Ferrets, eagles and Big Friendly Giants knocking at doors

Have you ever wondered where Roald Dahl got his fantastical words in the BFG book? Trogglehumper? Quogwinkle, squinky squiddlers and snozzcumbers? They are not words that roll easily off the tongue and I must admit to wanting to know how he came up with them. We all lean towards our own languages when making up words, so where oh where did he discover these? It turns out that his wife, Patricia was pregnant with baby number 5 (their oldest daughter had died during a measles illness and a son had received brain damage as a baby when hit by a taxi in New York) She was leaning over the bath washing her daughter, Tessa, (Olivia was the daughter who died) when she suffered a stroke or aneurysm. While she was recovering from this debilitating health issue, she couldn't find words that matched her thoughts. Her nurse at the time was singing as she cared for her and suddenly, Patricia could say a single word from the song. But it took a while to recover her speech (she was an actress and went on to star in many films once her speech returned) but she would say things like 'oblogon' if she wanted a cigarette. Her husband thought this was hilarious and soon wrote the BFG (Big Friendly Giant) that is beloved by children to this day. Actually, that story is beloved by adults too. Me being one of them. The dream collector idea is so fun and the imagery of that upside-down world of the dream tree has always fascinated me. The character of the BFG was modeled on a friend of Dahl's who was 6ft 7inches tall and played snooker with the author as well as doing carpentry work for the family.(Walter Saunders) So, here was a man, Roald Dahl, in the middle of a family crisis, dead daughter, injured son and wife at death's door and he found inspiration in it all. He created a giant taught to eat children who goes against his natural instincts and saves little Sophia from his vicious brothers who want to invade England. He looks scary and he speaks funny, but beneath it all his heart is good. This teaches us not to judge people by their looks and how to find the good in times of sadness and stress. Perhaps I should take inspiration from this situation? Or should I rather invent my own words when tempted to get angry at life?

Did you know that the earliest dictionary was produced in 1604 and only had 3,000 words in it? It was written to introduce more complicated words to 'ladies, gentlewomen and any other unskillful persons.' Well, what do you know? I am all three of those but the idea that I need schooling in the use of words is ludicrous. Or should I use a simile of the word? Farcical, preposterous, risible or how about just plain stupid to think that we need to be taught how to speak? Most adults know about 20,000 to 40,000 words and only use about 10,000 on a daily basis. Women as well as men. We end up using the same 5,000 words over and over again because it is easier. Winston Churchill on the other hand loved using long words to confuse his compatriots. He even received a Nobel Prize for literature. My Dad loved repeating all the funny one-liners that Winnie used and 50,000 words is how many he was credited as using. Winston Churchill that is, not my Dad, although my Dad was pretty proficient at talking. I imagine him and Roald Dahl might have been cut from the same cloth. My Dad told us how Winnie escaped from a train during the Boer war. At one stage Winnie said he had not contributed anything to the war effort in WW11 and refused many honours. He insisted the nations around the world were the lion's heart in the battles and he was merely the roar that directed the lion and how it should use its claws. Wow, what imagery he engendered. It makes one want to grab a pen and write a piece of nonsense or even a whimper of a lion purr .... never the roar, but rather the gentle growl. The purr that soothes the heart and the mind. The soft words that wash over the soul. Oh yes, absolutely.

Rumi says we are dancing into the Heart of God. (Rumi was born in 1207 in Afghanistan for those who are wondering and he was a famous poet of his time) His most well-known saying is 'I have lived on the lip of insanity, wanting to know reasons, knocking on a door. It opens. I've been knocking from the inside.' And he says 'many demolitions are renovations'. Oh okay, too deep and convoluted? What I understand is that often we are the ones who can open our own futures. We should not wait until someone else opens our imaginary door that allows us to live the life we want. But then, there are those in the world that are like eagles who fly high without a thought for the future and there are others like me, who are ferrets on the ground collecting bits and pieces of life to store for a rainy day. Well you know what they say about eagles and ferrets? At least ferrets don't get sucked into jet engines. Rumi reminds me that 'Stop acting so small, you are the universe in ecstatic motion.' Ah now that I can embrace but do I need to fly like the eagles of the world? 'Let the waters settle and you will see the moon and the stars mirrored in your own being.' I can go with that idea. When I am still, I do see life reflected positively around me. Rumi had a friend, Shams, and after three years of close companionship, Shams vanished mysteriously. It is thought that one of Rumi's sons had him killed. It goes to show that not everyone goes through life without problems. We have Dahl and Churchill, Rumi and us. Another Rumi quote .... 'You have to keep breaking your heart until it opens.' And of course the story of the chickpea who tried to jump out of the pot as it was boiling. The cook kept on hitting the chickpea with the spoon and asked it to stop trying to escape. I have that same experience when cooking popcorn! Anyhow, the cook says to the chickpea, I am not trying to hurt you, I am trying to bring out the flavour in you. Finally the chickpea says to the cook, 'Oil me some more, hit me with the skimming spoon. I can't do this by myself.' Now me, if I was the cook, I wouldn't have thought of a spiritual connotation to the chickpea trying to escape the pot, I would let it fall on the floor and sweep it up later. The idea of dancing into the Heart of God caught my eye and I loved that imagery he too creates for my mind. Not that I have been doing much dancing with the Gods or even cooking chickpeas lately. We had a storm this week and I was out in the centre of it trying to stop a flood of water from invading the garage and my proposed flatlet. I have been vacillating about the build and now I know why. My subconscious was obviously telling me to sort out the drainage before I spend any money.

My daughter is studying educational psychology and I have been picking up on some odds and ends along the way. Did you know that Maslow says the more good things we do, the more our brain is wired to go down that course automatically? If we choose bad consistently, we become bad people. Thank you Maslow and your hierarchy of needs. I think I am floating around the Esteem needs section. I have a warm home to live in, even in a storm. I have food and clothing. I have friends and family. And now I am looking for a feeling of accomplishment. I enrolled in some online art courses. How to paint realistic waves ... oh that blew my brains. Amazing classes. Then, how to really understand design and why paintings work and why they don't. Yes, I do sit for hours letting my brain go into limbo as I watch skilled artists weave their magic. Maslow says that the tip-top of the hierarchical needs is achieving one's full potential including creative activities. Yay. That is my goal. Now I know the goal, all I have to do is leave my figurative ferret behind and become an eagle. I really do need to find someone with a skimming spoon to oil me and push me to become the spicy, saucy chickpea that I want to become. I am not too keen on being hit with a spoon. Violence has never been something I handle very well. I am the flight not the fight person in a violent scenario. I will climb out a window on a wild stormy night, I will run into the darkness to find a place of peace and safety. I will look for that Rumi ideal of watching the moon and the stars mirrored in my own being. Many great thinkers through the ages. May we all become the best versions of ourselves and reach Maslow's perfect triangle of needs. I wish you all food, warmth, water and rest you need and once you have that, I wish you security and safety. From there we require the outside help from friends and family until we can raise ourselves out of, and reach our potential to become who you are destined to be. Maybe not a Rumi or a Maslow or even a roaring lion of Winston Churchill but perhaps we are the BFGs in the storybooks on our shelves. Underappreciated and misunderstood. I am sure there are psychological reasons why I gravitate towards these men and their stories, I am wanting to find my own inner person who can inspire others. And no, I don't judge myself against them and find myself wanting. I can happily be the ferret for all time and still be happy. Who really wants to be an eagle out there in the cold and the wind in danger of jet engines? Not me.

Oh well folks, that is my rambling muddled thoughts for the day. We had an earthquake and a tsunami warning yesterday in New Zealand that didn't affect us at all. Didn't even feel the rumble and the rolls. What I did get challenged with was the water and the floods. But broom at hand and sloshing up the my knees in cold water, well that I can handle.