tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-49378075713935606682024-03-13T01:53:57.530+00:00Living now...Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger522125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4937807571393560668.post-2073445907728642432014-02-11T11:00:00.001+00:002022-08-29T13:46:56.295+01:00Heart broken<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Heart broken<br />
<br />
You never forget<br />
the sense of whole-ness<br />
that you knew when your mother was<br />
here.<br />
Like the smell of freshly baked bread<br />
the reality of loss is easily accessed.<br />
Sick and broken without her,<br />
you trudge through a morass<br />
of life eternally tinged<br />
by absence.<br />
<br />
Nothing can ever be the same again.<br />
<br />
© Marjorie H Morgan 2014
</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4937807571393560668.post-30799267571775205662013-05-14T10:57:00.001+01:002022-08-29T13:42:37.692+01:00Re-inventing yourself<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">How often do we re-invent ourselves? On
a daily basis perhaps.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">If the re-invention process is
successful I wonder what I should do with the old ‘self’, the old Marjorie.
Then I realised that it’s not really possible – for me, at least – to separate
myself into ‘old’ and ‘new’ versions of me. My life is a tad more complicated
than that. I think that I manage multiple parts of my personality at the same
time. Let me explain. With different relationships I have a different part of
me to share with each person: that’s almost like wearing a different mask, or
showing a different face. It’s all me, but different. Like the sun, it’s all
sun but it looks different at different times of the day and from various
locations of the earth. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">I remember when a cousin first
travelled to the UK from Jamaica, I saw him standing at the window on his first
morning in the shires, he was just looking at the sky. Then he spoke, slowly,
and a touch sadly, “The sun is a lie.” I was puzzled, but he continued, his
head turned slightly to one side with the heavy disappointment of losing a
familiar friend, “It looks like the sun, but it doesn’t feel like the sun.” His
conclusion made sense. His relationship to the sun had altered with the miles
of travel, but the sun was still the same, just showing a different side of
itself in a different situation. Here it was necessarily lightly masked by
clouds and driven by wind.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">What works in one place doesn’t
necessarily work in another. The same can be said for relationships and the parts
of our personality that we share.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">In a way we can be like the sun and become
so good at masking the various parts of our character that we build up a hard
exterior and hide under layers of self-deception. The main concern that I have is that one day it
may become too hard to take off any of the masks. The more I think about it,
the chief problem that I see with having this interchangeable mask-like life is
that one mask may be so effective that it becomes the only one we wear, and
then we lose the other, valuable, parts of ourselves.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">If we re-invent to prevent others from
seeing us, then we have to tread cautiously in case – in the process – we change
a single temporary mask into a permanent suit of full-body armour.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">The last thing we should do is to be a
lie. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">I know it’s not comfortable to continue
life as an invention, a fiction, a life behind a mask.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-EX6ChxmCs1w/UZIKAjRBpLI/AAAAAAAADpQ/PySIR55V4ww/s1600/Italian+masks2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="178" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-EX6ChxmCs1w/UZIKAjRBpLI/AAAAAAAADpQ/PySIR55V4ww/s320/Italian+masks2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4937807571393560668.post-31959661267121353512013-04-09T17:59:00.001+01:002022-08-29T13:42:55.544+01:00I am not my hair<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I am not my hair ...<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2Pd3Z8_Yo9A/UWRIlb1PT5I/AAAAAAAADkg/fcOty2BUFL0/s1600/DSCF5507c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2Pd3Z8_Yo9A/UWRIlb1PT5I/AAAAAAAADkg/fcOty2BUFL0/s320/DSCF5507c.jpg" width="111" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 8.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">My hair – 9<sup>th</sup> April 2013 </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 8.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">... but what
will it be like tomorrow? </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 8.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">©</span><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%;">
Marjorie H Morgan (2013) </span></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You have good hair”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Is it real?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Can I touch it?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Have you got any weed?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Ha! Jackson 5 hair.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Is it all yours?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“It feels like a carpet.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Can I use it for a weave?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“How do you do it like that?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Do you have bad hair?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I like it when you wear your hair down.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I like it when you wear your hair up.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Can I play with it?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Is it hard?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Is it soft?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Does it hurt?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“It suits you.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I don’t like your hair like that.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“How often do you wash it?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Can you comb it?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Does it feel like a Brillo pad? It looks like one.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Your hair is so soft.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You have tough hair.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Have you ever cut it?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Don’t cut it.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Cut it, it’s too long.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I am not my hair. My hair is part of my identity. Or so it
seems. People always have a lot to say about other people’s hair. I have been
no exception. I have shared a few of the comments I have heard over the years.
These are all fresh in my mind now because I am thinking about cutting my hair –
much shorter.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I have no idea why this thought process has taken so long to
come to any sort of firm conclusion so I’m releasing them here to find some
clarity.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
For years as a child I was told that I had “good hair”. What
is that exactly? What makes hair good or bad? It’s ability to grow faster than
other hair? I guess so because mine did (and still does) just that. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I am on my second lot of locs. The first set I cut off
completely about 9 years ago. Back then I grew them down my back, pretty much
the same as I have now; this lot is longer – I can almost sit on them now. My
history of locs seem to be a cycle of letting them grow and then cutting them
off, but the cutting time also appears to have been delayed by me right now. I’ve
been musing on a quick trim, a medium cut, or a totally new start for a while
but still I hesitate and the scissors stay sheathed. Why is it such a big issue
to cut my hair right now – I think it’s starting to become a big thing so I’ve
been reflecting on the history of my hair and hair as part of identity.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I’ve looked back at my photographs and remembered what I was
doing when I had different hair styles. My hair really does tell a journey of
my growth and change in different circumstances. But surely that was my hair
changing and not me? Different hair styles show a difference but they don’t
show all of me. I am not my hair. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
However, I do like having some hair. You see, I’ve been
thinking about the loss of hair – through accident, illness, age, or choice.
Each situation has a different affect on the person involved. Hair is more
important that I first gave it credit for. It’s part of a uniform, a means of
entry or exclusion from different groups; it is a badge of identity. Hair has a
character all of its own. Hair is both political and social. How your hair is worn
has links to gender divisions, theories about sexuality, images of beauty and
power and concepts of ‘wrong’ or ‘right’ hair. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Hair speaks volumes whether a skinhead or locs-head. Hair,
like eyes or clothes, is a window into a person’s identity.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This has led me back to thinking.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I am not my hair ... or am I?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
To snip or not to snip? That is the question ...</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_5jIt0f5Z4">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_5jIt0f5Z4</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="watch-title"><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0cm; padding: 0cm;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/artist/india-arie?feature=watch_video_title"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">India.Arie</span></a></span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0cm; padding: 0cm;"> </span></span><span class="watch-title"><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0cm; padding: 0cm;">-
I Am Not My Hair ft. Akon</span></span><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4937807571393560668.post-88744486040650705322012-06-17T22:00:00.001+01:002022-08-29T13:44:59.015+01:00Father’s Day and Love<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 115%;">I never seem able to celebrate Father’s
Day in the same way as so many other people do each year. This is not because I
never loved my father, it’s more because I didn’t like him or understand him
for many years of our relationship. I have grown to love him more now that he
is dead but that still does not give me permission to forget the negative
things that lined our relationship. Before you get all up in arms about that
statement let me tell you that I have forgiven him but I’ve not forgotten –
there is a difference.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">My dad was amazing. I know that even
more now.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">I have recently discovered his first post
office savings bank account that he opened when he arrived in Britain. This
small slim volume details more than how much and how regularly he saved his
wages. It also tells a story of love and determination. My dad came from a
humble country background in Jamaica where all he owned was a couple of goats
and a donkey (as he would repeatedly tell us), but he was determined to make a
difference for his family. He did.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">My father never became a property
tycoon, however he did buy his final house outright for cash twenty five years
before he died. He came a long way in physical, social and economic terms from
the time he swapped the beautiful, sunny island of Jamaica for the leafy, cool
countryside of England. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">I didn’t really understand him that
much as I was growing up but through records of his past, that I’m finding now,
and pieces of memory that I have stored – but never made any sense at the time –
I am piecing together a more complete picture of a truly amazing man: my father
– Michael Morgan.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://bit.ly/KkwOcP">I grieve</a>, with love, for my loss and previous
misunderstanding of him.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4937807571393560668.post-75200196392566268912012-04-28T22:00:00.001+01:002022-08-29T13:45:25.228+01:00My mother and the Queen<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
This is a story of similarities and differences. My mother was born in 1926, the same year as
Queen Elizabeth II. If my mother had lived longer than her 49 years I wonder
what she would have been doing this year, the year that Queen Elizabeth
celebrates her Diamond Jubilee of her reign.<br />
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These two people were born in the same year but many miles
apart in different countries. Even when my mother migrated to England in the
late 1950s their lives were already starkly different, despite the fact that
they had been born just 3 months apart. At the time of travelling my mother, Doris
Morgan, was already mother to my elder siblings – there were six small people
who looked at this woman (the original DM) as the queen of their world. The
other three of us would be born within five years. We would join our other
brothers and sister in lifelong adoration of this magnificent woman.</div>
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Whilst my mother was settling into her position of mother
and wife in the harsh English countryside, the Queen was settling into her
first decade as the reigning monarch of the country and Commonwealth. The Queen
was then mother to two children. They were raised differently to my family.
Although mummy knew lots about the Queen, I’m almost certain that the Queen
knew nothing about my mum. That doesn’t matter right now because the people who
relied on mummy knew enough about her to feel safe in her protection. In a way
we became like citizens of the kingdom of Doris Morgan: we were safe in her
care. Her reach of benevolence did not end when her life ended, it has continued
to this very day. Mummy’s love deserves celebrating and although she will never
celebrate any diamond anniversary herself I am holding my own remembrance
celebration for her this year.</div>
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<br />
I admire the Queen because she has stayed in the same ‘job’
for 60 years – that takes commitment to duty. My mother was so committed to her
duty as a parent that she extended her roles to include working three jobs at
the same time, raising her children – almost single-handed – and looking after
a house and husband that was not always the most gentle man in the world.
Despite these pressures Mummy still had desire to shepherd us all in the right
and narrow way. She taught us to love each other despite our differences, she
taught us to follow our dreams and be independent, and she taught us that it’s
wonderful to tend roses when the rest of the garden is purely functional: you
see, the roses showed me that it’s necessary to have spots of beauty in your
life that bring you pleasure. I still do this and I will continue to make and enjoy
these moments as long as I can. Additionally Mummy showed me that when times
are hard you can make a way through it if you are focussed enough on your
dream. This is a legacy I will remember, forever.</div>
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As I think of the days when I hugged my mother on return
from school and wondered why she was wearing an anorak in the house, and why it
crunched, I will remember that she smiled as she told me that wearing layers of
newspaper under your clothes helped to keep you warm and it was a good thing to
do. I don’t think the Queen ever had to do that. Mummy made even the seemingly
bad things into a positive learning experience: that took courage and insight.</div>
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They say ‘necessity is the mother of invention’, my mother –
out of necessity – made my young life simple and happy. She didn’t have to do
that, but that is the enduring legacy that I carry with me today as I celebrate
the year the queen of my life was born and the diamond legacy she has left for
me all these years later.</div>
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I will always remember that there is a hierarchy to
everything – even life. </div>
</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4937807571393560668.post-75343024859628729232012-03-12T22:00:00.000+00:002012-03-13T12:47:41.776+00:00Commonwealth Day Celebrations<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
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<span style="line-height: 115%;">What
Commonwealth? What Celebrations?</span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Well,
this event seems to have gone mostly unnoticed. However, the Queen celebrated
it by attending a Commonwealth Day Observance Ceremony at Westminster Abbey.
There were also several members of the Commonwealth nations in attendance: Hugh
Masekela, a South Africa musician, performed at this particular gathering of global
peoples. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">This
moveable feast, is celebrated</span><span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> annually on the
second Monday in March, and this year the theme was Connecting Cultures.
The service in Westminster Abbey was to ‘<span style="background: white;">explore
the golden threads that tie together people from every continent, faith and
ethnicity.’ This was achieved through a mix of world music, dance and personal
testimonies to around 1,000 selected heads of states, official dignitaries,
faith leaders and school children.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">In the past there were national
exhibitions and parties to celebrate this connection within Commonwealth
countries, now there is a whisper in the British media to mark its occurrence.
I wonder if the origins and links of the Commonwealth have, at last, become an embarrassment
to the British monarchy and nation. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">The Commonwealth </span>(aka the colonial
British Commonwealth) <span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">was first set up in 1949 with eight
member countries. </span><span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">As of today, 12<sup>th</sup> March 2012 - Commonwealth Day, there were <a href="http://www.thecommonwealth.org/Internal/180380/">54countries that were members of the Commonwealth</a>. </span>It is now referred to
as the modern Commonwealth because it is now an association of free and equal
member from independent countries who are linked by shared values, goals and
equal votes in all matters.</div>
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Queen Elizabeth II, <a href="http://www.royal.gov.uk/LatestNewsandDiary/Speechesandarticles/2012/TheQueensCommonwealthDayMessage2012.aspx">marking 60 years as head of theCommonwealth</a>, said: “<span style="background: white; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">This year, our
Commonwealth focus seeks to explore how we can share and strengthen the bond of
Commonwealth citizenship we already enjoy by using our cultural connections to
help bring us even closer together, as family and friends across the globe."</span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6dCuDeCT2go/T19A63pgKiI/AAAAAAAACuc/IplZx7oLRTU/s1600/LN-TQ-Mar-Commonwealth-Msg-.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="280" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6dCuDeCT2go/T19A63pgKiI/AAAAAAAACuc/IplZx7oLRTU/s320/LN-TQ-Mar-Commonwealth-Msg-.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 115%;">My
question is, ‘What does the Commonwealth mean to you?’ To me it does not mean
anything sweet or pleasant. The bitterness of colonialism still resonates in
daily life – especially in the failure to give a rounded historical account of
the colonial times in British schools. This leads to <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2012/mar/09/half-uk-young-black-men-unemployed?CMP=EMCSOCEML657">‘unconscious bias’appearing in the everyday life of people</a> whose only real experience of African,
Caribbean or Indian life comes from the Eurocentric education or the occasional
story of forced economic migration heard from a grand-parent.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 115%;">I don’t
think that the Commonwealth ever had any respectability, I would further
suggest that it has now lost all veneer of respectability. This muted
celebration confirms my views. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 115%;">R.I.P.
Commonwealth of Nations. The wealth of nations is anything but common.</span></div>
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</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4937807571393560668.post-68203925520725642992012-03-11T22:00:00.000+00:002012-03-24T00:52:48.166+00:00No more - Poetry by Marjorie H Morgan<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><b><i>No more</i></b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;">Instinctively the hearts knew<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;">before the minds could speak<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;">the nonchalant searching<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;">through the sea <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;">of beating souls<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;">was matched<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;">*<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;">there will be<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;">no more<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"> waiting.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;">(1996)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;">©</span><span style="line-height: 115%;"> Marjorie H Morgan 2012 </span></div>
</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4937807571393560668.post-86628042530708991582012-03-10T22:00:00.000+00:002012-03-24T00:53:33.264+00:00untitled - Poetry by Marjorie H Morgan<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;">Because when<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;">All is<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;">Said and done<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;">There is nothing to be<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;">Added to<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;">Relieve your<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;">Deeds – you are a ...<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;">(1996)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;">©</span><span style="line-height: 115%;"> Marjorie H Morgan 2012 <o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4937807571393560668.post-76150357368407208212012-03-08T13:00:00.000+00:002012-03-08T13:01:44.370+00:00International Women’s Day – My Celebration<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="line-height: 115%;">Some
women make a big difference in a small area, other women make a big difference
on a global stage. </span><span style="line-height: 115%;">Women are making differences all the time in their homes, in
their communities, in their jobs. Women’s lives are different – they speak for
themselves alone and at the same time they can also speak for thousands of voiceless
women who share similar stories.</span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;">One
such woman, Ellen Kuzwayo, also known as ‘Ma K’, gave up teaching in 1952 when
she was required to teach her pupils “what appeared to be very poisonous to
their minds” following the introduction of the Bantu education act in South
Africa.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;">Ellen
Kuzwayo refused to be intimidated by the apartheid system, she found a way to
make a difference as a social worker and campaigner for equality in the
Transvaal. She was also a tireless activist for women’s emancipation. Ellen
Kuzwayo, phenomenal woman, resisted inequality in all forms and she continually
fought for the rights of women in South Africa. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;">I
celebrate her history because she speaks for thousands of other women as well.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Qfn5eqGwxiU/T1isz2QnBlI/AAAAAAAACts/DMxalA_POYk/s1600/Call+me+Woman+Ellen+Kuzwayo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Qfn5eqGwxiU/T1isz2QnBlI/AAAAAAAACts/DMxalA_POYk/s1600/Call+me+Woman+Ellen+Kuzwayo.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;">Another
woman whom I admire and want to recognise today is Annie Lennox. She is a
political and social activist, humanitarian as well as a singer, songwriter. Annie
Lennox is renowned for raising awareness of HIV/ AIDS in Africa. Her work
included increasing education and health care for those affected by sickness in
Africa. Annie Lennox worked as an ambassador of Nelson Mandela’s 46664 campaign
where she did her part to raise the global awareness of HIV/Aids, this work was
also enhanced by her performance in two 46664 concerts and by her being a part
of the Make Poverty History Campaign. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;">In 2011
Annie Lennox was awarded a lifetime achievement award at the Inspiration for
Women awards ... and she’s nowhere near finished yet. Annie Lennox is also a
phenomenal woman.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4937807571393560668.post-18861415501268080572012-03-07T23:59:00.000+00:002012-03-08T15:02:04.914+00:00Phenomenal Woman - Poetry by Maya Angelou<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Pretty women wonder where my secret lies.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I’m not cute or built to suit a fashion model’s
size <o:p></o:p></div>
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But when I start to tell them,<o:p></o:p></div>
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They think I’m telling lies.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I say,<o:p></o:p></div>
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It’s in the reach of my arms,<o:p></o:p></div>
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The span of my hips, <o:p></o:p></div>
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The stride of my step, <o:p></o:p></div>
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The curl of my lips. <o:p></o:p></div>
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I’m a woman<o:p></o:p></div>
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Phenomenally.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Phenomenal woman, <o:p></o:p></div>
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That’s me.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: -12.0pt;">
I walk into a room<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: -12.0pt;">
Just as cool as you please, <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: -12.0pt;">
And to a man,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: -12.0pt;">
The fellows stand or<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: -12.0pt;">
Fall down on their knees. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: -12.0pt;">
Then they swarm around me,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: -12.0pt;">
A hive of honey bees. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: -12.0pt;">
I say,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: -12.0pt;">
It’s the fire in my eyes, <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: -12.0pt;">
And the flash of my teeth, <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: -12.0pt;">
The swing in my waist, <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: -12.0pt;">
And the joy in my feet. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: -12.0pt;">
I’m a woman<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: -12.0pt;">
Phenomenally.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: -12.0pt;">
Phenomenal woman,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: -12.0pt;">
That’s me.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: -12.0pt;">
Men themselves have wondered <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: -12.0pt;">
What they see in me.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: -12.0pt;">
They try so much<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: -12.0pt;">
But they can’t touch<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: -12.0pt;">
My inner mystery.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: -12.0pt;">
When I try to show them, <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: -12.0pt;">
They say they still can’t see. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: -12.0pt;">
I say,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: -12.0pt;">
It’s in the arch of my back, <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: -12.0pt;">
The sun of my smile,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: -12.0pt;">
The ride of my breasts,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: -12.0pt;">
The grace of my style.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: -12.0pt;">
I’m a woman<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: -12.0pt;">
Phenomenally.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: -12.0pt;">
Phenomenal woman,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: -12.0pt;">
That’s me.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: -12.0pt;">
Now you understand<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: -12.0pt;">
Just why my head’s not bowed. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: -12.0pt;">
I don’t shout or jump about<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: -12.0pt;">
Or have to talk real loud. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: -12.0pt;">
When you see me passing,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: -12.0pt;">
It ought to make you proud.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: -12.0pt;">
I say,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: -12.0pt;">
It’s in the click of my heels, <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: -12.0pt;">
The bend of my hair, <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: -12.0pt;">
the palm of my hand, <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: -12.0pt;">
The need for my care. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: -12.0pt;">
’Cause I’m a woman<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: -12.0pt;">
Phenomenally.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: -12.0pt;">
Phenomenal woman,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: -12.0pt;">
That’s me.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><o:p><br /></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 24px; text-indent: -16px;">By <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IEz6BsYP5vc">Maya Angelou</a> (from her collection: The Complete Collected Poems)</span></div>
</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4937807571393560668.post-50082325269450037492012-03-06T22:00:00.000+00:002012-03-24T00:54:06.540+00:00Woman Alive - Poetry by Marjorie H Morgan<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><b><i>Woman
Alive</i></b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">There
are diamonds <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">in
her heart<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">along
with dreams<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">you
dare not start ...<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">There
is moonlight<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">in her
walk<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">there
is passion <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">in
her talk ...<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">There
are rainbows<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">in her
eyes<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">there
are dances<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">in
her thighs ...<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">This
woman has<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">excitement
in her smiles.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">(1995)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">©</span><span style="line-height: 115%;"> Marjorie H Morgan 2012 <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4937807571393560668.post-22118796843338110392012-03-05T22:00:00.000+00:002012-03-24T00:54:30.361+00:00Miracle - Poetry by Marjorie H Morgan<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><b><i>Miracle</i></b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">A
moment passes<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">a
minute flees<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">the
hour slips away<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">the
day is gone<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">the
month retreated<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">time
moves without delay.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">The
world is ageing <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">before
our eyes<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">there’s
nothing we can do.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">As
this miracle takes place<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">no one
notices the growing d i s t a n c e<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">between
us two.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">(1995)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">©</span><span style="line-height: 115%;"> Marjorie H Morgan 2012 <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4937807571393560668.post-73976737091300845662012-03-04T22:00:00.000+00:002012-03-24T00:55:07.860+00:00untitled - Poetry by Marjorie H Morgan<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">Poetry – untitled <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">powerful emotion conquers knowledge<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">you are my truth<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">terrestrial heart loses its edge<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">Naomi for Ruth<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">planets fear the literary drought<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">desire ignites<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">erratic heart thumps and shouts<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">awaiting invite<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">established reason vanquished<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">without effort<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">lifelong sense is banished<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">to live in yourt<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">reaction to your presence<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">in mind or sight<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">drowning with concupiscence<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">desired outright<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">(1998)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">©</span><span style="line-height: 115%;"> Marjorie H Morgan 2012 <o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4937807571393560668.post-89478527818886557352012-03-03T22:00:00.000+00:002012-03-24T00:55:53.334+00:00The World’s Song - Poetry by Marjorie H Morgan<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><b><i>The World’s Song</i></b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">The world is my guide, I’ll always want
more.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">It makes me run around in busy streets:
it leads me up and down<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">crowded motorways. It unsettles my soul
and leads me in the ways <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">of gross wickedness and greed for its
own purposes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">Even though I travel through the most
dangerous areas of the cities I am<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">not afraid because I am never alone, my
gun and my drugs keep me<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">safe and content.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">The world is open to me, I can sit with
those who hate me because<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">of my worldly power; I have so many
benefits and opportunities I<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">can’t count them all.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">Without a doubt I will be dogged by
fear and uncertainty all the days<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">of my life but I will stay in the way
of the world for ever.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">(1997)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">©</span><span style="line-height: 115%;"> Marjorie H Morgan 2012 <o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4937807571393560668.post-42758635040228308992012-03-02T22:00:00.000+00:002012-03-24T00:56:37.307+00:00The other woman - Poetry by Marjorie H Morgan<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><b><i>The other woman</i></b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">The
other woman <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">was
so loved<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">she
had a special place<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">away
from those boring friends<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">away
from those public places<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">away
from those ordinary events<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">The
other woman<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">was
so loved<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">she
had a special time<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">much
later<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">later
than was promised<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">later
than was convenient<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">later
than was kind<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">The
other woman<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">was
so unloved<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">while
waiting again<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">she
took a special look<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">over<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">all
that was missing<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">all
that was ordinary<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">all
that was promised<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">The
other woman<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">so
loved herself<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">that
she found a special place<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">in
the open<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">with
ordinary events that were convenient<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">with
kind friends in public places <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">with
missing promises that ended waiting<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">(1996)
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">©</span><span style="line-height: 115%;"> Marjorie H Morgan 2012 <o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4937807571393560668.post-46527665282840673122012-03-01T22:00:00.000+00:002012-03-06T22:25:36.291+00:00Catalysts<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">Waiting
for other people to do something, or anything, before you do something is about
waiting for action to take place so that your reaction can follow.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">It’s
about following. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">But
it’s only concerning incidents that follow once the main event has taken place.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">The
complete situation is like a chemical equation: it’s all in relation to being a
catalyst or a reaction.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Depending
on the catalyst the reaction can be rapid or slow, and at the end of the
reactive process the catalyst remains the same. Given these facts, I think it’s
worth considering whether I want to be a catalyst for change or merely have a
reaction to change imposed on me. The reactive element of this process is
usually altered at the end of it while the catalyst remains the same: able to cause
reactions within different environments again and again.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">With
that choice to make I’d suggest it is better to live an active than a re-active
life.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">It’s
March, a new month, so that can be a catalyst, can’t it? I think the start of
each month means a spring into action ... doesn’t it?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Gp4QVVx1yt8/T1aOgYC7ZqI/AAAAAAAACtk/KhR1hkP7iP0/s1600/wilkinsoncat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Gp4QVVx1yt8/T1aOgYC7ZqI/AAAAAAAACtk/KhR1hkP7iP0/s320/wilkinsoncat.jpg" width="308" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4937807571393560668.post-79805639447776714902012-02-29T22:00:00.000+00:002012-03-06T21:56:48.319+00:00Leap Day Resolutions<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">All
over the British Isles people have been taking part in Leap Day activities and
making Leap Day resolutions. Well, that’s what they’ve said on some news
programmes that I’ve been listening to this month.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-it62C9Vyghw/T1aHP-hGzPI/AAAAAAAACtM/B0VUPWgTAm0/s1600/leap-day-cartoon2-598x629.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-it62C9Vyghw/T1aHP-hGzPI/AAAAAAAACtM/B0VUPWgTAm0/s320/leap-day-cartoon2-598x629.jpg" width="304" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">This
got me wondering about what times of leaps I would be prepared to take this
special day. Tradition has it that women can be the one to propose on this day
and if rejected they must be provided with twelve pairs of gloves (so that they
can hide their ring less hands all the year around). This, and other traditions
have made me smile as I have thought about what I can and will do with this
extra day of the month. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">I
already wear gloves, but not to hide the lack of any rings, more to ward of the
bitter winds and cold. So I rejected that idea that would make me the recipient
of a dozen pairs of gloves (and my proposal has already been accepted, so it
was not necessary on this particular day anyway).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">A
friend of mine indicated that he was waiting for my proposal to him, but he did
send the message from his fortified bunker in the middle of nowhere so I knew
that he was not really open to any approach from me. Nevertheless, we can
continue to live in hope. Isn’t that right P?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Anyway, back to
reality. The radio programmes were encouraging people to take advantage of the
extra day in February and use it as an excuse to do something they had never
done before. And many did. One woman, who was blind, enjoyed her <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-17224847">first tandembike ride</a>; a man, who suffers from panic attacks, depression and agoraphobia,
<a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-17233500">travelled on a bus to a local town</a> for the first time in four years. Another
man told his colleagues that he is gay and has been with his partner for nearly
20 years. At several schools the children, teachers and support staff leapt to
different classrooms for lessons and undertook each others’ roles for an hour.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">There have been so
many leaps.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">But, here’s a gift for
you, you don’t have to wait for another 4 years to make your own leap – you can
do it now! But you knew that, didn’t you?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MOpStePdCOo/T1aHToLXspI/AAAAAAAACtU/PsaDiWzCBdk/s1600/leap+day.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MOpStePdCOo/T1aHToLXspI/AAAAAAAACtU/PsaDiWzCBdk/s1600/leap+day.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">It’ll be great to
share what extraordinary leaps you’ve taken. Feel free to let me know about
your daily or yearly leaps and I’ll keep telling you about mine: it’s only
fair.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4937807571393560668.post-77769661812868199182012-02-28T22:00:00.000+00:002012-03-06T22:14:14.636+00:00Locked in<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">Prisons
are not places that people usually choose to go to. However, some people who
have relative freedom can find themselves locked into certain prisons.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">I
have discovered that there are situations where fear can imprison you and you
remain as securely isolated as if you were being prevented from escaping by bars,
locked doors and armed guards in surveillance towers.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Poverty
is also a way of efficiently preventing people from moving from their current situations.
Some circumstances can be altered by sheer will power, others may need more
assistance.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">If
there is a way out of incarceration I’m always going to take it. I will make my
own escape plan and - if the opportunity
arises – I will work with others to leave the cells of destruction, but I will
not remain locked in - it’s not healthy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RKCLzn8wXOU/T1aL5I34dGI/AAAAAAAACtc/-gwF-4FL13E/s1600/locked+in.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="256" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RKCLzn8wXOU/T1aL5I34dGI/AAAAAAAACtc/-gwF-4FL13E/s320/locked+in.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4937807571393560668.post-26881283409252181632012-02-27T22:00:00.000+00:002012-03-01T14:02:43.402+00:00Qualities and Blessings<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">There
are times in life when we cannot see our own wonderful qualities. This is where
others come into the picture. (You could also use a mirror to physically look
at yourself or the mental reflective mirror is also useful to discover these
qualities.)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">In
case you are having difficulties pinpointing one right now I am going to
provide a starting list of qualities and suggest you pick any one of them,
because I know they are all relevant to you. Go on, try this, it’ll be fun and
revealing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><i><span style="line-height: 115%;">Qualities:<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">Strength Politeness Kindness Sincerity<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">Honesty Humility Charity Civility<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">Courteous Sympathy Empathy Compassion<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">Altruism Wisdom Judgement Enthusiasm<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">Focus Respect Awareness Attentiveness<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">Patience Punctuality Flexibility Self-control<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">Resourcefulness Discretion Determination Sensitivity<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">I
could go on, but I’m sure you’ve picked out more than a hand-full already. But
you only need one for this part of the exercise, you can go back and do it
again later with another one. That proves how many wonderful qualities you have
already from this incomplete starter list.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">The
next thing to do is to create for yourself a blessing using the handy blessing
template I have provided below:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">It’s
a one-size-fits-all template – all you have to do is to fill in the sections
after putting your chosen quality in the first section. For example, “I accept
for myself the gift of ... strength.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">I
think you’ll be able to do the rest on your own.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="height: 73px; margin-left: 533px; margin-top: 32px; position: absolute; width: 63px; z-index: 251659264;"></span><span style="line-height: 115%;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
Enjoy your qualities and your blessings. Remember to repeat
this exercise regularly for a good outlook on your life. <o:p></o:p><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">You
deserve your blessings because ... you have the qualities and you’re worth it! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="position: relative; z-index: 251658240;"><span style="height: 298px; left: -1px; position: absolute; top: -7px; width: 582px;"></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">Create a blessing<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><i><br /></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><i>I accept for myself the gift of</i></b>
....................................................................................</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><i><br /></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><i>I experience its power to be present in my life as</i></b>
.....................................................</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
...................................................................................................................................</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><i><br /></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><i>May it enable me to change</i></b>
......................................................................................</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
...................................................................................................................................</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><i><br /></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><i>And may it bring me the deep experience of </i></b>............................................................</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
...................................................................................................................................</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jGs-_v9Rl8A/T0-BblqDU_I/AAAAAAAACtE/1lOSHDO1BGc/s1600/blessings.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jGs-_v9Rl8A/T0-BblqDU_I/AAAAAAAACtE/1lOSHDO1BGc/s1600/blessings.jpg" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4937807571393560668.post-29464309886369671022012-02-26T22:00:00.000+00:002012-03-01T13:58:43.051+00:00Using your imagination<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">How
can you use your imagination? Let me count the ways ...</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">While
you’re off counting your own ways to use your imagination I’d like to share
something with you. Don’t worry, it’ll still be here when you’ve finished. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">You
see, I’ve been blessed with information that I am honour (love) bound to share
with you all. It’s about using your imagination for spiritual progress. I
attended a seminar about just that topic. It was a reminder of what we have
inside of us and how we can best use it to assist our spiritual journey. It was
a wonderful few hours in tranquil surroundings.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">As
I said, I cannot keep this information to myself, so here it is for you to take
with you on your own spiritual journey. I am sharing the gift I received with
you – I know, I’m generous. You can thank me later ...<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">Because
imagination is the central force of change, I think we should all invest more
time into using it. Here are a few nuggets to get your own imaginative juices
flowing as you take steps on your way today. Have fun.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><o:p><br /></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Puej5OtO7pQ/T090ch_PQ6I/AAAAAAAACs0/X5JOt5dUhbw/s1600/imagination+-+Albert+Einstein.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Puej5OtO7pQ/T090ch_PQ6I/AAAAAAAACs0/X5JOt5dUhbw/s1600/imagination+-+Albert+Einstein.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">I</span></b><span style="line-height: 115%;"> <b><i>“Imagination
is more important than knowledge.”</i></b> Albert Einstein<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"> Imagination is a private place, no
one else can be in my imagination <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">– not even by invitation: it is mine, alone.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">M</span></b><span style="line-height: 115%;"> Meditation</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"> When you take time to listen to
yourself and God you can increase your creativity.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">When we give ourselves up to creativity, we open
ourselves up to G.O.D. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"> <i>G</i>ood
<i>O</i>rderly <i>D</i>irection<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">A</span></b><span style="line-height: 115%;"> Active Imagination
and Active Listening<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"> To be an active listener we need to “switch
off the self”.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"> Listen with your ears, eyes, heart
and imagination. Listen to the whole person.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">G</span></b><span style="line-height: 115%;"> Gratitude<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"> Inspect your baggage and see what
you’ve already got.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"> Make a gratitude list. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">Start with 20 and see how many you get. More than you
thought? Be grateful.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">I</span></b><span style="line-height: 115%;"> Images
that inspire<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"> Find and use images that inspire
you. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">Go for a walk, go to a museum, look at photographs.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">N</span></b><span style="line-height: 115%;"> Nature is
a great opportunity for exercising the imagination</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"> Select anything you find and look at
it, really look at it and think about it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">A</span></b><span style="line-height: 115%;"> Award
yourself a blessing<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"> This may seem difficult at first but
it’s not. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">Think of a quality, any one and make yourself a
blessing from it<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">(<a href="http://bit.ly/z14jcK">find out more here</a>).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">T</span></b><span style="line-height: 115%;"> Ticket
to Ride</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"> Your imagination is your ticket to
... anywhere. You can go where you like.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"> Time<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"> Make time to ... be at peace. Start
with a minute. You have a minute, surely?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"> Change your thinking and change your
life in <a href="http://www.just-a-minute.org/">just-a-minute</a> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">I</span></b><span style="line-height: 115%;"> Imagine
a world ... as it could be, as it should be.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"> Change your world and you change the
whole world. Imagine that.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"> Smile more, be cooperative, practice
total acceptance, forgive and be truthful.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"> What a difference those few things
make in the world.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">O</span></b><span style="line-height: 115%;"> Open-minded</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"> Be open-minded and think about what is in the way of
your own spiritual progress.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"> Open yourself to help to surmount
the obstacles.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"> Imagine what it would be like if
your dreams came true.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">N </span></b><span style="line-height: 115%;">Now - right now!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"> Now is a good time to make the
change and really start using your imagination.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><i><span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></i></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><i><span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></i></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><i><span style="line-height: 115%;">“With imagination you can free yourself from the
chains of your own solitary perceived reality.”<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"> Davina Lloyd<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><i><span style="line-height: 115%;">“Perhaps imagination is only intelligence having fun.”
<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">George Scialabba<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7XD7Yw3BKqU/T090iiWv9pI/AAAAAAAACs8/RLv-cBFnqnU/s1600/imagination+is+evidence+of+the+Divine.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7XD7Yw3BKqU/T090iiWv9pI/AAAAAAAACs8/RLv-cBFnqnU/s1600/imagination+is+evidence+of+the+Divine.jpg" /></a></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4937807571393560668.post-51177749536497500262012-02-25T10:00:00.000+00:002012-03-01T14:13:53.356+00:00Let us pray for those who try - Poetry by Ken Walsh<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">We
so often pray</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">For
people in trouble.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Let
us pray also<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">For
the loving,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">The
joyful,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">The
kind and<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">The
courageous.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Ken
Walsh (From his collection – Sometimes I Weep)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4937807571393560668.post-23932518604005776242012-02-24T22:00:00.000+00:002012-03-01T12:01:48.233+00:00Nonsense!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">In
a world primarily focussed on binary opposites it is understood that the contradictory
position of sense is nonsense.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">Nonsense
is meaningless gibberish (isn't it?) – whether communicated in words or signs. This leads
to incoherence (doesn't it?). Just look at how <i>Alice’s
Adventures in Wonderland</i> progress and you’ll see exactly what I mean. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">There
are times when all that once seemed sensible and logical no longer appears that
way. It all becomes nonsense. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CMgxptVO4WQ/T09jMLARhcI/AAAAAAAACss/013dHyJjAaY/s1600/nonsense.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CMgxptVO4WQ/T09jMLARhcI/AAAAAAAACss/013dHyJjAaY/s320/nonsense.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">This
is a great opportunity to use your imagination; to see things another way. It’s
a risk, that’s true, but it’s one that is worth taking I think.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">Imagination
hold so many possibilities – ask any child at play, they’ll show you how. <o:p></o:p></span><span style="line-height: 115%;">What
at first seems like nonsense may highlight certain previously undiscovered
ideas. I plan to embrace nonsense!</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><i><span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></i></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><i><span style="line-height: 115%;">“I<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;"> like nonsense, it
wakes up the brain cells. Fantasy is a necessary ingredient in living, It's a
way of looking at life through the wrong end of a telescope. Which is what I
do, And that enables you to laugh at life's realities.</span>”</span></i></b><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; line-height: 115%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; line-height: 115%;">Theodore Seuss
Geisel (Dr Seuss)</span><span style="line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4937807571393560668.post-21857709835728528522012-02-23T22:00:00.000+00:002012-03-01T11:22:57.144+00:00Funeral Blues - Poetry by W H Auden<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone,</span><br />
<span style="background: white;">Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone,</span><br />
<span style="background: white;">Silence the pianos and with muffled drum</span><br />
<span style="background: white;">Bring out the coffin, let the mourners come.</span><br />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">
Let aeroplanes circle moaning overhead<br />
Scribbling on the sky the message He Is Dead,<br />
Put crêpe bows round the white necks of the public<br />
doves,<br />
Let the traffic policemen wear black cotton gloves.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">
He was my North, my South, my East and
West,<br />
My working week and my Sunday rest,<br />
My noon, my midnight, my talk, my song;<br />
I thought that love would last for ever: I was wrong.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">
The stars are not wanted now: put out
every one;<br />
Pack up the moon and dismantle the sun;<br />
Pour away the ocean and sweep up the wood.<br />
For nothing now can ever come to any good.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">
W H Auden</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_a-eXIoyYA">John Hannah recites Funeral Blues in Four Weddings and a Funeral</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4937807571393560668.post-1311738856627078572012-02-22T14:39:00.000+00:002012-02-22T14:39:18.952+00:00Survive and thrive<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Trauma is no respecter of gender, creed, ‘race’, sexuality,
continent, weather system ... you get my drift? </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When trauma arrives it does not
first check any passport or identity document, it is swift and uncompromising
in its severity. Trauma sweeps through all real or imagined borders.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It is like being picked up from your everyday life and
sucked into the centre of a whirlwind only to be unceremoniously thrown from
there and landing in a confused state of mind and body somewhere else. I’d
compare it to suddenly awakening in the middle of an Olympic hurdles final in a
wheel chair. Flummoxed and confused you reel from side to side trying to regain
your balance and negotiate the obstacles in front of you. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
You can see what you ought
to do, but the first thought is that everything from thereon in is impossible.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Having been traumatised in the past I know that it is all one
can do to try to breathe - much less to figure out how to progress from this
moment to the next. Nevertheless, the survival instinct does eventually kick in
and you decide to endure. You find or make your own way through. This is when
you regain your ability to be extraordinary. This is the first moment of triumph
in your new reality. </div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I am blessed that I have found many more such moments. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I am now thriving. Following my survival of the traumatic
events I bore through the pain and made it to today where I can say “It’s good
to survive and thrive”. Doing otherwise was never really an option for very
long.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
My life is blessed. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I am constantly awed by other people who have also experienced
their own traumas and keep on keeping on. People like <a href="http://www.bet.com/video/bethonors/2012/full-show/bet-honors-full-show-2012.html">Beverly Kearney</a>, the
track and field coach who suffered severe injury but refused to give in to
defeat. I have seen images of her in her hospital bed and trackside in her wheelchair
as she coached her team to repeated victories. She never gave up, she too,
survived and thrived.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Each one of us faces our own traumas. They may never be the
same as mine or Beverly Kearney’s but they are traumatic in each individual
life. We can survive and thrive, it all starts with the will to do so. We have
to keep on trying.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-lm7ibMShsFs/T0T9nFWTnDI/AAAAAAAACqo/k09c-CFBMmY/s1600/BET+honors+2012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-lm7ibMShsFs/T0T9nFWTnDI/AAAAAAAACqo/k09c-CFBMmY/s1600/BET+honors+2012.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
“<i>And when people ask
me ‘how is it that you have succeeded in spite of your obstacles?’ And you know
what I tell them? ‘I don’t have a choice.’ I don’t have a choice. Because my
hero is my history, and my history is a legacy of people who have triumphed
over tragedy, who have succeeded in spite of the oppression. How can I fail
because they have taught me failure is not an option.</i>” </div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<i><b>Beverly Kearney</b></i></div>
</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4937807571393560668.post-3541318217667547432012-02-21T22:00:00.000+00:002012-02-24T12:54:51.607+00:00In the Ark<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Many people are familiar with the story of Noah’s Ark – even
those who have no religious inclination know this tale.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I had reason to reconsider what it was like inside the ark
when I was away from familiar surroundings earlier this week. I was not scared
because of any end of the world prophecy neither was I about to be covered in a
deluge of water – although it had been raining earlier that day. No, rather
than that, I was thinking of the amount of love and joy that was in that
structure. There was a feeling of connection, purpose and shared future right
there. It weaved itself between smiles, hugs and handshakes. Everyone was
joined together by an invisible but strong thread of love. I was sat inside a
pub (an unusual location for me on any given day, especially a Monday
afternoon), nevertheless I was aware of the way I was feeling whilst there. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Inside that pub, remote from my home, I felt more at peace
and comfortable – no doubt, like the original inhabitants of the ark – than I
do when I attend my weekly church service. That fact disturbed me, merely
because of the alienation from peace that accompanies me in the company of
people who profess to be Christians but often show habits that would not be out
of place in an SS meeting.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The family and friends gathered in that pub were mostly
strangers to me, yet they were genuinely warm and welcoming to me. I felt at
home. I felt safe in the pub that became my ark for the afternoon.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-upEMXT-qvBk/T0eGw1mAPvI/AAAAAAAACrQ/Bzc3FIAybg8/s1600/ark.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-upEMXT-qvBk/T0eGw1mAPvI/AAAAAAAACrQ/Bzc3FIAybg8/s1600/ark.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I will continue to find safety in the mobile ark that I am
constructing – according to God’s plans for my life, and I hope that I will someday
replicate that feeling of safety that I experienced in the pub in more places
that I frequent, especially my weekly church attendance.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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