Inspiration in China

My first post in a very long time... and much has changed in the intervening time. I'm now living and working in Shanghai in China and I love it! It's an amazing place full of beauty and dichotomy. The people here are simply amazing. Warm, openhearted and friendly. I've made a number of close friends already and feel the warmth of their love and friendship welcoming me anew each day.

I've discovered that a wonderful way to explore this amazing place is on foot. It's big but it's flat. Which makes it very walker-friendly :) Plus... if I get tired there is a wonderful public transport system and ubiquitous yet very cheap taxis to get me home.

One of the walks I do regularly is from the office to home and it was on this walk tonight that was inspired to write this...

The trees and traffic everywhere 

A faint miasma in the air

A paradox of place and time

A cityscape not quite sublime

Apparent chaos all around

Below the surface order found

Striving whatever sense to see

A thrilling, wild dichotomy

Tranquility and peace to find

The stresses of the day unwind

And yet the welter of the sound

E'er all the senses can confound

The lights that oft may garish seem

Reflect within a peaceful stream

The water flowing softly by

Evokes a sometimes wistful sigh

The buildings reaching for the sky

Get higher as each day goes by

Their stony fingers reaching far

As if to grasp the very stars

A child admires the beauty strewn

In random heaps like concrete dunes

And flowers fragrant fill the air

Bedecking corners here and there

The many multicoloured hues

That every builder chose to use

Serving to break the grey that may

Induce the wonderment to fade 

And so within this paradox

Is power that our dreams unlocks

We live and breathe as days go by

Within our paradox... Shanghai

The reference to a child admiring beauty was in response to hearing a small child exclaiming over and over "Beautiful! Beautiful!" to her mum... in Chinese. A moment for a smile of joy and wonder... in delight at the joy and wonder felt by a small child.

Inspiration... not lost, just different

Last night, for the first time in a while I was inspired to write.As I got home, getting out of the car, looking at the stars, I'd spent some time with some inspiring people and I felt like the word were there.

Somehow through, between getting out of the car and actually sitting down to write, stuff happened. Things to do... etc. When I finally started, it was gone. No inspiration, no words. A more than somewhat frustrating moment.

As always though, life offers opportunities, the learn, to grow. Taking a few minutes out to myself to just think made all the difference. It occurred to me that losing the moment of inspiration was actually an inspiring opportunity. Suddenly the words were there. Just different words, a different inspiration...

...wind and scattered sand

The inspiration passed me by
Despite my clutching hand
Its life had ebbed, I felt it die
Just wind and scattered sand

Let the thoughts unfinished be
Their genesis be broken
A gift from life's mundanity
To mourn for words unspoken

The moment 'fore the onslaught fled
A fragile thing it seemed
And yet from out the ideas dead
New life can always spring

For while the words for which I yearned
May now never touch my breath
The paradox I now have learned
Is the genesis in death

Each moment dies and lays the seed
For the moments yet to live
And beauty that is yet unseen
Is what these moment have to give

Therein the paradox doth lie
In the very act of death
A new perspective comes to life
And draws its dawning breath

Some old stuff rediscovered

I recently went through the poetry I've written over the last few years and found quite a few that for one reason or another I hadn't published, or even shared with anyone. Reading through them readily explained why some of them had not made a public page. Early efforts that simply served as a learning experience for the writer.

One or two of them are, I think, not too bad, and are either salvageable or perhaps even publishable. I'll put a few of them up here over the next few weeks. I'd love to know what people think of them.

This is the first. I don't have a clear recollection of what place I was in when I wrote it but I'm glad I'm not in that place now. Nonetheless, I actually quite like it...

Awakening

The dark tides converge

Closing in, I’m welcoming

The coming embrace

Enrapt in numbing darkness

The solace of not caring

The darkness softly

Embraces, seducing me

Alluring gently

The solace of not caring

A death, no life, a comfort?

Cocooned in the dark

Life seeps away so slowly

Deep inside I cry

A death, no life, a comfort?

I think rather this is hell

A cry awakens

A sliver of soul buried

In darkness. Struggle begins

I think rather this is hell

Am I truly so empty?

No longer seduced

Beginning to see the light

A journey starting

Am I truly so empty?

Perhaps no longer, perhaps…

A Morning Conversation

When I was growing up I just adored the delightful, whimsical verse of Edward Lear. I've often thought how it would be to try my hand at writing in a similar style. This is my first attempt.

A Morning Conversation
A blade of grass so green and small
Grows upon the ground
He looks at me so high and tall
And utters not a sound

"Good morning sir, and how are you?"
To him I gently ask
"I'm very well today" he says
"It's kind of you to ask"

He looks at me and softly speaks
"What plans have you today?"
"I pray you have a thought for me"
"Let your mower silent stay"

I start of guilt I felt for sure
My plans indeed were made
I knew that what I had in store
Was the mower for the blade

But now I couldn't bring myself
To venture to the shed
A friend is an important thing
I wouldn't see him dead

But how could I explain my need
To never mow the grass?
I while away the time you see
While sitting on my arse

And so my friend grows green and tall
While the mower gathers rust
He greets me every morning now
A friendship meaning much

A melody in light and dark

I wanted to say something about the difference between the potential of what we have and the possible reality of where we're going. The contrast between light and dark seems very stark these days and life often looks as if all we have is a light at the end of the tunnel.

A melody of love and wonder woven through the hearts,
Through all the dreams and yearnings of the people taking part
A gift to all on which we stand so beautiful to see
A planet rich and green with life, a wondrous place to be

Despoiled with hate and war and strife the fabric of the world
Is rent and ruined, we see this place as swine instead of pearl
Does such a blindness surely mean we have to take a road
To hell with just a hoped return before we grow too old

The dreams our grasping fingers reach toward are barren gold
The lustrous sheen deludes our minds we cannot see the cold
With no more meaning than a children's playtime fantasy
For such as this we sacrifice our future chance to be

Where to from here as always is the question we should ask
It's ne'er too late to make amends no matter what the task
The healing of world begins with not a giant leap
Rather hand in hand we make some promises we keep

More winter musings

Sitting on the train staring at the grey landscape... it seems like it has rained every day for a long time. A few thoughts...

A thought in the gloom

The dull grey scenery shuffling by
A leaden procession of gloom outside
As the rain slowly falls and smothers the land
With its incessantly miserable hand

Winter drifts by and nary a cry
We look stoically forward with a silent sigh
With resignation, we wish and wait
For spring to arrive with undue haste

What purpose now is served by the cold
Making us creak and feel so old
Perhaps a much needed brief respite
Ere the world once more does spring to life

If everything happened at once perhaps
The cycle of life would soon collapse
So now we wait, the days we abide
Till spring doth arrive in it's own good time

A kitchen table

After doing a little cooking this evening (a grated chocolate and Passionfruit Pavlova) I was sitting at the kitchen table and was struck by what a multitude of roles something so simple can play in life...

Kitchen Table

A kitchen table in life does stand
To sit and offer a helping hand
Perhaps to listen to a friend
When they need to talk again

Today it's scones with jam and tea
Perhaps a little cream, we'll see
A little treat with love that's made
While kids around the table played

After work a quiet eve
We sit, relax and take our ease
A meal with those we hold so dear
Our friends and loved ones sitting near

Sometimes to sit and while away
Some lazy hours of the day
The sun streams in the window wide
What better way some time to bide

A moment in red

I was walking on the track to West Head in the Northern Beaches area of Sydney today and came across a beautiful Redgum on the side of the track. I stayed there for a few minutes just enjoying the peace of the moment.

Later I was reflecting on the day and feeling that I needed to write something. The memory of the moment stood admiring that beautiful Redgum inspired me to write this.

A moment in red

Upon the path another step
A secret view that nature's kept
Only revealed for few to see
An insight granted now for me

Standing graceful, calm and strong
A sentry over years so long
Her presence touches hearts that pass
And reaches out to those that ask

I gaze upon her curves in red
A gentle touch, no word is said
A hand upon the bark will rest
Almost as if at her behest

Her life a balm to slow the day
Creates a yearning just to stay
Close beside, beneath her shade
I'll linger here now, if I may

I walk away and find my soul
Enriched by insight not my own
Rather life has given me
A moment with this wondrous tree

So now the memory remains
My life may even be the same
Save for a simple moment's time
When I could leave the world behind

Evening

Just about to put my head on the pillow last night and I needed to write this. I found it fascinating that the mixture of thoughts and feelings that gave rise to this could be both so dark and so joyful at the same time.

Evening

As evening falls the night doth bring
A darkness that will quietly sing
Softly in the hearts of all
Until she holds us in her thrall

Then slowly as the eyes do close
What dreams and thoughts may come, who knows
As tales of joy and woe untold
Are freed as soul and spirit unfold

Imagination soaring free
My thoughts will oft return to thee
And there within the night's embrace
The hours pass with peace and grace

Yet dreams that come with darkness true
May not always be of you
As fears that lie within me still
Arise, my very being to chill

And now a moment feared has come
With dark and bitter taste has stung
As wrapt in night's embracing wings
I yearn to dream of joyful things

But soon the sun's illumined light
Returns to banish now the night
And new horizons now perceived
Give once more a chance to be

Winter... a morning moment

After writing A Leaf recently I wanted to try and build some momentum. So, coffee in hand I sat in the morning winter sunlight, early in the morning and I found something to say. Being surrounded by a beautiful landscape certainly makes it easier though...

Winter
The sun rises late and casts in the morn
A pale gentle blanket that's not quite warm
The crisp winter sunlight over the land
A telltale sign of winter's cold hand

High up above the sharp flickering white
Catching the eyes, a magpie's flight
While life goes on at a much slower pace
It never does pause, does never abate

The Eucalypt's greens will always surround
Guardians watching with never a sound
Save the soft rustle of leaves in the breeze
A nurturing whisper from beautiful trees

With bated breath the world still awaits
The coming of life that spring creates
Not patient perhaps, rather simply resigned
To seasons that turn only in their own time

A leaf

I thought I'd try something a little different. I've wanted for a while to be able to write on a more regular basis and decided to look at the process from another perspective. A friend suggested recently that I think about combining more than one art form. This an attempt to do that.

Closing my eyes in a warm quiet room I let my mind wander to see where it would lead me. After a few minutes I remembered a photo I had taken recently of a leaf. I followed the thought and this is where it would lead me... 

I can feel the stir of life begin

Emerging with a gentle urgency  

A crisp, clean spring awaits

My first tentative, tender reach

Uplifted by the golden, warming sun

The urgency now strong, driven

Into spring into life

At last bursting green and verdant
  

The raindrops for upon me

Quenching, filling, giving

To me, my work increases

A channel for life and growth

Time passes... day by day

Slowing, tiring, toiling

The days are growing longer

One by one. I feel it coming

A chill touch heralds the coming end

A willing sacrifice I need to make

To help the greater life

To live, to grow, to prosper

Darkness all around is all

I see and feel now

The welcome end is nigh

A final sigh, I give my last, 

I am no more, an empty husk

The merest breath of wind

Enough to breach the bond

Of leaf to tree, I am no more

In my final sacrifice I gave

What little life I had to give

That once again the cycle might

Turn to life in spring once more

Rain... Inspired by a friend

I was on the way home from the gym and read something a friend had written..."There's something so beautiful about the sound of falling rain..." A beautiful thought, inspiring words...

The first thought that came to mind after reading it was this...

The soft patter of spring rain
A random rhythm of gentle chaos
Each drop a gift from the world
Bearing, sustaining, begetting life

Perhaps a summer storm rolls in
The roiling clouds and thunder
Of the elements in full cry
A deluge that fortifies and cleanses

The golden hues of autumn herald
The last frenetic surge, a seasons's life
Flinches 'neath the first chill bite
A promise of more so soon to come

And now the piercing, pelting drive
Of winters icy hand descends
Each drop of rain a touch of cold
That helps complete the dark embrace

And now the seasons turn again
Spring rains arriving, urging forth
The stirring green and budding life,
Of nature's never-ending gift to all

Inspired by a friend. Thank you.

Reflections & friends

I saw a friend today that I hadn't seen for what felt like forever but in reality was probably less than a year. She's someone that had a profound impact on me in terms of writing poetry. One of the immediate things that happened after I saw her was that I wanted to write again. More importantly I had something to write :)

I saw you today... I saw you
The tears in my eyes reminding me
Of your beauty and peace
Perhaps today I really saw you

I talked with you today... we talked
And thoughts and words within my mind
That started in my heart...
Today we talked

I remembered you today... memories
That drift in placid harmony
And always comfort... lift... inspire
Today another precious memory

I needed you today... A need
Unperceived, for your inspiration
Now, as then, the unseen door did open
Today a need fulfilled

Today our paths have crossed... again
On a red brick way that wends
Beneath the white and gentle pale
Today we tread the path anew

Today... an absent friend...
A presence deeply felt in hearts
That yearn to ease her burden
Today... and always

I saw you today and looked inside myself again

Sometimes we meet people who leave a lasting, profound and positive impression on us. Both of the people who inspired this poem have done that for me.

Beautiful moments

I've recently come across two amazing short  films. They've both gotten a lot of hits on YouTube. Despite the very different subject matter in each I see a lot of similarities between them.

The movies are: Nuit Blanche  and Embrace Life

In both of them I see the capturing of a beautiful moment that is all about love. Although the contexts are different the natures of the moments are fundamentally similar, tapping into our attraction to beauty in its many forms and awakening or touching our desire to both love and be loved. Something I see as being part of the core of our higher nature.

When I first watched  Embrace Life I found myself with tears running down my face. Both of these films left me feeling a profound sense that the people in my life that I love are the most precious gift I could possibly have.

With so much ugliness in the world that it often seems overwhelming, expressions of wonder and beauty like this are a breath of fresh air and do much to restore my faith in the goodness of life. Something I hope to have till the day I die is an undimmed sense of wonder and films like this make it very easy. For some reason watching these films also reminded me of a gorgeous day I spent (ironically a day spent by myself) enjoying some of the beauty that the world has to show us, hidden away in out of the way places.

I recently had some time in Tasmania and took the opportunity to spend some while in a beautiful place called Mt. Field National Park. It's a place I remember visiting when I was a teenager and have always wanted to return to. Not wanting to waste the day I hauled myself out bed early on a frosty Sunday morning determined to make the most it.

On the way there, I was anxious to reach my destination when, driving along a picturesque winding road, I was confronted with scene of storybook beauty seemingly out of nowhere...

The clean, crisp sharpness of the country air, the frost blanketing everything with a pale shimmering translucence and the mist sitting gently on the pastures all combined to create a vista of wonder.

The slowly meandering river was mesmerizing and I felt as I had stepped into another world.

Even something a simple as a few reeds standing resolutely in the frosty ground had a folorn beauty that touched the heart.

I lost track of time for a while just enjoying the moment and taking a lot of photographs. To say I was feeling uplifted would be a masterpiece of understatement. I was also sharply reminded of the importance of the journey rather than the destination. There is often far more to be learned, experienced and felt on the road than on arrival.

For the rest of the journey to the National Park I was just as oblivious to the passage of time as I enjoyed the passing of one lovely scene after another.

Driving into the Mt.Field National Park brought back a lot of memories, albeit fairly faded ones. It had been many years since I had last visited this part of the world.

The thing that struck me most when I arrived was the overwhelming sense of the richness of the thick green blanket of life that made up the rain forest. Seemingly infinite shades of colour merged in the morning air with the birdsong and an almost imperceptible breeze that lazily stirred the leaves into a barely discernible rustle.

Walking into the forest brought with it the relief of detachment from the outside world. The rich melange of life quickly became everything, almost creating a surfeit for the senses that embraced the heart and soul in a profoundly uplifting sense of wonder. Looking around me I was amazed at the colours and diversity of life. It seemed that every little corner of the forest, every nook and cranny, was filled with life. The never-ending medley of greens was overlayed with glorious splashes of colours that lit up the forest. The intermittent shafts of sunlight that broke through the canopy only serving to highlight the fabulous array of life surrounding me.

Everywhere I looked I saw something to delight the eyes. From the trees and ferns to the mosses covering so much of the ground, to the mushrooms whose burgeoning life and endless variety of form and colour were a mute yet eloquent testament to the cycle of life I was waking through.

A little further on I came to the "Tall Trees Walk". The staggering size of these trees almost dwarfs the imagination. At first glance it seems somehow impossible that life can be so large. The majesty of these trees is undeniable and humbling. No matter how hard I tried I couldn't seem to get a photograph that adequately portrays the reality.

Dotted here and there throughout the park are gorgeous sites that irresistably draw a smile simply because they are so beautiful. The little streams bubbling through the undergrowth, the wallabies, caught momentarily unawares before bounding gracefully into invisibility in the background of the forest, the birds flitting frenetically from tree to tree, or simply sitting and filling the air with sounds that ranged from a raucous cacophony to heart-rendingly beautiful.

To a degree I've rarely experienced before I was deeply aware that life really is beautiful.

An unexpected perspective...

I recently spent some time doing something quite unexpected and pretty unusual for someone like myself. I'm not going to into the details but it was time spent with close family and the words that time inspired are literal and metaphorical


Your living canvas awaits the brush
A delicate hand applies a touch
The mirror reflects the colours true
The potrait emerges that you choose

The way yourself, you wish to see
The person that you'd like to be
The portrait painted helps you find
Your inner self, a view defined

It matter not what others deem
Your worth lies not in their esteem
Look within, strive to perceive
Try not to yourself deceive

Upon your canvas allow to show
The one that only you can know
Though just a glimpse, a simple peek
Of the one that others seek

Through subtle shades and gentle hues
Or colours wild & bold you choose
To show the world a part of you
A portrait that to you is true

Self & Doubt...

A few thoughts on during a lunch break on a sunny Friday afternoon.

A question arises in my mind

A thought to ponder, time to time

Of who I am both now and then?

Is a thought beyond my ken?

I stand afraid amongst my peers

And try in vain to calm my fears

That here revealed for all to see

Is the one I've come to be

Does everyone this curse affect

As always we seek to confect

An image that we’ll safely feel

Can our inner self conceal

Do anyone ever truly show

And can we ever really know

What it means no more to hide

The self that’s living deep inside

Perhaps to ponder overlong

On such as this is always wrong

With crises ever looming nigh

When all that’s done is think of “I”

For doubts will always grow apace

And ne’er we’ll know a moment’s grace

Til we outwardly we gaze and give

To others, then, at last, we’ll live

A life that brings us joy and finds

Friends and neighbours of all kinds

A life that means so much to all

No more to self in bond and thrall

Decisions

I've wanted to try writing poetry that was a little more structured and perhaps a little more traditional. I'm not sure how it came out though :)

I was thinking about life and where it leads us, and how we get there. How much impact the little decisions we make each day can have on ourselves and those around us. It seems to me that in some way every moment of every day is an opportunity to make a decision. To go forward from that moment in any number of different ways. Whether things are going badly or well, no matter how wonderful or how restricted or even oppressed we are, or perhaps feel we are, there is always an opportunity to decide. Even if it's simply to strive to a little more tranquility of spirit. Do we accept a hard road that in our hearts we know is right with radiant acquiescence? Do we fight for what we believe in? Do we do nothing? 

One of the uncomfortable conundrums is that not deciding is also perhaps a decision, but one where we relinquish control to others, or maybe to random chance...

Decisions...

Does every step to a crossroads lead,
To endless potential that waits to be freed?
Does each new tread upon the ground
Start paths unnumbered and yet to be found?

The paths ahead in the distance wend
The agony of choice the heart does rend
“Don’t make me choose” the soul bemoans
“I cannot decide. Too many unknowns”

It matters not ere the instant is here
The direction, the choice can never be clear
Free will, desire, it’s ours to choose,
We’ll always have all and nothing to lose

As life flows on we have to decide
Whatever transpires we take in our stride
The moment is now the time tis here
Decision made with heart sincere

A new path before us endless doth reach
To heart, to soul new wisdom to teach
What’s gone before is gone… no more…
The new path our spirit doth beckon to soar

7am... Monday

Walking out the door

Above I see the last remnant of sunrise

Gently staining the clouds

A broken fluffy blanket

Strewn loosely overhead

Down the steps again

The car awaits, the day begins

The weekend just a memory

The week ahead, ideas

Potential and promise

Driving in silence

Through the not quite sparse traffic

An old familiar routine

The mind wanders, lulled

By the easy repetition

Into the office

Coffee, a ritual oft repeated

A tabletop reflection

The glass gives a glimpse

The trees outside

The morning brightens

In this most mundane of moments

With a happy realisation

That even here and now

Life is beautiful

Pursuit of happiness

This is a topic that I've given some thought to recently. I'm very unsure where it's leading me but I wanted to share these thoughts. I was musing on my FaceBook page recently and that gave rise to this:

The pursuit of happiness

A thought for the self

An inward focus

Where’s my happiness?

Do I deserve to be happy?

Is it something I want?

Is it something I need?

Is it all about me?

Yes I do deserve to be happy

I want it, I need it

I am deserving… yes

It’s all about me

And… yet…

It’s all so empty

Devoid of meaning

But it doesn’t matter. I deserve it

Still… nothing… inside

Why can’t… why don’t…

I feel good… feel happy…

It’s all about… me…?

What if it’s not?

What if it’s not all about me?

What if I look outside me?

What if… what if…?

I'd love to know what other think about this. What is happiness? How do you achieve it? Should you even worry about it at all?

Guitars... again...

Experiments in poetry

I've recently thought that it would be great to be able to write about some of the less profound moments that happen in life every day. Sunday thoughts was my first attempt at that.

This is another experiment. But I'm not sure that less profound is an appropriate description. It's beginning to seem that the depth and meaning of something may simply depend on our perspective. Or perhaps it's really just our perception that changes. That there is always meaning, waiting to be perceived. Yet our limitations, perhaps self imposed, perhaps not, hold us back.

Anyway... enough rambling...

Guitars

A glance around the room

Guitars standing in the corners

Mutely gathering dust

Awaiting their muse

A feeling touches my fingers

Desire, yearning awakens

To feel the strings again

To hear, to feel the sound

My hands caress the curves

The wood glossy and smooth

Of their own volition

My hands find their place

A single strum slowly brushed

Oh dear… not so tuneful

A wry smile… a thought

“Play more often”

The old familiar routine

A reassuring ritual

Tuning is quickly done

The strum more tuneful now

My fingers know their places

Music starts to fill the air

A little hesitation

Brief… then banished

Once again I feel inside

The swelling feeling

Of peace and harmony

That always brings peace

Creating… playing… making

A sound… unique… a first

A moment worth living for

Fleeting yet forever

One thing I do know is that I'm enjoying this process very much. It feels like a realisation that there is inspiration all around, all the time. I just need to take the time and see it.

Sunday thoughts

Gazing out the window on a sunny Sunday morning

A dragonfly’s random flight catches my eye

A glint of sunlight on the blurring wings

A moment’s hesitation… then madly off again

A young magpie strides sharply across the grass

Eyes peeled and ever watchful for a morsel

Grey plumage still, a youthful promise of what’s to come

The sharp blacks and whites just around the corner

The blue of the sky through the swaying treetops

Scudding clouds suggest some later rain

Autumn is in not quite in the air

The last vestige of the passing season clings on

The final heat of summer seeps into the day

The afternoon drags listlessly by

As the hot air slowly drains the dregs of energy

The pool an inviting respite from the easy lethargy

Amazing Lyrics

I've already posted something of mine this morning but I came across this song and just had to post the lyrics here. It's a Leonard Cohen song... Heart rendingly beautiful... If I can ever write anything remotely as good as this I'll die a happy man.


A Thousand Kisses Deep

The ponies run, the girls are young,
The odds are there to beat.
You win a while, and then it’s done –
Your little winning streak.
And summoned now to deal
With your invincible defeat,
You live your life as if it’s real,
A Thousand Kisses Deep.

I’m turning tricks, I’m getting fixed,
I’m back on Boogie Street.
You lose your grip, and then you slip
Into the Masterpiece.
And maybe I had miles to drive,
And promises to keep:
You ditch it all to stay alive,
A Thousand Kisses Deep.

And sometimes when the night is slow,
The wretched and the meek,
We gather up our hearts and go,
A Thousand Kisses Deep.

Confined to sex, we pressed against
The limits of the sea:
I saw there were no oceans left
For scavengers like me.
I made it to the forward deck.
I blessed our remnant fleet –
And then consented to be wrecked,
A Thousand Kisses Deep.

I’m turning tricks, I’m getting fixed,
I’m back on Boogie Street.
I guess they won’t exchange the gifts
That you were meant to keep.
And quiet is the thought of you,
The file on you complete,
Except what we forgot to do,
A Thousand Kisses Deep.

And sometimes when the night is slow,
The wretched and the meek,
We gather up our hearts and go,
A Thousand Kisses Deep.

The ponies run, the girls are young,
The odds are there to beat . . .

Inner Paths

Sometimes I feel nothing but bewilderment at where things come from. As I drove home from work last night a line came to me in the car. "The night enfolds us in her gentle embrace". By the time I got home I completely forgot about it. Later when I remembered, all I could do was remember that I had thought of a line but not what is was.

This is something that's happened before and I've tried to get in the habit of writing them down on the spot. I once stopped by the side of the road and scribbled hurriedly on an old serviette. So, I didn't give it any more thought until a few minutes ago, thinking it was gone. Then out of nowhere it reemerged along with a few more lines.

As with Away from the dark I'm unsure of the meaning as yet, maybe even more so this time. I'd love to know what you think it means, and perhaps more relevantly I'd love to know what it means to you, if anything



Inner Paths

The night enfolds us in her gentle embrace
Her darkly soft arms, her caress
Her touch calming our fears
The cares of the day melt away

Closing our eyes we drift slowly away
To a place not here, not now
Our deepest thoughts and feelings
Rise slowly to meld with our minds

Mind, body, spirit… meditating
On the slowly rising tide of being
Gazing at last deep into ourselves
Wondering… wondering

What secrets lie beneath the veils of self?
What treasures yet to be unearthed?
The journey at last begun
Toward the life within

Many steps, many paths, many roads
Lie ahead, untrodden, uncharted
They await a footfall to make them real
As they call to us endlessly

The gentle echo of their whisper urging
Us onward, deeper into… where?
Is this our self buried deep within
Unseen, unheard, unknown

Yet for all the dark mystery within
Perhaps this is where we need to live
To exist… to be…
Within our deepest self… always

Musing on a gloomy afternoon

This came to me as I looked out of my office window. 

Musing on a gloomy afternoon

A gentle breeze stirs the leaves

The branches sway languidly

The humid air thick and heavy

A crisp, subtle rustling

Ripples across the morning

Autumn creeping slowly in

The grey aftermath of the rain

Hangs overhead, gloomy, pregnant

With promise and threat

Yet a simple glance around

Reveals exquisite grace

In a simple drop of rain

Clinging gracefully to a leaf

A puddle reflects the life above

A sense of wonder once again renewed

I think the gloom I initially saw was not only not there then, it's never there. It simply our limited perceptions that create the illusion of gloom. The weather, like so many other is never gloomy, or happy or anything else of that nature. It just is. It might be dangerous, hot cold windy etc but the emotions are ours.

Perhaps a simple insight is always there to be gained when we look out at a rainy day. Our perceptions of it may be a reflection of something that exists inside us. Could this be a useful tool for increased self awareness?

I'm not sure but I'm going to try it and see.

Away from the dark...

It's been some time since I last posted here. I haven't forgotten it but rather have been feeling a little uninspired. For some reason that changed last night.

I was reading, with Radiohead playing in the background, and had the inspiration to write this. I'm still trying to understand exactly what it means but I really wanted to share it with everyone. Perhaps it's a self-portrait... perhaps not...

Away from the dark...

I've seen the light shining

From within the darkness

Rising from the shadows

The spark of brilliance

Always there

Now with love to draw it up

Away from darkness

Leaving the shadows behind

The fire burns bright

If you could but see

Yes still hesitation remains

The of the lure of the dark seduces

No! No more darkness

The flame reaches higher

For all to see

At last the step is taken

Into the light… to life

The darkness banished

Now the chance to share

The fire with all… in love

The final step beckons

A chance to give the greatest gift

Reach back… into the dark

Take the hand of another

Who needs a spark

In contemplation...

It's been quite a while since I last posted. The challenge I expected, of keeping this up to date, is proving... challenging :)

Yet now seems to be the right moment to share something, unless that's simply my laziness speaking... who knows?

This morning I experienced a moment of what I can only describe as inspiration. I was actually hanging the laundry out! Earlier I'd been taking some photos in the garden and I was contemplating what I'd seen. One of the pictures was of a rose bud...

It was only later, in recollection and contemplation that something struck me. The promise of beauty that such a moment offers has its own unique beauty. In about five minutes I wrote this...

In contemplation

The promise of beauty holds a beauty of its own

Just see the end in the beginning

Just realise that the end is nothing more

Nothing less…

Thank a new beginning

Replete with promise, unique and wonderful

A fresh, exquisite beauty

As yet unseen, unrealised, unperceived

That can only enrich our lives and hearts

In ways unimagined

The beauty unfolds before our eyes

A renewed sense of wonder

Gained in contemplation… in realisation

Opens our hearts, our minds, our spirits

To the ever present wonders of life

A renewed sense of being emerges each time

Building afresh… anew

Yet somehow adding to what has gone before

To the depth of feeling that lies within

The essence of life… of love… is infinite

As I write this post more thoughts occur to me. Does the foreknowledge of how the rose will look affect the innate promise of beauty? Of course not, but it may (almost certainly does) affect my perception of it. Could I perceive the promise in the same way without knowing what the rose will soon look like?

About 5 minutes after finishing the poem above another thought occurred that gave rise to this...

Veils

Yet the veils of perception

We create for ourselves

serve simply to limit our vision

Our understanding… our experience

Alone…? Never. Together…? Perhaps

In harmony…? Always…

But only if… when… we reach out

With no expectations, no limitations

When arms are outstretched

In love, in hope, in joy

The harmony that uplifts all

Comes within reach of all

A gift to all… and all the world

That all can give

If only we can just let go

And simply be…

For some reason I felt this morning that I was in a place I hadn't been for a long time. Perhaps the contemplation of roses? I've always had a great fondness for roses. I often take the time in a literal sense to stop and smell the roses. There have been days when this has been a highlight in an otherwise bleak day. Whatever it was, I like it!! More please?

Yet again I found words within that I needed to write...

First Bloom

I feel but sadness

For those who have never known

The wonder

Of love’s first bloom

Love at first sight

Love sight unseen

The connection

Eternal… awaiting discovery

Unveiled in the first blush

Heart entrapped

A heaven that embraces

With infinitely sweet arms

Enrapt and caught forever

The ultimate surrender

Just love

Eternal yet always in bloom

I can't remember ever writing so much in such a short time. It was an interesting day. Prosaic apart from a short but intense few minutes in the morning.

Imperceptible moments

I finally had the luxury of spending some serious time in the gym yesterday and a few thoughts occurred to me. 

The most mundane of life’s moments can be transformed completely by music. Exercise is something that I enjoy but the addition of the right music lifts it to another level. Having not done any serious exercise for several weeks I found the experience very rewarding and part of the reason for that was the music. Which sparked the train of thought that led me here…

One of the things I love about music is it's ability to facilitate an emotional and/or spiritual connection to a deeper or higher place and I've never been sure that there is a difference between deeper and higher in this context. Which suggests that the "place" itself is both within ourselves and spiritual in nature, whatever "spiritual" is. 

I see spirituality as something beautiful within us all that despite, or perhaps because of, a complete lack of a true frame of reference to understand it, provides everyone with some degree and commonality of existence, nature and experience.

In the most mundane of settings music can help to create a moment of great beauty that is imperceptible to all but the one experiencing it.

The touch of the night

I was up at the Bahá’í Temple the other night and I wanted to try and capture the feeling of being there at night. I'm not entirely convinced that I got it... but certainly a little of it is captured here. In a way I like the first one more because of the sense of leading somewhere that is concealed, yet feels as if you just know it's going to be beautiful when you get there.

Reasons to be...

I'm not entirely sure that I should post this but I feel a need to do so. I'm not quite sure why...

I'd be very interested hear if anyone finds this too... too... something...

Rapture

My lips meet yours

Words die unspoken

A kiss... a moment unending

A rapture that stirs a yearning in my soul

My eyes alight upon your beauty

A breath that catches...

A heart that skips a beat in joy

A rapture that stirs a yearning in my soul

The curve of your face catches the evening sun

Eyes alive with love

Your smile takes my breath away

A rapture that stirs a yearning in my soul

Just...

Just to hear your voice

Just to touch your face

Just to hold your hand

Just to hold you close

Just to love you always

Sunset Surprise

Sometimes life delivers delightful little surprises.

Tonight while I was having dinner I glanced up and out of the window I saw simply the most marvellous sunset.

I only had my phone with me, but since I'm not sure any picture I could have taken would have captured the glory of the moment it probably doesn't make much difference :)