuck in a rutt. So I decided to get myself out of it!

I went to an apartment block to see if their were apartments to rent but soon discovered on entering the sales office that there weren’t. But with the encouragement of a work colleague (and friend) we viewed two apartments. The second I loved!

So yes, I’ve decided to buy. If I can. I have reserved it and am meeting with a Financial Advisor (who’m I have already been in communication with) and we are going to put an application in. So I don’t want to give any further details at present or supply photos, until I’m certain.

But if all goes well, I could be moving out of this house-share in 6 weeks or less! Yippee!

I would like to thank my family, friends and work colleagues who have had loads of open and honest conversations with me. You have been a invaluable source of support – allowing me to use you as sounding boards. However special thanks must go to (in no particular order): Simon, Mum & David. They have been fantastic! Thank you.

Update you soon,

Antony x

First and foremost my family and friends inspire me and influence me greatly. Family wise, my mum inspires me the most. I once asked her, “if you could be famous for anything, what would it be?” Her responce: “I’d like to be famous for making a difference to the world, like discovering the cure for cancer.” As a child she instilled a huge amount of confidence in me and continues to inspire me with her thoughts, feelings and attitude. All of my family inspire me in different ways although she remains the one that inspires me the most.

My friends come from all over the country and from all different cultural backgrounds. It would be impossible to list each and everyone and how they inspire me in one blog entry. But a good example is my friends Simon and Chrys. They are truly wounderful. They accepted me for who I am, the good, the bad and the ugly. They inspire me by being who they are recognising their own strenghs and flaws and have taught me to recognise mine.

In the “famous” world (i.e. people you will know), their is a variety of people who inspire me. I have always loved to make people laugh, so naturally any one who can do this is a big inspiration to me. Comedians who inspire me include: Whoopi Goldberg, Alan Carr, French & Saunders and Dylan Moran.

In the film world it’s more about the content of the film that inspires me than the actors/actresses. Films that inspire me include (but are by no means limited to these films listed): Ever After, Mona Lisa Smile, Beautiful Thing, The Craft, Good Will Hunting, A Home of our own, Billy Elliot, Brokeback Mountain. It would be impossible to list all of them. But the films all involve one of two key themes:
1. Finding love
2. People coping through difficult (some times dangerous) situations in life and dealing with them, coming out stronger often achieving their goals.

Music inspires me too. Again it’s more about the song than the artist. Although some artists that do inspire me with most of their work include (but are not limited to): Mariah Carey, Whitney Huston, Kylie, Diana Ross and The Supremes, Celine Dion, Savage Garden, Enya, Gabrielle, Josh Groben, Nerina Pallot, The Calling. The songs that inspire me are generally about love (as most songs are). They inspire me as they descibe how it feels to be in love or to loose it, feelings that we’ve all had at different times in our lives.

Writers to me are very inspirational. To write words telling a story, that allows your imagination to show the story in your mind (much like a film), even making you feel emotions is truely remarkable. I love books by Sophie Kinsella, Cecelia Ahern and am constantly finding new authors that I like. A book from my teen years entitled The boy in the bubble had a huge inspirational effect on me, wetting my appetite for reading. All of these authors have inspired me to do creative writing which I do from time to time when inspired.

That’s all for now, hope this has give you more of an insight in to me.

Antony