It’s one of those things that I contemplate almost everyday… How best to live my life?
Our ancestors lived in a very different world but I firmly believe they had a greater contact with self and others on a community, family and spiritual level. We live in a materialistic world that has forgotten that value for the most part…
I hope you enjoy this poem, composed as I dwelt on this very issue… Blessings /|\
In the time it takes me to have a tea break and tap out a thought or two, I can be fairly certain that someone I know is also planning their next conversation, business meeting, tête à tête or maybe even a blog post.
“So what?”, I hear you ask… After all, I know a lot of people.
I am also certain that those people are, in the most part, positive and constructive individuals. In fact I choose my friends, acquaintances and business partners wisely, and yet subconsciously, in many cases.
However, there are those few, with far less than positive intentions, that manage to get inside my circle.
They are not there for long, but from time to time they get close. But something always happens… They catch their feet on my metaphorical trip wire and the empty tin cans clang from the branches in my mind.
I see their behaviour, I hear their words… I observe from a distance. My guard dogs also hear the clang and they swarm around me in preparation for a standoff. But this is not a physical battle front, this is their tactical, strategic manoeuvre and it has taken some thought and planning on their part.
So, how to respond? Unleash the dogs? Turn a blind eye or even turn the proverbial other-cheek?
People are somewhat predictable… and without the use of a single system of divination I trust that ‘Life’ will deal with them in a suitably fitting manner. So… I choose to do nothing, knowing that this choice, in itself, is doing something.
Invariably, in my own experience, ‘Life’ does teach it’s lessons… I like my own lessons to be positive, evolving and fulfilling by keeping this in mind.
Brightest blessings and may your lives be filled with those that foster friendship, love and compassion /|\
I mentioned in my post ‘They’re Only clouds…‘ that I enjoy capturing beautiful moments in my life, holding those memories for recall when I need it most.
One example of this is the peaceful, serenity of a hilltop… When I’m standing in the strong winds looking down on a valley I feel a perspective shift that allows me the freedom to think more creatively and objectively about life’s challenges. I love to spend time living these moments in the Peaks and Lakes of England, and the Hills and Mountains of Wales and Scotland…
Then, when I need clarity… I close my eyes and feel the strong winds once more.
Below is a Tanka that briefly expresses this.
Blessings all /|\
Birds Eye
My feet stride the path
Upward to the hills zenith
Dwelling out of time
High and Free with graceful hawk
Life below seen clear and bright
It’s that time again… But not for my favourite hot beverage. Preparation for the Mercian Gathering is now underway and I should have a nice stock for the hearth fire chats 😉
Happy days…
Haiku, No Typhoo
Flowers picked in bloom,
The demi-john emerges,
Elderflower Wine!
Bright blessings /|\
I recently replied to the question posted on Facebook, “Where are your Happy places?”. This took some considerable thought as I live in an almost relentless wave of happiness so I had so many ‘places’ I could name.
However, one such place may seem at first glance to be a rather morbid venue for bathing in the warmth of love, security, belonging and yes… Happiness. And, that place is my local cemetary.
It is without a doubt one of the most peaceful, if considerably (and favourably in my opinion) reclaimed by nature, places in the area and it always blesses me with the gift of relaxing with the wildlife that dwell there… I wrote this poem a while ago that endeavours to put into words, one such visit… I hope you enjoy it.
Blessings /|\
Treading the Bones of Ancestors
Bright rays shine through the needles of the great pine,
Scattering flashes over the ground as if ripples reflected on a turbulent sea,
The cool breeze moves slowly past me,
Continuing on to gently wave the grass and wild flowers.
Resting places of long departed souls embraced by the vibrancy of nature,
Forgotten by humankind but watched over ever vigilantly by others,
A rich repertoire of stories recounting messages of love and loss,
Buried now, except to those who peek under blankets of creeping moss.
The quiet is disturbed briefly as an old Yew shakes,
A small deer ventures into the sunlight cautiously checking the air,
I watch and listen… Still… Silent…
The deer, now relaxed, begins grazing amongst the stones.
As I continue to simply ‘be’ here, I feel honoured to form part of the landscape,
The pace of life is shifted, slowing as our spirits touch and blend,
My human mind throwing off the shackles of time, if only briefly,
Treasuring each passing instant, I breathe and smile.
I return to the path as the deer returns to the Yew,
The crow calls a farewell and I nod in acknowledgment,
Thanking those that form the tales of our past,
Whilst I slowly drift back to my present.
I’m on yet another train…
Travelling along the top of the beautiful Peak District national park. The beautiful landscapes are there and gone in a second and appear to go completely unnoticed by the passengers. Rushed phone calls and agitated business conversations fill the air in the carriage. I wrote the poem below a couple of years ago on a journey up to a speaking gig in Newcastle… Still appropriate here I think…
Train Journeys
Green with coloured flecks blur, like strokes of a brush my figure,
Trees and pylons moving slowly in my ground,
A wash of yellow rapeseed plants paint the scene,
But, by our mechanical din, the pheasant’s call is drowned.
So fast we pass through with no time to spare,
Calling, texting, emailing, the important things,
Deadlines to meet, work to complete,
Scared of what tomorrow may bring.
But what of tomorrow when today is unseen,
Missing life and love through blind agendas,
Fear not the unknown and embrace in the now,
Look outside, to the message life sends us.
Bright Blessings /|\
The more I ponder reality and my own spiritual development, the more I begin to realise the infinite possibilities hidden behind a seemingly never ending torrent of restrictions. This was the inspiration for the following.
Imagine
Imagine…
A circle with no edge,
A square with no corners,
A day with no hours,
A life with no death,
A you with no ‘I’,
A soul with no limit,
Spirit that ‘is’ and ‘is not’.
Imagine…
Yesterday the sun was burning down on the garden here in East England… People everywhere were preparing for a weekend of roasting their skin in the hot UV rays. But it wasn’t to be…
Those same people awoke today and glanced through the curtains only to be confronted by the pitter-patter of rain on the window sills. Their day shattered, they weep into their pillows as they return to bed.
But not me… Yesterday the Trees and the Plants, as well as us, had the chance to absorb some glorious warm energy from the sun and today, treat of treats, we can enjoy the cooling rain. Nothing like a summer shower to invigorate and refresh you…
So here I sit, staring out of the window… Watching the serpentine raindrops writhe their way down the window, each drop building strength as others combine. “Oh please, let there be thunder…”, my inner child whispers.
Just under my nose the steam from my tea cup rises with the aromatic note of a very wonderful ‘grey’ day… Earl Grey day 😉
Bright, if a little damp, blessings /|\
As I stroll through life, either metaphorically or literally I try my best to take moments of beauty that present themselves and hold those moments… Like a snap shot, reminding me of the awe and wonder of life. A repository of images and sounds stored away in my own private library… a source of peace, of serenity when I need it most.
I could be worrying about my next job or how I’m going to pay that bill… But instead I choose to gaze upward, toward the towering expanse gathering overhead… A mix of elements combining, preparing to nourish the Earth… and there beginning another magical cycle that hold the potential for more magical moments.
But… They’re only clouds… nothing special…
Pagan Tea Break 