Hello from London UK

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R._N._Taber

Hello,  everyone from a bitterly cold London, UK,

Sorry, no poem again today as I am unwell, although still looking on the bright(er) side of life and hope to be back with a poem soon.

Only a few days ago, we were basking in warm spring sunshine here, but now, the weather witches have magicked up a brief return to a wintry climate. So, it's off with the tee shirts and shorts and on  with the overcoats and central heating again...

Sadly, with rising food and energy costs, many people are having to live with the cold; some families are even having to keep their heating low or off, just to be able to feed themselves while others are increasingly having to make use of food banks. 

Yes, hard to believe in 21st century UK!

Nothing, of course, compares with the everyday misery and suffering endured by the people of Ukraine as Russian troops continue to pursue invasion tactics with merciless intent, tens of thousands  of civilian survivors forced to flee the ruins of their homes and cities. So far, sanctions, by various countries in a shocked and appalled West, seem to be having little effect on Putin, although already making themselves felt on the  everyday lives of ordinary Russian people.

It is awful to think that many Russians believe the misinformation they are fed by a State-controlled media that not only encourages them to support Putin in believing that the war in Ukraine is totally justified, but is also responsible for many young Russians having gone to fight, believing they are  'liberating' Ukraine from some Nazi-like repression.

Yes, hard to believe in a 21st century world.

A friend here in the UK who has a Russian neighbour tells me that she has been disowned by her family in Russia for speaking out against the Russian invasion of Ukraine. In parts of Russia itself, though, some people have access to alternative News reports; there have been a growing number of anti-war protests; protesters are immediately rounded up, arrested, and now face the likely prospect pf long prison sentences.

Yes, hard to believe, even in a 21st century Russia. 

Me, I count my blessings. My health issues are nowhere near as debilitating as those endured my many people around the world, including here in the UK; I can get out and about, albeit slowly, with the aid of my trusty walking stick and have been living with prostate cancer for nearly ten years now, longer than I anticipated when first diagnosed, so... I may not be able to enjoy retirement just as I once imagined, but I remain young at heart and continue to take each day as it comes and try to make the best of them rather than dwell on the worst, just as I did when I was young for real.

Yes, I miss the mutual exchange of love and support between friends and loved ones who have died, but that love and support lives on within us, as a source of inspiration as well as precious memories; we can continue draw on it as much, if not more so, as from the living.. and having known some very inspirational people, from various walks of life, I do just that. 

We all make mistakes, some we can redeem, some we can't, bur we can at least learn from them and not repeat them; where broken relationships are concerned, it takes two to dance that particular tango; it remains on of the greater human tragedies that some just can't... or won't.

Yes, mind-body-spirit has much to be thankful for even during such hard times as history has shown the human race across its history, no exceptions made for a 21st century world population enduring much the same across various landscapes of personal space.

Expect a poem again before too long, folks. Meanwhile, we can but all do our best to nurture a positive thinking mindset if only to feed those hopes and dreams that, in turn, feed a joie de vivre that may well suffer serious injury from time to time, but will, as likely as not be inspired to rise above them,  live to fight and defeat its demons another day...

Yes, such is the poetry and prose of everyday life...in any century.

Take care,  folks, and many thanks, as always, for dropping by,

Hugs,

Roger