Muse...

(picture taken of Bucktown by me, in Chicago)

{Muse}
-To consider something thoughtfully-

And so begins a new series where every Monday, I'll share some sort of inspirational thought. Mondays need this sort of thing, I think. 

“Don’t be pushed by your problems. Be led by your dreams.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

This is certainly something I will be thinking about this week. Too often I let my problems be the main focus of my life. I let them determine how I plan my days; how I act in different circumstances. But no longer! It's time for a change. From now on, I will work on planning my days around things that make me feel appreciative, breathless, and captivated. And I will focus on the positives. Because there are many. I will live in the moment and be led by God, my personal values, and my passions.

The hand that signed the paper...

The hand that signed the paper felled a city;

Five sovereign fingers taxed the breath,

Doubled the globe of dead and halved a country;

These five kings did a king to death.

The mighty hand leads to a sloping shoulder,

The finger joints are cramped with chalk;

A goose’s quill has put an end to murder

That put an end to talk.

The hand that signed the treaty bred a fever,

And famine grew, and locusts came;

Great is the hand that holds dominion over

Man by a scribbled name.

The five kings count the dead but do not soften

The crusted wound nor stroke the brow;

A hand rules pity as a hand rules heaven;

Hands have no tears to flow.

~Dylan Thomas

This is one of my favorite poems. And Dylan Thomas is one of my favorite poets. (That is a picture of his poetry workspace above).  Don't worry, I'm not going to go all 'English class' on you. Poetry, in a general sense, is not my thing. However, I do have a few favorites: Dylan Thomas, John Clare, William Wordsworth, and William Blake.

The poem above is a bit different from the others that Dylan Thomas has written. Its more direct rather than abstract, meaning that more people are able to grasp its meaning. Which I believe is very important because this poem is about something very important.

I loved this poem even before I discovered my intense passion for politics and governments. And, I think this is one of the best poems written about politics. It's just as applicable to the political situation now, as it was when it was written. The best line is (in my opinion) "Great is the hand that holds dominion over Man by a scribbled name." Thomas reminds us what a great responsibility it is to hold so much power over others. These days, I think it's almost impossible not to abuse that power in some way. Some countries just do it more obviously than others. And whether the world is going to change for better or for worse, I think its important to be aware of the consequences of our actions. So please, dont just read this poem:  remember it.

Refresh...

(This is a picture of the pathway I took to get to an old Roman amphitheater ruin in the Swiss countryside.)

Oh, life and how it gets away from me. After a short trip to Switzerland, I'm officially back from my internship at the Scottish Parliament. As always, it was weird getting back into the swing of things, but I moved into my new apartment this last weekend and I finally feel set.

I also feel set with school now too. I was crazy busy right after getting back because I had to finish my internship classes. That meant a lot of essay writing and editing, including a 22-page policy recommendation paper on "Nuclear Disarmament in an Independent Scotland." I made up the topic. And I loved it. I also got an A on it. I'm pretty much legit. So now that I'm caught up with my 3 new spring classes, I can focus on getting a job. Too bad I can definitely guarantee it wont be as awesome as my job back in Edinburgh...

As you may have noticed, I renovated my blog. I really needed to do it and I love the way it's turned out. It feels clean, simple, and fresh - the way I want to live my life right now.  I hope to be back blogging more often. Well no, I don't hope, I commit to actually doing it. And for simplicities sake, if you want to get updates about when I have a new post, put your email in that little space at the end of the right column and hit submit.

So for now, this ^ lovely campus is where you'll find me, especially on the 2nd floor in the library. I hope to visit Boise sooner rather than later and spend time with all my family and friends that I haven't seen since the beginning of the year. Also, I need to get them their souvenirs soon or else I will end up eating all their Scottish shortbread and Swiss chocolate I brought back. And I wouldn't want to do that...

In which I make you fall in love with Edinburgh...

I've been to a lot of cities in Europe. I used to think Prague was my favorite but then Paris overtook Prague. I know it sounds cliche to love Paris so much but my goodness...it truly deserves every song sang, book written, and movie made about it.

Dont you agree?
As much as I loved Paris however, it did not hold the top spot for very long. It very quickly lost out to Edinburgh. It was a losing battle really, ever since I stepped out of the Edinburgh airport. A month after I arrived in Edinburgh, I left and went to Paris and London...it was after I came back that I realized how much I was in love with Edinburgh. I also believe its the best city in the UK. I love everything British, really, I do. The other cities I've been to in Britain really have been great but they're not as entirely filled to the brim with beauty, history, and Britishness (yes, I did just make that a word) as Edinburgh.

Edinburgh has a dark look about it. Its all stone, windy roads, misty fog, small alleys, and mossy cemeteries. You can feel the history. The city has the same layout and most of the same buildings as it did in the 1800's. My building below, for example, was built in 1876.

You can see that they look very similar. Most of the buildings in this city are the close to the same height. So when you get up a hill, you look over the city and all you see are a ton of lovely stone buildings with chimneys and then church spires. I absolutely love it. The population is about 450,000 people. So its not a huge city with tons of people in it but it still manages to have a 'big city' feel about it.

It can be easy to forget that Edinburgh is a costal city, right on the edge of the North Sea. The beaches are beautiful, even if they aren't exactly warm. And the water's blue.  Then there's Arthurs Seat and the Salisbury Crags...

Isn't it unbelievably beautiful? Arthur's Seat is actually an extinct volcano and it lies right in the middle of the city. I've noticed that the colors of the city match the colors of Arthur's seat. The stones used for the buildings is similar to the color of the stone of the Crags (cliffs) while the different colors of green and moss are everywhere in the city...on trees, on the buildings, on railings, and of course, the ground.

Rain. We must talk rain. This is a city in Britain we're talking about.

I'm a firm believer that rain makes everything look more beautiful. And there's a different atmosphere, more serious, more dramatic. The colors are darker and deeper; saturated and not washed out. Everything glistens because the raindrops and wet surfaces reflect light. I've never seen a city come more into its own than Edinburgh in the rain.

This is the Scottish Parliament. I love this building. Its crazy, literally mad...but I love it. I tend to think this is what happens when Edinburgh tries to be modern. Have you ever heard that quote that goes something like, "Show me someone's greatest weakness and I will show you his greatest strength.' Well yea, think really hard about that...and how it applies to this situation...ha...ha.

Last of all, I must talk about the people of Edinburgh. Yea, I'm pretty sure they're like the nicest in Europe. Or at least they appear that way because they are so unbelievably charming! Seriously, you can only be called lassie, love, or madam so many times before your heart begins to entirely melt. You can only have so many doors opened, so many directions kindly given, and so many smiles directed at you before you're sucked in and start to feel your heart brimming with love for these people.

I truly love Edinburgh. I could not have ever dreamed this city treating me better than it has. Of course, I wish I didn't have to leave; I'm finding it really rather heartbreaking. Though, I can tell you that I will certainly be back one day.

~Brea

Highly notable honorable mentions:  The Royal Mile, Edinburgh Castle, the kilts and bagpipes, and Calton Hill.

Only in the United Kingdom...

Here is a list of things that I have found you can only do, or things that can only happen, in the UK:

• Trip down the stairs of a double-decker.
• Find an intersection where each corner has a church older than the 1900's.
• Buy pasties. Sad because I really like them. (Btw, no, they're not what you're thinking and yes, you are saying it wrong.)
• Delivery guys walk instead of driving around in a car.
• Walk down a street with four different names.
• Live in a flat building that was built in 1876...without it being in the historical district.
• Be casually walking around and randomly find a plaque with the name Tom Riddle on it.
• Offered a handkerchief for your tears at church.
• Get kissed by a random Irish guy.
• Frequently find actual clouds, not only in the bathroom but the in kitchen as well.
• Give some woman a double-take because you thought they looked like JK Rowling...three different times in the same day.

Disclaimer: Some of these may not be entirely unique to the UK, but these are some experiences I've definitely never had until coming here.