Mind-Body-Spirit, Only a Heartbeat Away
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R._N._Taber
Copyright R. N. Taber 2018
Now, when all is said and done,
advice given and counselling taken on board, the course of action we choose to
take has to be ours, no one else’s; nor should we blame anyone but ourselves if
things go wrong.
Sometimes, though, things have to
go wrong in order to come right.
As regular readers will know, 1969
saw me ‘emigrate’ to Australia, but it didn’t work out and I came home, much to
everyone’s delight who had advised against going and could now smugly say “I
told you so …”
What no one understood, though, was
that I emigrated in sheer desperation to get away from those same people. I was
a psychological mess, not least for being a closet gay man, but many other
reasons too; e.g. having failed one of my A-levels, I was unable to proceed
with the career of my choice and hadn't a clue what to do next.
I had no one to talk to in whom I
could have any confidence they would really listen
or understand. Oh, they would try, but … have you ever noticed that when you
are needing to talk in-depth about yourself to anyone, most people respond, not
in relation to you but to themselves; they
proceed to tell you what they think they would
do in your situation, given their history and various
sets of circumstances not what they think you should
do given yours.
Invariably, it is all very well-meaning, but little if any help. In the end, we
just have to trust our own instincts.
Now, my emigrating may well have
been a huge mistake, but it had the saving grace of buying me time. My ship
-The Southern Cross - sailed from Liverpool via Panama and took six weeks to
reach Melbourne. For the first time in my life, I had time to think, listen to
mind-body-spirit and learn to trust my instincts. I had made so many mistakes, and there never seemed to be time work out how best to rectify them ... until Oz.
Subsequently, I returned home home, a different person and (hopefully) a better one. I knew now what I wanted (a professional career in public libraries) despite a significant hearing problem (no effective hearing aids for perceptive deafness were available then) and coming out to the world as a non-stereotypical gay man. Both took time, but I had achieved the former by 1975; it would take about another ten years, following the death of my mother and a bad nervous breakdown to achieve the latter. They were good years and bad years; it took a good 10 years - and more mistakes - before I would start to feel not only a whole person, but comfortable with that person. By now, I had learned to make time rather then let it break me.
Subsequently, I returned home home, a different person and (hopefully) a better one. I knew now what I wanted (a professional career in public libraries) despite a significant hearing problem (no effective hearing aids for perceptive deafness were available then) and coming out to the world as a non-stereotypical gay man. Both took time, but I had achieved the former by 1975; it would take about another ten years, following the death of my mother and a bad nervous breakdown to achieve the latter. They were good years and bad years; it took a good 10 years - and more mistakes - before I would start to feel not only a whole person, but comfortable with that person. By now, I had learned to make time rather then let it break me.
Sometimes, looking after number one
has to be a priority before we can really let
numbers two, three, four or more into our lives and stand any chance of
our connecting with them or they with us. Sadly, for all
modern technology, really connecting
with each other is not always human nature’s greater forte. We all have a
responsibility towards one another, but as a wise R E teacher once commented to
the class at my old school some 60+ years ago, "We can't expect to be of much
help to others if we can't, don't or won't even take good care of ourselves." Oh, but so true, never more so perhaps than during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The world as we have created it is a process of our
thinking. It cannot be changed without changing our thinking.” ―
“He who thinks little errs much…” ―
MIND-BODY-SPIRIT, ONLY A HEARTBEAT
AWAY
World, in a hurry,
no time to think things through,
making mistakes …
(Oh, and who’s blaming who?)
priorities blurring …
Need answers, can’t keep deferring
finding a solution
because Head says “Keep on going
...”
Heart, weary of trying
Folks, rushing by,
all needing things done yesterday
having to settle
for ‘maybe tomorrow’ if not too late
(as it often is …)
No one to blame, but so easier said
than done …
when the Head says “Keep on going …”
Heart, weary of hoping
Time, hastening on,
waiting for no one, haunting us all
as we try to fit in
with yesterday-today-tomorrow’s
agenda for life, death
and whatever else we can succeed
instead of failing
while Head says “Keep on going …”
Heart, weary of waiting
Instinct, kicking in
where head-heart (far) from certain
regarding the best
course of action, keyword confusion,
given contrary advice
by those we thought knew us better
(rude awakening)
where Head says “Keep on going …”
Heart, "No surrendering
Human clock, ticking,
mind-body-spirit risen to the
occasion,
taking chances
on what it perceives as the better
option
for first person singular
if not plural of the species,
taking action
(before it's too late)
where Head says “Keep on going …”
Heart, the faster beating
Labels: advice, blame, consciousness, counselling, human, instincts, mind-body-spirit, nature, networking, poetry, responsibility, self-awareness, self-confidence, society, thought, time
posted by R. N. Taber | 07:28
|
0 Comments
