So it looks like I've survived swine flu for the time being at least. There are plenty of blogs which talk about the way the media play things up and how something like swine flu can be used by the govt. as an excuse for removing the remaining civil rights we have so I won't bore you, or me, with that here.

One thing that was really cool about being ill was the minor reminder of impermanence and suffering. When you are acutely aware of your own inevitable death as something other than an abstract reality, there is a possibility of real focus and genuine renunciation.

I've noticed I don't get really angry much these days. Various things, mostly relating to activism, have happened this week which would normally make me rage a bit. But instead they have given insights into the complex phenomena which came together to make them happen. And then watching other people rage over them and get upset gives way to empathy and compassion.

At some point I will write a vaguely readable blog again. The fact nobody reads any of this does not make me less self-conscious about putting this stuff here.