Author Archives: C.J. Birch

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About C.J. Birch

I was born on Thursday 13th July 1972 in Harare, Zimbabwe, to an English father and a South African mother. I was christened Catherine Jane Birch and - from the outset - I've been inquisitive about most of life's elemental questions; its myriad paradoxes and unpredictable anomalies, their sources, solutions and their propensity for unmitigated change. From a very young age I was captured by the enigmatic life process, the challenge of living and what it 'means' to be alive. I spent countless invaluable hours in nature, watching the world at its work. I had a fascination for everything around me, curious about what things were, how and why they worked, what they represented in relation to one another. I began writing at the age of 5. Journals, stories and poetry, illustrations, have been a constantly evolving source of quiet self-reflection, expansive expression throughout my life. I'm fortunate to have travelled many miles, to have visited a variety of differing destinations and though I've learned a lot about life in the last 50 years, my questions about its complexities are neverending. I currently live in the south-east of England, having returned to the United Kingdom after a particularly harrowing period of 7 allegedly 'invisible' or 'non-existent' years of absolute hell in Kwazulu Natal, South Africa. I've decided to erase those memories, altogether. My 15-year-old son lives in Switzerland, with his father.
07 Mar 2014 · 11:30

Caring – Blog No. 12

caringCaring is a particularly beautiful human trait.  It is a way of being, a mode of conduct.  Those who care in this world will find that their days are made great by virtue of their efforts.  The days of others are made special because of their efforts, too, and that is important.  It is your job as a human being to make a difference to the lives of other sentient beings – you cannot escape that reality.

Failing to care brings with it grave consequence.  That of meaninglessness.  When you do not care, nothing has meaning, and when nothing in your life has meaning your existence is pointless.  Yes – the meaning of life is a vital component in each of our everydays and it makes sense to care about what your life means – to yourself, and to others.  You are alive – you are meant to live and you are meant to give that living, meaning.

Care builds powerhouses out of communities.  When people care, they pull together.  Unity is the cornerstone of progress and since progress – global progress, i.e. a world made better for everyone – is where Earth is headed, care and unity really should be at the top of everyone’s agenda.  Those who refuse to care for the well-being of this planet and its inhabitants, its Natural legacy, will find their heads empty and their hearts heavy with dread when the time comes for them to leave this Earth.  You do not want to be leaving this Earth with an empty head and a feeling of dread.  My suggestion – please give a shit.  It might just save what’s left of your lives.

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04 Mar 2014 · 11:56

Sharing – Blog No. 11

shareIt does not matter what it is that you have to share, as long as you do share it.  If the problem is that you do not know what you have to share, then yours is a steep climb to the plateau of productivity.  It is through sharing – and sharing alone – that any single human being is going to reach their full potential, their nirvana.  If you imagined that you had reached nirvana already – or your zenith, if you like – then you can concede that you were quite possibly mistaken.  There is a way to go yet before anyone gets anywhere.

Sharing your experiences is helpful.  Sharing your perceptions is optional.  Sharing your cynicism is unwelcome and sharing your destructive criticism is pointless to you in the long run.  It slaps you on the back of the head on its return journey.  There is always something to share.  A smile.  A truth.  The last Rolo.  A private joke.  The list is endless.  You do not need money to share your wealth.

Appreciate sharing.  Both the giving and receiving.  Sharing takes time.  Time in this world is a gift.  Feel free to give of yourself as often as you can manage without depleting your reserves or exhausting your resources.  There is no point in that.  If you are no good to yourself then you are not much good for anyone else.  You must have others with whom to share (sharing with yourself is not quite as useful), so ensure that you are good to both yourself and the others you come across.  You need their input.

If you did not learn to share as a child, perhaps now is the right time to teach yourself how it is done.  It is a life-skill you require.

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24 Feb 2014 · 12:43

Jealousy – Blog No. 10

JealousyJealousy is a pest.  However, it should never be ignored.  It should be dealt with each and every time it stings your life.  Jealousy’s root is Love, which is extremely positive.  Love with a capital L because when you understand the very powerful force that Love is, as opposed to the distant whisper of ‘a’ love with a little l, you will understand that the capital is as deserved as that of Nature’s capital N.  Your human nature is small, the force of Nature is omnipresent, and omnipotent.

If you can realise that jealousy is in fact Love upside-down then you will be able to accept it, because you will know that it comes from pure motivation, despite its effects on a person being negative.  Pure motivation can be trusted, so trust your feelings, but do not allow them to dominate your behaviours.  This is in your power.  You have to control a jealous surge if it rises inside you – bring your mind to heel.  The jealousy is just your mind playing games with your insecurities.

Jealousy is not the same as envy.  Be sure you know the difference.  Jealousy is not possessiveness, either, although the two are often entwined.  Please know that you cannot possess another person.  That will kill their spirit.  If it can be accepted that nothing is ‘yours’ to hold on to in this life, then jealousy becomes unnecessary.  You realise that you cannot allow your mind to dominate you with its hints, suggestions, and you move on from feelings of jealousy with a determination.  You hold mind firmly in its place – it knows well where that place is – and you stand back and watch your jealousy happen, and then let it go.  It is essential to let it go.

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17 Feb 2014 · 12:52

Faith – Blog No. 9

faithThe bottom line is that it does not matter what you have faith in, as long as you do have faith in something.  Perhaps in these fractured times the only thing you feel comfortable having faith in, is yourself.  If that is the case, know that that is enough.  When you believe in what you can do – in your individual capacity, and as part of a collective – you harness a power that will surprise you with where it can take you, and others.  Should you wish to believe in a power higher than yourself (which is all relative, for what you find in yourself is what has existed for centuries in all of the gods, God, Allah, Dreamtime, Nature, etc, feel justified in doing so.  You are a reflection of what you find admirable in your chosen deity/deities.)  You can believe in more than one deity, if you so choose.  All the ‘good’ characteristics that you try to adopt, emulate, exist inside of you already so it matters not which ‘good’ you ultimately choose to follow, it is all the same thing, really.  That should be a comforting thought.

Faith means dedication.  It means understanding and application.  Simply believing in something and trusting its say-so is not enough, you need to do something with your faith.  Make it work for you.  That is what it is for.  Faith is not there to subjugate you, to cripple your progress, so if what you choose to believe in makes you lesser rather than greater as a human being, then perhaps you need to shuffle your belief systems a little, or change your faith.

Faith is a symbol of hope.  It keeps you striving for better, going forwards.  Faith should have no boundaries, no restrictions.  Nor should a person’s faith receive criticism or judgement from another person.  You should be able to open wide to the understanding that placing your implicit trust in something is not a weakness.  It is a strength.  For one reason or another, humans go far further in life when they believe they are supported somehow, by something, in this world.  Perhaps what you believe in is not ‘of’ this world, technically, but faith means you know it is out there and it makes a difference to your everyday, the knowing.  Faith has extraordinary power, and this power – when properly directed – can change an entire existence.

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14 Feb 2014 · 12:18

Good news – Blog No. 8

goodThe good news is that the world of humans is not changing too fast for Nature to evolve alongside it.  Nature is way ahead of the humans.  The humans are merely speeding up the rate of extinction on this planet – their own, included.  For Nature – that is very good news.  As soon as the humans are gone, this world will be at peace with itself.  It will exist without labelling, without cruelty, without greed, without division, without hatred.  Nature will go back to its vast drawing board, as it always does, and in due course it will come up with something even more spectacular than human beings.  It is a pity that there will be no humans left to appreciate the display.  But humans do not appreciate what they have already and theirs’ is the destructive ignorance.  The stupidity.  That there will be no back-slapping on Earth in the coming ages is perhaps something to look forward to.  The humans have always been too busy claiming accolades that are not theirs’ to claim and undoubtedly should Nature deliver another round of ‘miracles’ or ‘universal magic’ or whatever you want to call it, if they were around, the humans would somehow imagine themselves responsible for the majestic feat.  They are that arrogant.

Humans are incidental.  They are dispensable.  All of them.  They are not necessary for the survival of this planet.  What is valuable about a human being, interesting, is its intelligence – preferably when it is being used.  Intelligence does not die.  It lives on, in itself.  It has its very own ecosystem, if you like.  Intelligence transcends death, its reach is beyond the grave.  Like a great many other things that are going to start causing problems for the humans on this planet.  Know that it is possible to be intelligent without an education, but an education does help a great many people access their intelligence.

The good news is that about 5% of the population of this planet can save the environment with their cash.  They could extend the planet’s longevity this way, greatly improve their standing.  They have no standing simply because of their wealth, understand that.  It is what you do with your money when you have it that speaks for who you are, and who you are – in this world – is what is measured.  These people have to want to use their money to benefit something or someone other than themselves, though, and sadly not many of them seem to want to do that.  They are short-sighted.  Selfish.  They exist in a colossal vacuum, which is ultimately to their huge detriment.  Did no one hear that the only honourable pursuit for a thinking person is the lifting of mankind from the gutter?  Raise mankind above man.  There is nothing honourable about sitting in an ivory tower watching mankind flailing around on the ground like a fish out of water.

 

 

 

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10 Feb 2014 · 14:05

Bad News – Blog No. 7

Paper Fortune TellerWhen you are told that there is good news – and – that there is bad news, which do you opt to hear first? I choose the bad news first. Like I save the best until last. That way, you can always be sure that you have something to look forward to. I suppose it is one way of making a negative, postive, and when you have the chance to do that – be sure that you do.

Bad news is not always as bad as it seems. It depends on the bearer’s methods and it depends on your propensity for accepting those things that you do not like in your life. We all have things in our lives that we do not like. Incidentally, we should be more assertive when it comes to saying so. But remember, if you will say so then be sure that you find ears that can hear you. There is no point bleating into the wind. I expect it is common for people to tolerate that which they don’t like. Society has become very adept at that. Those who stand for what they will not tolerate are burnt at the stake, almost.

Does bad news come in threes, like people believe? It depends if that is what you believe. If you believe that three bad things are going to happen to you consecutively each time some misfortune befalls you, then that is very likely exactly what you will get. When bad news arrives, just don’t multiply it and don’t collapse as a person. Face it, see that it serves a purpose. Bad news is never for nothing.

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07 Feb 2014 · 13:37

Indoctrination – Blog No. 6

child-indoctrinationIndoctrination should be outlawed.  Really.  Parents need to stop labelling their children into a life fraught with complications because they are forced to follow their parents’ paths.  A child should be taught how to think critically from an early age and this training does entail parents refraining from shoving their religious or political ideologies down their children’s throats.  Fois gras comes to mind.  It’s cruel.

It is child abuse.  Get this into your heads.  To prevent a child from thinking freely is not only abusive, it is possibly the biggest disservice you do – collectively – to your world.  You have too many people following in their grandparents‘ footsteps, for gods’ sake.  The world is quite a way different to what it was in their day.  Departing from ancient traditions is for some people like giving up their doo-doo blanket.  That fact is endearing and it needs respecting.

Understandably, indoctrination has been going on for so long now, it is not going to be an easy vice for the next generation to give up.  But give it up, they must.  Millions of people on this planet are addicted to it and millions of people are harmed by its pestilence.  If you want to believe that Jesus is carrying your sins, then by all means, do that.  If you need to believe that Jesus is carrying your sins, then you have a problem.  The same applies to all religions, faiths.  They are all stalled, stuck in a rut.  None of the gods have had anything new to say for a very long time now and the thing is, the devotees are very ready for conversation.  They have questions.  All of them.

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02 Feb 2014 · 10:17

Religion – Blog No. 5

religionThe intolerance with which different religions regard each other is not productive.  No one god is sitting on a plinth higher than any other.  There is space for every kind of religion, every type of belief in this world, providing that it can stand to reason.  Religious people should not feel afraid if their religion battles to answer probing questions about itself, its origin.  What matters about religion, is faith.  Goodwill.  If your religion does not actively encourage goodwill towards others – all the time – then I question its purpose, its validity.

Religion is not supposed to be a profitable business.  The fact that the Catholic church is worth billions – that they sit on – should bother everyone on this planet.  The fact that evangelists worldwide are selling God every Sunday should cause an uproar.  God is being pimped.  He is casually bent to fit whatever shape best suits the wants of his followers and since he is not around to protest vocally at any misrepresentation that might be underway, his ‘work’ is done all over the world by fanatics and extremists, amongst others.

Would this world implode if its people were to discover that God was a construct?  Or would it be mature enough to handle the reality?  And Satan?  What about him?  What if God and Satan are in fact, one?  Dr Jeckyll and Mr Hyde?  Remember that to see the light, you need darkness.  Has God faced his darkness, his demons?  I wonder.  Perhaps that is why we go around and around and around.  Perhaps God is avoiding the subject of his failings and we all wait until he accepts his nemesis.  In anycase, God and Satan are what people have made them into.  We can only bear witness.

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17 Jan 2014 · 12:09

Seasons – Blog No. 4

seasons-wallpapers-48397-hd-wallpapers-backgroundWinter.  Spring.  Summer.  Autumn.  Each has its value.  Spring is the season I am most interested in.  I would go as far as to say it is my favourite season.  It is all about growth.  Regeneration.  A surge of Natural energy unlike at any other time of the year.  That growth energy is essential for the well-being of the planet.  For those who live in concrete jungles, it is not enough to have a pot plant on your coffee table that you might look at twice a day.  You need more of Nature than that.  The chain reaction that takes place when a human experiences a surge of happiness out in Nature is beneficial to humankind, to the collective soul.  Those vibes are pure and they resonate an innocence.  There is no sweeter ecstasy than being swept away by Nature’s majesty.  If you do not feel deeply touched by natural beauty then perhaps you should donate your eyes to someone who cannot see, but would like to.

There are autumnal personalities.  Summer personalities.  Take time to learn which type of person you are being, when.  You will show yourself in stages – each age of you – to be of a season.  Your behaviours and preferences at certain times in your life will demonstrate to you – and others – your type.  When you understand yourself as a reflection of Nature you become more open to – and tolerant of – your changeability, and that of others.  Your personality can go through phases, as can your feelings.  You might be completely in love with a person on Tuesday and on Wednesday you watch them across the room and wonder who they truly are.  These swings in feelings, behaviours, are not to be side-lined, evaded.  They can be extreme on occasion, but even so they are to be looked at and they are to be accepted as part of your make-up.  If you refuse to accept who you honestly are – how can you possibly expect anybody else to want to bother?  If you spend your days hiding your true self from sight, avoiding your repressions, suppressions and insecurities, you are wasting everyone’s time.  Be who you are, when you are.  No-one wants to spend time getting to know a liar.

Seasonal flow is how to go about your life.  Let your days come to you and then let them go.  Take them at face-value.  Each one has something to teach you.  Know that sometimes you will feel like hibernating.  At other times you will feel like you have the fire of midsummer sun in your heart.  It depends.  That seasons are always in flux should give you a clue as to the nature of the run of your race.  Don’t push or shove yourself around.  Let the seasons guide you.  Each one has raw beauty.  Let the beauty seduce you.

 

 

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13 Jan 2014 · 18:51

Force – Blog No. 3

spfol0458In order for military force to be eradicated from this world, all the countries on the planet would need to be trustworthy.  They are not.  Can you imagine North Korea ever opening up and becoming trusting of the rest of the world?  You cannot trust them to be open for one minute.  They are paranoid.  Scared of watermelons.  And that is dangerous; it makes for reactionary, trigger-happy.  Certainly they are not the only ones who do not trust in this world.  In fact I do not think any leader trusts any other leader, really.  I am not surprised.  Each has their agenda to try and squeeze into the Universal schedule and it would seem that when time is measured, as it is, there is no space in the calendar for charity.

The best loyalty is that which develops through ongoing mutual trust.  You cannot force loyalty.  You cannot employ fear and expect to be shown loyalty.  Ever.  Fear may force allegiance, but it cannot force loyalty.  At base-level, loyalty is what you want.  It is what you need in this life.  When it comes to loyalty, tread gently, respectfully.  You are working with heart.  You cannot force your heart.  It should be said that a forced hand is not a happy hand.  It may do your bidding, but it will not move to save you when the tables are turned.  And believe me, the tables are always turned.

A forceful spirit is not what to aspire to.  Please remember, spirit is gentle.  Unless it gets extremely angry.  Let’s keep the collective spirit, calm.  Understand that because of the way we have all built Earth, force is occasionally necessary – to explain in this day and age to a mindset warped by violence – that violence is not acceptable.  After countless experiments it has been established that this is the only effective measure (with the majority, the masses) in getting a violent mindset to stand down.

 

 

 

 

 

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