Hi folks, from London UK

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

Hi, folks,

I am struggling a bit with the poem I will be posting on the blog tomorrow, suspect that I may well be suffering from a lack of self-confidence in both poetry and survival skills due to a hotchpotch of feelings imposed during the pandemic, especially lockdowns. Many people appear to be experiencing much the same indescribable, but almost tangible mixture of feelings, good and bad, leaving them not quite knowing what to do to best alleviate them. 

Well, I may have difficulty walking these days, but, now and then when I cave in to feelings with which I can’t quite get to grips and play safe by staying indoors all day, even distracting myself with writing a poem, doing a spot of housework or keeping my thought processes in finer fettle by completing a word puzzle or two… I can expect even more broken sleep that my prostate cancer imposes anyway.  So… I force myself to go out for a while, if only to do some shopping, promising myself that I will not let rising prices get me down. 😉

Sometimes, I like to find a quiet spot in a local park and let Apollo have his wicked way with me yet again,, such as perhaps he did when the poet John Donne wrote “God’s in His heaven, all’s right with the world…” as if the world was ever so, not least for a variety of common human failings.😉

Such moments of contentment, a whimsical sun on my face, are rare for yours truly these days as I do battle with old age and health issues; even though these are likely to be far fewer than those with which many people have to contend on a daily basis, there is always a temptation to give self-pity a free rein, just as the sun is seeking cover behind a cloud…

Today, though, positive thinking has the stage to itself as I, along with many others, remember Harry Billinge, D-day and World War 11 veteran and campaigner, a shining example to us all, who has died at the age of 94 and was buried today in Cornwall. I never met Harry, but if ever there was someone to reassure us of the power of mind-body-spirit to see heart-and-soul safely home, it was he, among tens of thousands of others around the world not only surviving extraordinary odds, and helping to make the world a better, kinder place…but also putting self-pity and cynicism firmly in its place.

All may not be right with the world, but it remains more right than wrong just so long as there are the likes of Harry Billinge in it. 😄

Reader J.J. has emailed to ask how I deal with muddled thought processes as hers are “…very much inclined that way since the pandemic…” Fear not, J.J. there are many of us in much the same situation, for whatever reason. Only earlier today, for example, I spent a l-o-n-g time looking for my wristwatch, only to discover it further up my arm where I had pushed it earlier while washing my hands after lunch…! That’s not uncommon, either, that’s life. wry bardic chuckle

Time now to complete a poem for tomorrow; another variation on old themes, it’s true, but, as regular readers will know, I am often prompted by my late mother’s much-loved voice in my head reminding me that if something is worth saying, it is usually worth repeating…😉

Take care, everyone, stay safe and… be positive, if only because being negative never got anyone anywhere worth visiting…😉 Oh, and remember... be happy, be sad, and tears where tears are due, but neither forget the healing power of laughter, ever.

Many thanks, as always, for dropping by, much appreciated,

Hugs,

Roger

 

Reaching for Raison d’être

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

Christmas come but once a year, and I say thank goodness for that. No killjoy, me, but whenever its followers celebrate this religion or that, we have a sense of one Faith providing answers to our raison d’être over another. This, in turn, finds some people angry, others fearful, and others even further than ever along private paths littered with doubts and misgivings. The results, for even the most impassioned Believer can be a terrible sense of loneliness that even prayer cannot always assuage.

Many, if not most people like me, who no longer subscribe to any religion but put their faith in nature, are only touched by religious differences in so far as we would like to see more people of all persuasions - religious, political, sexual, whatever - better able to enter into other points of view than divided by them, more integrated if not unified. Even so, we are no more immune to feelings of doubt, fear and loneliness than anyone else. And (as in my case) being gay has nothing to do with it although it is very hurtful that the more zealous members of some religions seem bent on whipping up an all but hysterical hostility against gay people.

Whatever our colour, creed, sex or sexuality we can but find our own way through the maze of human emotions that, if we are honest, are more likely than not to undermine any spiritual convictions if only now and then.

A teacher once told my class - way back in the 1950's - that whatever else we did not learn in life, we should learn to care. I took little notice at the time, but his words have returned to haunt me time and time again, especially when I feel at my lowest ebb. Moreover, we are a common humanity, warts 'n' all, and I put it to you that it is also a lesson that various contemporary societies around the world would do well to learn, and learn before it is too late to matter.

REACHING FOR RAISON D’ETRE

Bells ringing, but not for me
so why should I care?
Snowmen smiling, but not at me
so why should I care?
Kids playing, but not with me
so why should I care?

People laughing, but not at me
so why should I care?
Robins singing, but not for me
so why should I care?
Some folks praying, but not for me
so why should I care?

Future generations relying on me
because I care;
nature’s vulnerability nagging at me
because I care;
religious differences preying on me
because I care

A feeling for peace and love in me
because I care;
an eye on the politics of change in me
because I care;
poetry of the human spirit, my reward
because I care

Copyright R. N. Taber 2011