Faith

Much has changed in me since my last post. I have reflected on a lot of things in my life and taken steps to change those things that are no longer helpful to me. As a result of this; relationships have been strengthened, other relationships have fallen to the side and naturally gone their own way. My work has expanded into new areas, my health, fitness and motivation has improved and most importantly I have gained perspective, set some goals and become inspired to work on my positivity. Whilst doing all this I have travelled to two countries and been inspired to be better in lots of different ways. The following poem is about faith and being able to let go of those things that no longer serve your purpose. Remember that when something leaves your life, something else always moves into that space!

Let it Be

Let it fall-
As sand seeps quietly through
the fingertips,
I cling fast;
Yet quicker still it grabs it's freedom.

Let the sun set-
For I cannot desire it's light,
It will shine yet another day;
But for now it rests above a
quilt of cloud.
It's secret kingdom.

Let the moon hide-
It's silver only tarnishes my
hopes,
Better to not bear witness to
it's metallic hue;
For melancholy thrives in greys
of shade.

Let me be-
For stillness speaks,
And this voice will carry me past
these troubled waters;
Moulded from faith,
All is well,
And this is - but a dream.

LB

Driftwood

There comes a time in life where everything starts to feel very comfortable; work is good, relationships are built, one has become adept at managing every aspect of their life. And we are happy with the constancy of it all. But! There is always a 'but'. This 'but' comes before a nagging sense of frustration or dissatisfaction that one is not excelling in life, and has become accustomed to compromise. If our life suddenly brings forth some challenge, we are distracted by this for a while and forget these nagging feelings of frustration until everything is once again in a place of peace. Then those feelings once more appear. The answer to this, would of course be to stay in the present moment - always! remain non-judgemental towards yourself and others, stay true to your self, appreciate everything, find sources of inspiration, stay connected to your true desires and action your intentions! Easier said than done, but we have a lifetime to practice!



Driftwood

Like a piece of driftwood,
I am afloat.
Still - upon the river,
The canvas changes before my eyes.
Hypnotised - by the moving picture,
Seasons pass by; from shade to shade
not stormy eye, nor summer's glade
Can make me reign,
My life drawn in
Until I am nudged - to wake again.

LB

,

Change

 'Without fear, then courage doesn't exist.'

Change can be difficult, because the unknown is scary! And some of us would rather stay in a negative and draining life situation (a job we don't like, an injury that prevents us living life fully etc) rather than allow and action new opportunities that present themselves, to bring colour and regeneration into our lives. And those new opportunities are always there waiting in the wings, if only we would open our eyes to them! But change represents a personal growth in ourselves; which in turn has an indirect effect on those around us. We can become masters or experts in resisting change, creating imaginative and intricate justifications within ourselves, that can become as powerful as to make us ill or fatigued. And sometimes the people closest to us can unconsciously challenge any change within you, because indirectly they are nudged into their own reflections. Be aware of the resistance within yourself and lovingly let this state of awareness lead to a softening, which will in turn allow things to flow.


The Shedding of The Skin

The shedding of the skin;
Begins when one is ready -
It requires a humble space
Where time is made available -
For it's desiderata.

Shifting and squirming,
Can be done with dignity -
In the quiet of the cocoon, but;
Do not despair - for I am but all
and the same,
With the shedding of a layer,
No longer required.

Should people proffer help,
One can get stuck between the
Old and the new;
Unable to take courage and drive
It's momentum.
We are half in and half out;
The added burden of -
transformation unfulfilled.

LB

Fear

'to fear or not to fear'

'Kent Davidsson' explores the concept of fear in some detail in his articles published on the net. He considers how society encourages us to heavily judge, ignore or deny our fears and this in turn creates more fear. Where there is fear, there is no love! This is an interesting concept, for if light and darkness cannot co-exist in the same energy space of an individual's emotional body, neither can fear and love. The dark, dense energy space of fear blocks our loving potential and the only way through it, is to get into that space fully (as uncomfortable as that might be!) and embrace our fear. Like a loving parent who loves unconditionally and non-judgementally; by doing this we are coming from a place of self acceptance.

'that is the paradox of fear. It negates love, yet will persist until it is loved'

So the path to handling fear is to come from a state of unconditional, loving self acceptance. This might sound easy, but we have been conditioned throughout our life to dump huge amounts of negative feelings onto ourselves when feeling fearful (guilt, blame, shame etc) and it takes careful awareness and persistency at mastering this skill. But it is worth doing, because when fear is handled in this way, then the fear is healed and released and not contained in the body.

We must love our fear unconditionally as we do the emotion of love, and then we are not controlled by the state of fear. We have the choice to face and overcome our painful emotions and not avoid them. This is the path of growth, and growth is necessary throughout our journey in life. The greater the resistance, the more intense the desire that it creates.

Beautifully put:

'it is nearly impossible to imagine our fully healed states - just as a caterpillar can't imagine itself as a butterfly'

Below is a poem by Hart Crane:

Fear

The host, he says that all is well
And the fire-wood glow is bright;
The food has a warm and tempting smell, -
But on the window licks the night.

Pile on the logs...Give me your hands,
Friends! No, - it is not fright...
But hold me...somewhere I heard demands...
And on the window licks the night.

Hart Crane


Don't Open the Door!

Don't open the door,
You know who it is.
Slide it open an inch,
And it will slime it's way in.
Thick, oppressive black smoke,
Shrouded in doubts.
It'll push you to the corner,
And never let you out!


Don't open the door,
For you won't like your guest.
He'll eat all your food,
And sleep in your bed.
He'll fatten on doubts,
And breathe through your fears.
He'll grow into a monster,
That'll live inside you for years!

LB

Mouse

I arrived home from work the other week to find a dead field mouse on my living room floor. It was a perfectly, beautiful sandy coloured mouse with dark grey eyes. I immediately felt a sense of overwhelming sadness and reverence, that it had died at the cruel, but natural nature of my pet cats. My cats were very proud of their success and positively strutted around the appartment for a week afterwards! (they are indoor cats and only had the opportunity to kill flies and the occasional spider previously.) Anyway, I felt disgusted that they had obviously tortured the poor creature to death and have included 'Thomas' poem below, which captures the essence of how a little girl felt upon the death of a bird.

Snow

In the gloom of whiteness,
And the great silence of snow,
A child was sighing
And bitterly saying: 'Oh,
They have killed a white bird up there on her nest,
The down is fluttering from her breast!'
And still it fell through that dusky brightness
On the child crying for the bird of the snow.

Edward Thomas


A Mouse

Nature is such, whether cruel or
just.
You have no need for me, but my
soul -

A plaything I am to you:
But your greed would have me,
a while longer.

The lion in me is the mouse, and
the mouse - the lion;
Fearful and brave, in differing
amounts.

Reverence! you have not, for
these things.
Your very nature is satiated, by
my suffering - justly so.

Longing, longing - to drift
I am not doing you well.
Sorry - but not much longer now;
There; my last breath...

LB

Metamorphosis

Metamorphosis is a miraculous process, whereby an insect or animal transforms from one form to another i.e. caterpillar to a butterfly. Derived from the Greek language, it's definition directly translates to, 'change form'. In terms of human life, it can mean the process by which one changes their attitudes, beliefs or behaviour. One cannot always recognise a change when directly in the process of transformation, but one becomes aware, succinctly once that change has been made.



Metamorphosis

As the cloak withers;
Shake off its dust.
See the gem underneath the
mask -
Revel! in its transformative
nature,
The miracle of change;
Juxtaposed with the illusion of
stability.
A chrysalis becomes a butterfly;
It may only spread it's beautiful
wings for a short while,
But it embraces the wonder of
life.
How can it not?
Be the changing river of life
that you are,
And love that we never step into
its waters twice.


LB

Carpe Diem

'The paradoxical situation with a vast number of people today is that they are half asleep when awake, and half awake when asleep...'

Erich Fromm 

In 'The Art of Loving' (Erich Fromm) explores how our relationships with our parents have a direct impact on our relationships with our partner, friends and acquaintances. Few people get through their childhoods unscathed and many of us carry these wounds into future connections. He describes how loving itself is an art, a skill that requires some mastery through lifelong discipline, concentration, patience, supreme importance, objectivity and faith. In other words, should we apply all these conditions to every part of our life, our relationships would grow, mature and elevate to a place of intimacy and constance. He talks about the how the present moment liberates us from our internal considering of being in the past or future and it is this state that is precisely the condition, of the ability to love.

But what does it mean to be in the present moment? It can be such a vague concept! Fromm describes this present moment as being in a constant state of awareness, alertness and activity. Be active in thought, feeling and state and operate always from a place of truth, authenticity and integrity. And ironically one will be fully awake when awake and fully rested when asleep!


Carpe Diem


Own the moment -
In its entirety

Seize it's essence,
Or you will fade
As a rose withers with each passing
day,
From ground to vase;
It blossoms and gracefully -
Accepts, its inevitable demise

Love - and appreciate all
That is your creation,
Whether done blindly or
consciously!

Be the lantern in the storm,
Step into the eye;
With courage -
For there you will see clearly,
And clarity, is life's true guide.


LB