Evanescence

How quick it all disappears,
the fleetingness all too real;
Catch it while you can, this joy,
before deaths scatters all to dust
and longings melt into space.

Go Forth

Go forth with a heart full of wonder
Go forth with a heart full of light
Go forth with a heart full of courage
Go forth with a heart that shines bright.

Go forth with a heart full of awe
Go forth with a heart full of pluck
Go forth with a heart full of hope
Go forth and create your own luck.

Go forth with a broad and beaming smile
Go forth with a mind full of love
Go forth with a spirit that never flags
Go forth and listen to the angels above.

Acceptance

You will die one day. It could be
today or tomorrow or the day after.
The point is, it doesn’t matter. What
matters is now, this jewel of joy we
so easily dismiss. Let go of the pain
and the fear. They are guests who
needn’t outstay their welcome. Cherish
love and courage and life’s bright
promise distilled in this very instant.
It’s a cup that needs to be drunk.
Over and over. Like the touch of your
beloved, serenity folds you with
gentle grace. Past and future fade
like ghosts before the flame of the
infinite present.

Reflections on Russian Invasion of Ukraine

A truly dark chapter for Europe and the world with Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. To think this can happen in 2022, in a world of increasing globalisation and mutual empathy! What will the endgame be? Will Putin come to his senses and realise that there can be no winner here with his heinous acts? Will peace ever prevail as long as “unhealthy” nationalism and perverse extremist rhetoric run amok? Is mankind forever destined to live in a perpetual cycle of war and destruction?

In an nutshell, peace can never truly prevail until there is a wholehearted revolution in man’s consciousness and emotional regulation. This will happen again and again. All too easily, people are swayed by the specious lies that demagogues shout with incendiary passion. And the demagogues prey upon this vulnerability that lurks within the darker recesses of the human psyche with rapacious intent. Add to this other baser instincts such as: lust for money, unquenchable greed, unfettered envy and a false understanding of history, then you have a perfect cocktail of deadly despair.

It is only when we possess the requisite skills to take care of the darker aspects of our selves will we see our more positive aspects flourish. It is only when we step out of the bunker of fetid, bigoted thinking and absorb the torch of tolerance and togetherness, that openness of spirit shines a light upon, will we recognise our shared humanity. Perhaps, in these tenebrous days, when so much of the world feels on edge, we need to cultivate, more than ever, those civilised qualities that allow both humans and societies to prosper: love, compassion, liberty, interdependence, truth, reconciliation. In the end, it is only love and philosophy of the will, action and mind to practise good and perform joyful acts that will save us. Nothing more, nothing less.

Haiku

Treasure this moment
braiding our mortal days
breathe in the longing

Haiku

Raise a toast
celebrating this life
each day a gift

Remember

Remember this year when the world stopped,
when a virus struck and lives were chopped.

Remember this year when Spring sprung
and people watched in a lonely hum.

Remember this year of service and strength
and how angels in our midst went to great lengths.

Remember this year when a vision was made clear
that the soul we own is infinitely dear.

Remember this year when the powerful spun lies
utterly impervious to humanity’s cries.

Remember this year when a man couldn’t breathe,
murdered in daylight, how mankind seethed.

Remember this year when time stood still
and nature bloomed with a joyful thrill.

Remember this year when lessons were told
of new modes of being, more valuable than gold.

Remember this year when everyone wept
and made a promise that had to be kept.

Remember this year when the seasons rolled on
and animals leapt while poachers were gone.

Remember this year when history was made
and the painful truths that can never fade.

Remember this year when statues were felled,
as justice flared and emotions swelled.

Remember this year of rainbows and hope,
the ways we found to care and to cope.

Remember this year and never forget
that this was the chance to press reset.

Remember this year and consider this:
love is trust, sealed with a kiss.

Remember this year, the tears of grief,
where words and deeds carried relief.

Remember this year for all that you learned,
the old ideas torn and gloriously spurned.

Remember this year when your mind survived
and flew on fresh paths that bloomed and thrived.

Remember this year when you clapped and cheered,
how courage is the liquor that overcomes fear.

Remember this year, the moments of fright,
darkness giving way to kindness and light.

Remember this year as a journey we all took,
while thoughts raced like a swollen brook.

Remember this year when community was king,
how good it felt to help and sing.

Remember this year as a trial for the spirit,
we faced and we fought and we had to live it.

Remember this year as a year like no other,
the pain, the death, the will to recover.

Remember this year for the part you played
and the heart’s deep roar that blazed unafraid.

Remember this year, the amity from strife,
and the treasure that is the gift of your life.

Ode To A Red Kite

Oh majestic bird of the great heights,
what thoughts are you thinking
as you circle with supernal grace?
What notions lurk behind those glittering eyes?
What dreams? What visions? What portents
do you carry now and in the mists of time?
I look at you and a kind peace falls.
You are a flight of happiness
unbound by human care or neglect or pain,
what need you be aware of matters vain?
Here I sit on a ridge of bliss
peering up at your joyous spectacle, stunned into silence.
Death will come, you might be saying,
but for now why not throw away the shackles
and hurl yourself into the traffic of life.
Such blissful streams are there to be swum in,
for as long as the heart cries, “Yes.”

In memory of Ash.

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