Some time ago, I went to see a movie loosely based on a Richard Matheson novel of the same name.

It was called I AM LEGEND. There's a segment in the film where Will Smiths' character is showering his dog in a hot tub/bath and as he is doing so, the alarm on his watch goes off and rather than react, his mind switches to a mode of thinking where he is paralyzed, then the camera pans to his dog barking at him but he can't hear it. There is only silence as the dog's mouth opens and closes and emits no sound. His mind, or rather the thoughts in his mind have transported him into a place outside of reality where he can be of no service at all. The alarm has given him prior warning to close the windows and bar the doors, the dog's barks are an attempt to bring him back to reality and for him to do what has to be done. Responsibilities. Actions. But he is lost in his mind. He has gone to the awful places that imagination can take us. Eventually the dog's barking filters through and brings him back to reality in time for him to quickly bar the windows and doors to protect he and his dog from virus stricken creatures that used to be humane beings but who are now inhumane man-eating monsters. It's an interesting idea. One man and his dog. He is immune to a virus that has consumed and infected most of the earth's population and he has a cure somewhere in his blood. Money has no meaning anymore. Material things hold no great importance. He goes from a seemingly secure and stable material life to being stripped to the bare essentials of survival. Food and shelter. How would you cope in that situation if it were to happen to you now? Would your current knowledge allow you to be resourceful enough to cope? I believe that resourcefulness and survival weigh the same on the scales. The movie triggered some deep thinking in me. What is important in life? How easy is it to get lost in our own minds allowing that loss to disable us from actions and what we need to do in reality to help us advance in life? Reality is the here and now. Thats where we need to be. Not caught in the web of our minds. Our minds can serve as a friend or as an enemy. If you were to be forced into a situation where the water in the tap no longer runs freely, where there is no food available on shelves in supermarkets to buy, no petrol available from pumps, no electricity for lighting, no gas for cooking, what if all the things that you take for granted 'ceased'? Your obvious reaction would be one of panic and then a drive to survive. Youd have to draw on resourcefulness to provide yourself and your loved ones with the three most important things first. Water, food and shelter. In Will Smiths' character's case, he had a dog that he loved and cherished. In your case it could be your child or wife, anyone close? The point is that you would want to protect them and provide for them too, so you'd become caregiver and provider. Hunter gatherer. Obviously this doesn't apply to now because we have everything on tap, but it could happen. Weve already seen warning signs. We shouldn't take it for granted that resources available to us now are unending because one day, by fault of our own carelessness, all of the resources available to us now may be closed off to us. From a man's perspective (or rather from my own perspective) It's important to remain in touch with that primitive survival instinct that had bareback Neanderthal men able to protect themselves and their loved ones all those years ago, leading to the established race of beings that we are today...

or at least up to the point where we were unspoilt. Moderation is the secret of survival.

"A man, as a general rule, owes very little to what he is born with a man is what he makes himself." Alexander Graham Bell

The more we exploit nature, The more our options are reduced, until we have only one: to fight for survival." Morris K. Udall

"Once one determines that he or she has a mission in life, that is not going to be accomplished without a great deal of pain, and that the rewards in the end may not outweigh the pain - if you recognize historically that always happens, then when it comes, you survive it." Richard M. Nixon

What defines a man is his ability to uphold the very nature of his being. His manliness. Father, warrior, hunter gatherer, peacekeeper, caregiver and provider, and most importantly of all, a servant heart to the community. Unfortunately I think the direction we are heading is one where we who have lived enwrapped in a quilt of material pleasure will experience something of the likes of which we have only read in books, seen in war documentaries and seen in movies, but this time it will be real. Something is happening. We all see it. We all sense it. We all fear it and we all want to shut it away and want to believe that it will never happen but the truth is, we are bleeding the earth dry and those of us who want to change that, cant, because there are men out there whose best interests lie only in their own riches and comforts. What can we do?? As men, we can prepare by staying tuned in to our knowledge of survival skills and pass that on to our friends and our families, much like the teachings of Jesus are passed on in churches or the teachings of Buddhism from Buddha throughout Asia and now in the west. My duty as a man is to maintain myself as just that. I wrote something down recently after years of nomadic travel and living in communities, monasteries and religious environments as well as painting and living in backpacker hostels and my earlier years of emotional survival in hostile homeless hostels. I'd like to know what you think after reading this.

I am not a Christian. Im not opposed to Christ. I am not a Buddhist. Im not opposed to Buddha.

I am not a Muslim. Im not opposed to Mohammed. I am not a Hindu. Im not opposed to Krishna. I am not a Sikh. I am not opposed to Guru Nanak. I am opposed to violence, rape, torture, lying, theft, abuse.. Cruelty to men, women, children and animals.

I am a man. A living human being and so I have a moral responsibility to maintain a certain etiquette and a way of thinking and behaving. A frame of mind that directs me to act for the greater good and to influence those around me who make the world a spiteful place. To influence them to change. To achieve this, to do these things, it takes gradual change. In some respects, immediate change and a series of daily rituals and practices to maintain health and expand wisdom. Ghandi once wrote 'An ounce of practice is worth more then tons of preaching. ' I believe actions speak louder than words. Those are usually the people that teach me more than anyone else. In artist circles there are many men and women who produce one painting and expect to be considered on a par with the likes of Picasso or van Gogh, and yet establishing yourself as an artist takes time, preparation and hard work. Most of all, it takes production. One tree doesnt make a forest and so there are many ignorant people in artist circles and the competition is spiteful. One tree doesn't make a forest. One tree doesn't make a forest. I say that again and again to myself to motivate me to paint. To produce drawings and stories and paintings, and even after 20 years as a painter Im still saying it again and again, and Im ever developing. Ever searching. Ever discovering. I met a very talkative lady who wanted all of the attention that a famed and successful artist draws from admirers of her work and yet she has never exhibited her work, and hardly produces anything because she is caught in her own thinking. In her mind she is already there. Already famous. Already good enough. She has climbed way above Picasso. In reality, one tree doesnt make a forest and her reality is that she hasn't really done that much at all. Theres a big membership in that club and so I listened and listened and I listened to her talk, and then at the end of one hour of listening, I suggested that she stop speaking and in future, let the brushes do the talking. Of course, she took offence, but later in that week I received an email thanking me for giving her a push. A push in the right direction that I hope will take her out of the place in her mind where she has lost herself and back in to a real place where she can apply something from that experience and bring those visions in her dreams to fruition. Dreams are there to be made to come true, and many dreams do come true through hard work and effort. In real-time. One tree doesn't make a forest.

One tree doesn't make a forest. One tree doesn't make a forest. The same goes for being a man. It's the efforts which you apply to the here and now that shape who you are and what you will become and I think it's wise to get back to the basics of knowing how to be resourceful in times of survival. How to plant seeds and grow food. How to hunt. How to kill humanely (obviously for those who abhor the eating of meat, hunting is a no-go area but the fact is that one day you may have to kill, and not knowing how humanely will only risk your inflicting suffering). Knowledge in these fields, even if only basic, is important. "In spite of everything that was done to me and my race, in spite of the adversity and the bitter moments, again we rise." Maya Angelou

'I do not know with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones.' ALBERT EINSTEIN

Shaping the reality of your Dreams.

The shaping process of manifesting an idea (depending on the idea of course) will only be as difficult as you allow it to be. A good metaphor would be that Its like a climber preparing to climb a mountain. You have to balance yourself mentally, emotionally and physically for the journey. In the case of climbing you have to chalk your fingers so you can get a grip of the rocks. You need to slip into some good climbing shoes. Exercise to gain strengh and improve cardiovascular health is a necessity. Push ups. Pull ups. Running. Diet is a necessity too. You have to know what to eat as fuel for the journey and what not to eat. Noone ever fell onto a mountain. A mountain has to be climbed and conquered. It's the same with an idea. Its the same with making a dream come true. Everything may seem difficult to untangle in your mind at first (like eating spaghetti with a spoon) it might take a little time for you to see what you have to do to get to where you want to go, but thats ok. Give time, time. Jot you ideas down onto paper. Make lists and notes. Dont keep it all in your head. Jotting it onto paper serves as an affirming tool. All those small goals will eventually add up like a sum, and then, it will happen. That spark. The spark that lights the flame that becomes what drives you. you'll find that the only thing left to do after all of the notes and the lists and the preparations is to apply yourself. Manifest the thoughts and ideas into actions. And thats it. Youre on your way to making your dreams come true. Now comes the part where reality hits. Dont run before you can walk. Stick to your list and apply yourself to reality. Dont get so lost in the thoughts in your head that you forget that its the actions that you apply that will get you to where you want to be, not fantasies

in your head that pin you to a sofa. And dont be afraid of hard work. No man ever drowned in his own sweat. Stick to your tic list. It all makes sense on paper so why run ahead of yourself. Once you have achieved those things on your list. Then you can add more to what you have already done. Eventually you'll be who you want to be and where you want to be. This week you could be laying on a bed in a homeless hostel. This time next year you could be in your own flat, supporting yourself with a good job and spending time with friends. This week you could be in the process of seperating from a partner and feeling lethargic and hurt inside, but a year from now you could be mixing cocktails and working in a bar in the bahamas with so many people smiling at you that you'll feel like a rock star. Different people have different dreams. Mine was to become an artist and live the life. I have and it's been an amazing journey. Its taken me over the world and I have rarely stayed in one place for more than three months. I have backpacked and worked in hostels and met people from all over the world, I have lived and worked in monasteries and temples and experienced the rituals of numerous religions, I have soaked up the company of people in various communities, whilst always trading for bed and food as an artist and a signmaker. I became dissillusioned about the life pre-set for me from education and I chose inspiration as my guide. I have been nomadic for over 20 years. I was told by a monk that I am keeping an old age tradition alive, and that in days of old, the monasteries used to get carpenters and other tradesmen passing through on horse and cart and trading for a warm meal and a place to sleep. I work hard at what I do and I love my job. I have also spent time alone resting in nature, and its beauty pierced my heart. My dream was to do all these things. I was always told that it wouldn't be possible and that I should get a 'normal' job and get a mortgage, settle down and have kids, to be realistic and responsible. Nah ah. It wasn't for me. And as for a nomadic life being considered irresponsible, I say to those people who judge and condemn the travelling free spirits of the world, try it. See how long you can survive. To live a nomadic life you have to be super resourceful. Super responsible. You have to be super self motivated, and harder than anything else that you have been taught, you have to make yourself vulnerable and place yourself and your trust into the kindness of strangers. Being nomadic restored my faith in Nature and in human nature, but it also showed me how cruel some people can be. Experiencing Llandovery has been a part of that dream. Painting the windows of a small town and then having people respond with open laughter and sharing positive comments about my work gave me a boost of confidence. Even having articles published in a magazine was on my tic list of goals. In the pursuit of any dream, the most important thing is not to lose patience with yourself, and not to lose faith in yourself. Time is what it is, and all things take time. Give time, time. Once you're surfing on the wave of life you should go with it. You'll know when you're on that wave, and you'll know when you have fallen off. What does a surfer do when he falls off a wave? He gets back on the board again. Fall down seven times, get up eight. ( Japanese proverb) Life is like that. An ocean of many waves and when you catch one, the ride can be incredible. You'll always get your critics. There'll always be people who want to limit you and place obstacles in the path of what you want to achieve. They will even make people question who you are and mock your intentions. Fly over it, under it, round it or through

it. Your willingness to have faith in who you are and what you do, and faith in your self for what you want to be gives you access to super-human powers. Your life is a precious gift. It is your choice whether or not you live it to its fullest. An elderly lady once said to me that she is too old to make dreams come true in her life. I said to her 'Even a old apple tree still grows apples', and she laughed. It's true. Dreams dont have to fizzle out with age. In 1997, I met a 74 year old indian backpacker named Armin who impressed me to no end. He ran an insurance company in USA until he decided to fold and see the world. I recently received an email from him. He is still travelling and loving it. He's currently riding a camel across the desert in Egypt. My father used to choreograph stunt shows at charity events. He showed me that it pays to prepare yourself and then you have to have the courage to just throw yourself in there and have a go at anything that you want to do. Repetition is the mother of progress in most things. Over time I became passionate about painting and through that, I found my path. Being an artist gave me a sense of identity, a sense of purpose and a sense of belonging. It is ever evolving and always challenging and exciting. I'm self taught. I went from drawing cartoons as a kid to creating my own cartoonstrips as a teenager and was published at 14 years old, and then got into painting murals in my teens and twenties and furthering into finer arts, painting wildlife and nature and went on to travel and explore many places. I become a signmaker, a cartoonist, a mural artist, a painter decorator, a graphic designer, an arts tutor and a writer. Its been a worthy ticlist and it all began from a period of homelessness when I was fifteen years old, and a deep realisation that I wanted to change my situation from the ugly truth that it was at the time. There are many books on the shelf that offer self help advice. Some are good and some are not so good. Most are only as good as what you apply from them. Application is the key word. If you dont apply yourself then you wont see results. I have personally written a self help book for people who suffer low self esteem. In future articles in this magazine I will be throwing out some ideas, practices and things to apply to help you help yourself through the darker more challenging times. I welcome any feedback.

Shivam Shivoham is a signmaker and writer serving the communities of Carmarthenshire. Should you wish to respond to this article or employ his services as a signmaker then he can be contacted by email on shivohamsigns@gmail.com or telephone/text mobile 0790 567 0123.

An effective bracelet for self help

I have always found that six of the most effective methods of self help, combined, form the bracelet that will see you on the path to being who you want to be and what you want to be, and those six are

1) Mind-mapping (An effective exterior projection of how the mind works) helps unscramble the mind, alleviating stress 2) Keyword association exercises to maintain a positive frame of mind. Try this. Write random words onto a sheet of A4 paper. I usually fill a page with around 50 words. Nothing specific, just any words that come to mind, write them down. They could be 'Dog, fountain, prayer, hill, mountain', any words that pop into your head. Keep doing this until you end up with several sheets of paper filled. For people who like to write but suffer 'writer's block' this is a great exercise. Give one of the sheets of paper filled with words to a friend and ask them to choose five words and speak about how they connect to that word and what thoughts, recollections and experiences they can recall based on each one, then write down what thoughts are triggered within yourself as a result of this interaction. What I find is that people choose words associated with how they feel and the same word that expose positivity on one occasion can expose negative thought patterns the next. A useful practice when someone is feeling low is to help them see the positive aspects of anything they verbally share with you. The same practice applies when you choose words for yourself. Look at a page, choose five words that stand out and then write down how you associate with those words and what thoughts they trigger within you. If you have negative thoughts and negative associations then challenge them with constructive positivity. 3) Structured letter writing to purge and maintain contact with family and friends, utilsing everything from recollections of past, to song lyrics, poems, dream sharings, thoughts, conversation recollections and lessons in life etc. I especially exercised this because I wanted to keep family and friends tuned in to my travelling experiences but it also functioned as a great means to balance my thoughts, alleviating any stress 4) Daily exercise. I use a body ball, dumbells and some push up bars for a simple daily routine. I carry them in my backpack. A body ball is ideal for those who suffer back problems because you get core support throughout. The Golds Gym body ball workout routine is excellent. Bars give you a more beneficial press up and dumbbells are excellent for building muscle tone and strengh. Aim for personal fitness and not vanity and you wont be dissapointed. 5) Meditation. Even the likes of 'Time' magazine have sang of the benefits of meditation. Silent sittings help you to get used to watching your thoughts as a spectator and not get wrapped up in them. Negative thinking leads to depression and function failure. Meditation can teach you to disallow your emotional responses to be controlled by your thoughts. Have you ever sat in a room and when you looked at the clock, the hours had been swallowed up and you were so lost in your negative thoughts that you didn't realise, and then you feel down hearted and depressed? Meditation can help prevent that. I have studied meditation with Buddhist monks. The idea of sitting in silence may seem absurd to some , but truth is that when all of the distractions are taken away i.e. Television, radio, computer games etc then you place yourself into a situation where you have to see the clutter you have stored inside your mind. There's no escape. At first, the brain will throw everything at you. My first time meditations were hell but in time, the

waves settled and now I get a deep meditation and the benefits to mind and body have been extraordinary. For those who struggle with silence, another effective meditation technique is Lifeflow, using recordings of natural rhythms. Lifeflow was created by a fellow named micheal mackenzie who used to suffer anger issues. Meditation sorted that out and he was so impressed that he invested thousands into the latest technology and produced some of the best meditation packages on the market. These recordings can easily be accessed on the internet and loaded onto an Ipod or MP3 player, and some are free. The results can be remarkable but you have to apply yourself. Even a fifteen minute session of meditation applied once a day can bring great benefits. Like I mentioned earlier, application is important. Noone ever fell onto a mountain. And finally 6) Spend time with the people who you like and with those who support your efforts and want to see the best for you. Hang out with people who are doing what it is that you are aiming to achieve and learn from them. Spend time with friends. Dont become selfish and self absorbed. It's not all about you. Take an interest in what others do and who they are. You can learn so much from people if you spend time asking questions and listening to the answers. Being with friends and the ones you love is important for an-all-round balance, but its also important to take some time for yourself. Go and sit by a waterfall or walk in the forest. Be alone and in the moment. Meditation/silent sitting in Nature can be a very powerful experience. Try not to think about the past. Try not to think about the future. Try to stay in the present moment and just 'Be'. I've found that a combination of these six helps maintain and healthy balanced body and mind and leads to self improvement and life improvements all round. Of course there's the obvious, watch what you eat, be careful what you read (books are mind food), some say be careful what you watch i.e. movies and TV (Do soap operas plant negative thoughts into viewers?) but at the end of the day, what you do is up to you but if you want to help yourself, then you have to be sensible and recognise what could be feeding the negativity and then remedy that. Negativity is the wall between you and making your dreams come true. I think moderation is the key to most things but if you suffer low periods and you can see things that contribute to lowering your self esteem, then cut them out and replace whatever they are with something healthier. Seek what inspires you.

Shivam Shivoham is a signmaker and writer serving the communities of Carmarthenshire. Should you wish to respond to this article or employ his services as a signmaker then he can be contacted by email on shivohamsigns@gmail.com or telephone/text mobile 0790 567 0123.

Inspiration over Education

Bob marley, the now famous reggae artist was once interviewed by a journalist who asked him, 'Where were you educated?' Bob marley smiled and replied, 'Me and my people, we never got education, we got inspiration. If I'd have got education, I'd be a damned fool'. I never really appreciated Bob Marley's songwriting until I saw that interview and it changed my whole perception of the man and his music. And I agree. Inspiration is greater than education. Inspiration has made the world a much more colourful place. There's a story about Picasso when he were a young man. Young Picasso approached a carpenter and asked him to make a cabinet as a gift for a friend. The carpenter instructed Picasso to make a drawing showing the specifications for height, width, depth etc and so Picasso went away and one week later came back and presented the carpenter with a series of line drawings on a piece of paper. The carpenter studied the piece of paper and nodded his head. ' I can make this for you but it will take a few days.' He said. Picasso thanked him and asked how much it would cost. ' Just sign the drawing and let me have it. That will be payment enough'. Faith. Many people could see that Picasso would one day become great and they showed that admiration by supporting him. Those drawings on that piece of paper are now worth thousands. And that carpenter was glad to see Picasso become the artist he believed he would, and that his support for the young artist was a worthy investment. Not necessarily because of the value attached to the drawing but because of the respect he had developed for the young artist himself. On the scale of things, materiality isn't that important. I have few material things of real value and nothing that couldn't easily be replaced should it go missing. The last materialistic thing I ever let go of that had a hold on me was a lock of my fathers hair that I kept after his death. After a few months of keeping it with me on my travels, I passed it into the flames of a fire in the back garden of a community house (A ritual of detatchment from a deep pain within.) It was time to let go. I was holding on to something material to hold on to his memory, but what I realised was that the lock of hair was material, whereas my father's memory would live in my heart forever. And it has. His memory is still with me now. Material things are temporary convenient comforts. Its not wise to become too attatched to them. They can, however, serve as great affirming aids and reaffirming tools. I have a little altar that I set up in every place I stay. On it, I have some photos, sketches, beads, candles and some incence. The simplicity of incence and candlelight ( I really like nag-champa joss-sticks and hollyberry or holiday bayberry scented candles), good music ('Under the iron sea' by Keane and 'The prayer cycle' by Jonathan Elias or Ravi Shankar on the Sitar), interesting books (I highly recommend 'Lust for life' by Irving Stone combined with 'Vincent by Himself' to experience the story of Vincent Van Gogh), a few large cushions to stretch out and relax on, and some photos to look at...simple things. I tend to look at

photos of things I foresee for my life, such as landscapes of places I'd like to visit. And then there's photos of past achievements and of people I have met that remind me of the joys of the journey. I kept a photo of a painting by Domenikos Theotokopoulos (El Greco) for a number of years. It was one he painted of a place in Toledo in Spain. Some years later, I found myself standing infront of the real scene that inspired El Greco to do the painting. It was incredible. I have a photo of an Argentinian mastiff that I love to look at. One day I will own one. Photographs can be incredible reaffirming aids to see you on your way. But still, I am aware that they are only material things and I dont allow myself to get too attached them. They are just reminders to keep me on track and to help me maintain a positive and optimistic attitude. 'Things' dont really mean much to me. People and their welfare will always be more important than 'things'. I get really frustrated and sad when I experience people who attack other people who are trying to make dreams come true. They place limitations on others based on their own failings or on the fact that they feel threatened that others will do better than them and rather than help, they aim to see them fail in every way they can. Gossip is usually their most powerful weapon. Backstabbing has seen the end to many a dream. Those people will try to make it difficult for you to advance in life driven by their own selfishness. Ghandi once said, 'First they'll ignore you, then they'll laugh at you, then they'll want to fight you and then you win'. He didn't mean by raising his fists. He meant by disarming people with friendship. Its a test. See your way to a victory. 'You've got to use the rocks that other people throw at you to build your house'

Being artistic can break boundaries too.

Exhibiting paintings can attract the most unsual oppurtunities offered by the most unusual people. People who invest an active interest in art and the creative spirit are usually quite eccentric and personally, I adore eccentricity. I like to meet people who are different from the mainstream. Some years back, I was painting a mural in a bar area of a backpackers hostel in a city in Spain. There were many people coming and going and i met many South Americans, Europeans, Canadians, Americans and all else. One person who really stood out to me was a Japanese man named Shibutani Yuki. He was Always cracking jokes and telling stories. One of his favourite toasts was to raise a glass and say 'Milk is for babies. Beer is for men'. It always makes me smile to think about him. There was an incident he shared with me that branded into memory. He had been away from home and travelling in Europe for some time. He was missing home and one particular day hit him hard because it was his mother's birthday and he was here, miles away from her in Madrid. He went to an internet cafe to check his email and when he did, there was a letter from her in the inbox. When he opened it, it read 'Thank you for allowing me to give birth to such a wonderful baby'. Yuki cried his heart out. He cried in the cafe. He cried when he left the cafe and in momentous bursts, he cried as he walked the streets to make his way back to the hostel.

That's Love. Love is a beautiful thing. One evening I had been painting all day and late into the evening at the hostel. Yuki came to me with a bottle of wine so I locked the bar room doors and we sat and shared a few glasses of red. Our conversation directed into the topic of spirit, and of God, and of life, and there were very deep and inspiring sharings from both sides. He related a quote to me that he translated from a book by a writer called kenyi miyasawa. The quote went like this, 'Walk against the wind. Walk against the rain. When a man is dying in the west, go west and tell him that dying is not what he should be worrying about'. I will leave it to you to work out your own meaning of it. All I will say is that the older I get, and the more experience I have had of life, the more I understand and appreciate the quote. Making a dream come true is similar to the process of an artist creating a painting. First its an idea in minds-eye (inspiration), then comes the preliminary sketches (application), then the brush touches the canvas and the paint starts to form a picture (resourcefulness - to use what materials are available) and eventually that idea that was given birth to in mindseye is a reality. And more often than not, people react to a good painting and want to know more about the artist and so, many good painters have their own following and that following grows. The three keywords here are Inspiration, Application and Resourcefulness. Apply yourself driven by your inspiration and be resourceful and you will get results. Guaranteed. After many years of nomadic travel as an artist and signmaker, people always ask me which was the best place. Hands down, I would have to say Norway. I consider it one of the most beautiful countries in the world and it has something for everyone.

Shivam Shivoham is a signmaker and writer serving the communities of Carmarthenshire. Should you wish to respond to this article or employ his services as a signmaker then he can be contacted by email on shivohamsigns@gmail.com or telephone/text mobile 0790 567 0123.

This week, on the train from Paddington to Llandovery I picked up a newspaper and in it was a beautiful photograph of a dog standing in lake water with a stick in its mouth. To the left of that was a photo of an old lady. The article relating to the photos told of two pest control officers who, for the sake of amusement, baited bits of bread with a poison called ficom w. The men stole it from their workplace. They then sprinkled it in the park during lunchbreaks and killed over 90 wild birds and an old lady's German shepherd setter cross. My stomach ached as I read about how that nasty prank caused so much suffering in nature and how it was responsible for the ugly death of an old lady's pet companion of five years. She was devastated and described how the dog suffered through convulsion and sickness. It was an unnecessary ugly end to a beautiful animal. I often meditate on nature. In doing so I connect with nature's source. Where we come from. The source. I can only connect to it if I'm 'aware of it'. So many people are

disconnected from nature these days and yet we are all interconnected in so many ways to nature (if you don't believe me, go on the internet and read the value that bees and trees have on the well being of humans. Without bees and trees, we wouldnt be alive today!!). Theres a story that was relayed to me some years ago, about a boy who was wandering in a forest in a rural part of Wales. On this particular day a fire had broken out in the forest and the boy came upon a group of men looking up into a tree. The tree was in flames. The boy asked, 'What is it you are looking at?' 'You see up there?' one of the men pointed, 'At the top of the tree there's a nest full of chicks. We can't reach then to save them. The flames are climbing the branches too fast'. The boy looked up and saw the chicks in the nest, crying out to their mother. The mother bird was circling in the sky above and just as the flames reached the nest, she swooped down, covering the chicks with her wings. At that moment the nest, the chicks and the mother bird were burned to ashes. The boy turned to the men and said 'What you have just seen is a miracle'. 'How so?' asked one of the men. 'Well' said the boy,' If nature can put that much love into a heart as small as that of a bird, how much love could nature place into a heart as large as that of a man'. Nature is full of lessons and I believe all of the answers we seek about life and death can be learned from becoming aware of nature. Theres an age old story of an elderly man who used to walk along the beach every morning, catching the freshness of the morning air. One day he saw a boy seemingly dancing in the distance. As the man got closer, he saw that the boy wasn't dancing on the sand but he was picking up starfish and tossing them back into the sea. 'What are you doing?' the old man asked the boy. 'Well sir' the boy answered, 'These starfish have been washed up by the ocean and they're going to dry up in the heat of the sun and die, so I'm throwing them back into the ocean to keep them alive'. The old man was perplexed. 'But there are hundreds of starfish strewn along the shore, surely what you are doing wouldn't make any difference?' The boy picked up a starfish and launched it into the ocean. 'It made a difference to that one' he said. The old man and the boy spent that day saving the lives of starfish. Nature needs us now. Animals need our protection. Nature needs our help, so that it can continue to support us. Please learn what you can, and then do what you can. Shivam Shivoham is a signmaker and writer serving Carmarthenshire. If you would like to respond to this article or contact him then he can be emailed on shivamshivoham@gmail.com or telephone/text mobile 0790 567 0123.