So, since my last journal, it seems that I'm going to be single for the foreseeable future. Obviously this has not put me in the best of moods, and so even little things have been setting me off.

I thought I'd cheer myself up with a Wii, seeing as I'd been planning on getting one for a while; one of the notable things about it is that you can use BBC iPlayer. I found a Natural World programme about the Himalayas available (you can watch it here until the 10th of September, if you're in the UK), and figured it'd be a good one to watch as I'm interested in nature as well as having connections to the region -- obviously it's one of the only areas where snow leopards are now found in the wild, and that area also encompasses Tibet, a land that has ties to my spiritual beliefs. (There's a little bit more about that in the description for this commission.)

Snow leopards featured quite heavily, though so did wolves; apparently the wolves of that region are from a very old bloodline compared to those found in more western regions. I initially misunderstood a line in the commentary and thought they were saying snow leopards and wolves worked together; this idea, mistaken as it was, hit rather close to home as of course my recently ex-partner balkor is a wolf.

The rest of the programme was beautifully shot, if somewhat sad. The whole area is quite bleak, and yet (to paraphrase the narrator) it fosters a surprising degree of biodiversity and cooperation between animals, both in family and other social groups. I often feel quite isolated, myself, and lacking in these kind of close relationships. I don't get on badly with my family, but I lack much face-to-face social contact.

Another troubling piece of information was that the Himalayas are experiencing climate change to a greater degree than any other part of the world except the poles, and many of the plants and animals unique to the region are under threat. While there is a lot of conservation work underway, due to the severe environmental conditions in the region it is exceptionally difficult.

Another thing that stood out is the kind of stark spirituality of the region. As I mentioned already, Tibet is in the Himalayas, and home to several major branches of Buddhism; but even more simply expressed things had that feeling to them: a number of images of prayer flags (including some on top of Everest), the beautiful Mount Kailash, even in the graceful movement of the snow leopard itself.

It gave me a lot to think about, and a number of beautiful images stayed in my mind. The programme made me rather sad though about how this area is being eroded from the world, and I think I share the feeling with a number of furs that life as an animal might be, if not better, then certainly shorn of a great many of the complications of modern life.