Now, I stumbled on these phrases I wrote last year and this year the other day and felt the urge to share them on here. I really don't know how to describe them. I know where they came from but I don't know where they are going. I wrote them whilst working in the Wellbeing Hub following my redeployment. They began as little things that I created at the beginning of the day, which I shared on the What's App group we used to communicate with each other. I wanted to throw a little bit of positivity into the world. They were eventually copied and stuck on a Wellbeing wall in the Hub as 'Barry's Thoughts For The Day'. In fact, it was suggested that I write more, so I did. They used one for each day of the week.
The creation process followed my usual pattern i.e. flashes of ideas, sometimes intrusive. Not dissimilar to the unwanted thoughts associated with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, only more positive and certainly more productive if I can pin them down quickly enough. Also my head becomes a cauldron of activity usually around bedtime, if I have a project in mind and again, if there is no paper to hand, the images run the risk of being repeated or disappearing. The creative process can be a beautiful thing but more often than not, it involves opening yourself up to a stream of consciousness experience. I make it sound horrible, but it's not really. It's just allowing yourself to take on whatever your psyche cares to offer you and definitely no drugs are imbibed to elicit the experience. Alcohol can help to loosen the flow though sometimes but probably only in the sense that it makes sleep harder to achieve, which makes your brain work harder.
Anyhow, these phrases took on the form of stanzas as for some reason, that's how I like to frame ideas a lot of the time. Anyhow, I am offering them to you all below. I would be interested if any of them mean anything to you or offer something. Please let me know. I am not a philosopher, but I am a human being, so I feel that like everyone else I have the need to share my beliefs, feelings and yes, unconscious ideas from time to time. Significantly, they are not particularly edited.
Barry's 'Thoughts for the Day'
When half-remembered dreams
Offer unseen paths.
Your stretches and contortions
Can liberate your thoughts.
When painted with the colours
of daylight may reveal a
new selection of choices.
Strangers may make the
Silence of not knowing
more companionable.
The mirror you face is not
your enemy or your friend,
But it can help you to focus
if your heart becomes
clouded.
If positivity remains out of
touch and all you can feel
is despair.
Breathe deep, you have been
here before but will flourish
again.
When life like a tired clown
lays down its wig and false
nose, watch its cadences and
assume a new disguise.
The squirrel collects provisions for another day.
What memories will you accrue today?
A joke half-remembered
And retold is better than none at all.
Religion or no religion,
Something moves you
Are you listening to your needs?
The challenge is not to always be heard but to listen.
The most powerful souls are those that rarely utter a word.
The dreams you experienced as a child
Have not been forgotten.
Give the younger you the chance to shine,
If you fear the cynicism has set in.
The sun rises and sets,
The moon glows ferociously in the sky,
The tide engulfs the coast.
You are a part of this process.
Give into nature and just absorb the moment.
Learn from each self-perceived calamity.
It may have gone wrong today,
But tomorrow will be different.
Speak to someone you do not know and ask how they are.
They may not know how to answer,
But you may help them to realise that
They are not alone.
If ritual and routine pervades your days and nights,
Perform one act each day that breaks from
Your self-ordained path.
If you feel that others are laughing at you,
Remember that they do not know
You and you do not know them.
Your strength may be in diffidence.
Music is everywhere. There
Is no such thing as happy
Or sad music. Each composition or song
Offers a direct and unique engagement with the listener.
Decide what matters to you.
Let others support you.
You may be able to do it alone
But a shared moment of satisfaction
At a job well done can be more rewarding
Than an over-tired mind and body
At the end of the day.
If your rose-tinted glasses are damaged
Through your daily toils, throw them away.
To gaze upon life without the miasma of ‘perfection’
Will render each detail more vividly
And remind you of your place
In the big picture.
Walk through any park at any time of day and during any season.
The sense of being in the moment will give you release
As you bathe in the colours and textures of growth or decay.
There is a beauty in decay, just as there is a release in aging.
You continually give to others,
Now return the same kindness to yourself.
Give yourself a hug and forgive the slights that hold you back.
Your mentors did not keep you grounded,
They permitted you to grow.
Let your spirits run wild
And start the project you may not finish
But will love to achieve.
If you cannot sleep at night or during the day,
Write down three things that you
Look forward to doing tomorrow
And three things that you enjoyed today then smile.
May your day be like a beach after a storm,
Fresh and buzzing with potential.
May the sun shine on your daily sojourns
And the moon reflect upon each daily lesson learnt.
If you can’t find the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow,
Start looking within yourself.
The rainbow offers more than the gold.
Whether the glass is half empty or half full,
Start looking for the source,
If offers more.
On the motorway of life,
Take the slow lane,
The views are better and less distortion waits.
As you stare in the mirror each morning,
If you don’t like what you see today,
What you see tomorrow will not be the same.
Perception and notions of self are transient.
As you approach the hopscotch of life,
Please remember that you do not need to hop
On each point.
Just the ones that help you to reach your goal.
The second batch of phrases which I share here, I wrote this year. There are less of them as I am not sure that my capacity to see the half-full glass is still an option for me. I still feel hope though and that's the important thing, although I am not always sure where it comes from or where it lurks.
Tomorrow,
Trust in the person you are today.
The transient you
Then be that character.
can be overcome
By the limitless capacity of your
Mind.
For you,
Non-stop activity is tiring.
To disengage
Is not a sin.
Rest in the silence.
You don't always need to walk
In the light.
Are tomorrow's blessed
Opportunities.
They ebb and flow
Like butterflies
Live on the wind.
Well, there you go, the insides of my mind for your pleasure and delectation. But seriously, I hope that these phrase or sayings offer some comfort.
Barry Watt (15th May 2021)
BW.
