Biography
Hi, I'm Sylvia. I live on beautiful Vancouver Island in Beautiful British Columbia, Canada. In my former life I was an ecologist, but since coming down with a very determined case of myalgic encephalomyelitis, I now have quite a bit of time on my hands. What to do? Blog, of course!
Sister Earth is where I blog (infrequently) about the things closest to my heart: nature, Christianity, Daoism, and peace. It’s all about harmony for me—harmony with nature, harmony with others, harmony with the universe. I’ve been seeking harmony since I was a child, first through the books of Tom Brown, Jr., which taught me that harmony with nature is possible. In young adulthood I encountered Daoism and its physical expression, taijiquan (t’ai chi ch’uan), which taught me new ways to achieve harmony with self, others, and nature. Finally, my quest for harmony landed me quite unexpectedly in the Roman Catholic Church, vessel of the most radical form of harmony: love your enemies. Any one of these—nature, Daoism, Christianity—would be enough for a lifetime of growth and sustenance. I am deeply grateful to have been led to all three.
I am also grateful to have been given a love of learning and a love of books. This is what I share on my other blog, Classical Bookworm. I am particularly interested in learning more about the things I missed out on as a science student, namely the arts and humanities. My plan is to study history, art, music, and literature of all kinds chronologically and concurrently, starting at the beginning of human civilization. Learning is a joy for me, and I can’t think of anything else I’d rather do with my time.
When I’m not reading, blogging, or reading blogs, I enjoy a quiet life in the forest with, among other mammals, two adorable Rottweilers and an extremely fluffy cat. As an INTJ, I enjoy making impossible plans and then making new plans when I realize the old plans are impossible. Live without a plan? Impossible!
Chess
Inspired by Susan Polgar and her sisters, I started playing chess in December 2007. If you'd like a game, challenge me at The Immortal Game.
Myalgic encephalomyelitis (M.E.; also known as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome) is a chronic, incurable, disabling disease that weakens just about every system in the body, particularly the muscles, the brain, and the immune system. It is classified as a neurological disorder and recent research suggests that it may be caused by a virus that originated in animals and jumped the species barrier. The symptoms of M.E. include overwhelming exhaustion, post-exertional malaise, sleep dysfunction, muscle and/or joint pain, and cognitive dysfunction (especially confusion, difficulty concentrating, and short-term memory loss). Where was I? Oh yes. There are no effective treatments available now, and spontaneous recovery rates are very low.
The symptoms of M.E. vary in severity between people and over time. Some people are confined to bed while others are able to work as long as someone else is doing all the housework. I am somewhere in the middle, unable to work but able to take care of myself as long as I am careful. By ruthlessly streamlining my lifestyle I am able to minimize my symptoms and have some energy left over for low-energy hobbies. I was quite active and athletic before my illness so the change in my lifestyle has been drastic, but luckily I am also naturally introverted and know how to entertain myself, so being partially house-bound is not as difficult for me as it is for extroverts with this disease. I'd be lost without the internet, though!
Sylvialand is meant to be a safe place for the exchange of ideas and for friendly social interaction. Any comments that are disrespectful (to anyone), spammish, troll-like, or creepy, will be edited or deleted without notice or appeal. Play nice, everyone.
