Heart speaks

The contents of your heart will be evidenced from the things that you say and do. This much I know is true.

In the same way that your body can speak, so does your language along with your behaviour.

Some things have different properties. How it is used in your life is partially up to you. One example of this is the Aloe Vera plant, this simple looking specimen is used for its many healing and slimming attributes, but it has also been known as Bitter Aloes because of its pungent flavour on the palate.

I’ve heard of children in Jamaica who were so keen on thumb sucking that they had the sharp and bitter juice of the Aloe smeared on their thumbs to cure them of this social pariah before they went to school. This was a reversal of bitterness. This unpleasantness was obtained from an external source and taken in by the, initially, unsuspecting child.

When the children became aware of the negativity that the Aloes gave them they changed their behaviour; they stopped sucking their thumbs.

In the same way, when bitterness and negativity attack you from an external source, if you don’t want to continue to be affected by it, then you have to change your behaviour. This may be a physical or an emotional change.

I have seen relationships change and the hearts that once professes undying love becomes like nests of vipers. The venom from these attacks always causes pain. So, it is my suggestion that:

“When bitterness seeps into someone's heart, ugliness pours out in actions and deeds. Don't stay around to be contaminated by them.” MHM

Easy life

I have heard people say that others they know have such “an easy life”. This perception is, I think, flawed. I cannot think of a single person whose life is completely happy and they are able to handle all of life’s ups and downs without flinching.

I think that realism means accepting that life may not always be easy or a constant barrel of laughs, but it is always worth it.

I know people have looked at my life and commented that it is “easy”. I wish that was true.

I have daily challenges (you can read about some of them here in my blog) however, I do have a vast amount of joy and happiness as well. There are some situations where I could easily get morose and think along the “woe is me” lines, but I do, for the most part, resist and find a positive in whatever dire situation I am facing.

This philosophy has enabled me to remain upbeat most days.

There was a time when someone looked at me when I told them my age and said, “Well, you’ve obviously had an easy life!”

I just laughed in response.

All I know with total certainty every single day is that living my life is not always easy or fun, but it is always worth it.

Who are you?

“Who am I?” Is just as valid a question. If someone who knows you well ever asks you that question then it really is time to stop and think about who you are at that time. 

Why would someone close to you ever have to ask about your identity? This can only occur when you are pretending to be someone you are not. Then you will understand why this person, who knows how you usually act, will be both shocked and amazed that you can behave so differently.

They may gently guide you to a different place or they may have to walk away and leave you alone.

The questions that you need to ask yourself at that time are:
Is this really me?

Was that really me?

Will the next expression really be me?

Sometimes we can get caught up in the tidal wave of behaviour and lose ourselves. If there is a moment of clarity and redirection (whether coming from ourselves or from others) we should seize the chance to change to who we really want to be.

Nobody is continually impressed by people pretending to be who they are not. I’ve found that pretence is not a good basis for building any relationship.

The Body Speaks

Have you ever notice how you react to different situations? Do you think about the literal reality of your response? There is a whole library full of expertise on body language, and it’s there for a good reason, to help us to remember the things we once knew innately.  

As babies we learn to read the expressions on our parents’ faces. We know if they are happy or sad, we know from the touch we receive if we are loved or not. Their bodies speak to our bodies and we learn.

My body has been relearning this beautiful language and it is amazing to know that you can instinctively tell if something is true even when you don’t understand it. This is because your body is affected by the truth.

The action becomes real in you.

It’s a bit like music.

Some people just don’t get jazz. They listen to it, but they don’t feel it. They say that they don’t ‘get’ it.

When you ‘get’ a sense of music it is more than audible, to me it is physical. I can remember hearing particular pieces of music and just feeling that they are parts of my existence. They are real to me; they become part of who I am because they express my reality.

Some psychologists say that in order to encounter music at different dimension of your personality (other than just hearing it), you have to have an openness to experience; it is then that the occurrence of hearing music becomes real to you. You also know it as real.

I am pleased to remain creative, curious and to let my imagination continue to be active as I listen as any body speaks. Then I will get it. I’ll know it’s real.

Rioting and social recognition

Everybody has heard about the rioting that swept across the British landscape. The reactions have been varying. Many have wholeheartedly condemned the rioters, while others have been less willing to denounce the actions of the rioters. This has led to the fragmentations of society being more obvious now buildings have been destroyed by fire and vast amounts of stock have been stolen.

What are the reasons for this upsurge in people power?

In my opinion, it had little to do with Mark Duggan being shot by police in Tottenham on 4th August 2011 – that in itself was another tragedy.

The riots appear to have been about social recognition.

People feel as if they have been made mutes. They want to be heard. They react with actions that will make them noticed: they riot.

One person cannot cause a riot. However, rioting is easy if there is public acknowledgement that the actions taken are having an affect against the authority, the property or the people the rioters are angry with. The rioters gain power from their (albeit temporary) status as instigators of unrest. This gives them a new social identity and - in a warped reality - they are seen as providing a service to the disenfranchised masses.

Moving from a status of being disapproved in every aspect of their lives to a position of power is about gaining a sense of satisfaction and social recognition. So many people exist in such a state of constant desperation that even a temporary change seems full of merit. It quickly becomes a proposition that cannot be denied. The opportunity must be taken. This may be the mindset of the average rioter.

I cannot imagine the rioters crying ‘Carpe Diem!’ as they ransacked the sports, clothing, phone shops and other businesses – they did, after all, leave a bookshop untouched in their escapades in London.

The social recognition may be fleeting and it may also turn from a false positive to a true negative but at the time, in some social groups, rioting was the only way to obtain social approval and recognition.

What happens next?

Will everything go back to the way it was? I don’t think so.

Social approval is so important that people do desperate things to be accepted. In China, for example, there is more social recognition for women who are wives and mothers than for those women who have a good education. Smart women in China are seen as non-standard and they don’t fit into the bigger picture.

In Britain, the message to so many people is, “You don’t fit, so just be quiet.” Riots are not the best way to voice disagreement, but when the jackboot is always on your throat, it can become the only way to seize your day as you pursue your common purpose to be recognised.

That still does not make it right.

All the world’s a stage

It is said that everybody role plays – at least a lot of the time they do.

Occasionally an outgoing personality is created to hide a certain fear or it may be part of a desire to be different.

Everybody’s identity is a constantly morphing reality depending on who they are with or who they are not with.

When alone some people can be the happiest or saddest that their beings can express, and yet, when they are in the opposite situations the emotional character creation also changes.

From Shakespeare's As You Like It, 1600:

JAQUES:
All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players:
They have their exits and their entrances;
And one man in his time plays many parts,
His acts being seven ages.

If, according to Shakespeare, all the world is a stage, then I suggest you play it ... As You Like It.

Learning Opportunities

Do you remember everything that you set out to learn? If you do, please tell me the secret!

I was thinking about the various learning opportunities that have occurred throughout my life and I remember one particular attempt at learning another European language. I still remember a few words and phrases but nothing substantial, and when I compared it to the amount of French I remember I tried to figure out why one was easier to remember than the other (not that I am anywhere near fluent in French).

Then it came to me that the language that has more or less slipped from my memory never had an anchor there at all. This was because I only went to the classes to accompany a friend who wanted to learn Italian because a boy she was attracted to was Italian!

I went for friendship, she went for potential love. I forgot the lessons and I’m not sure how much she remembers now – her current husband is not Italian and she lives in California, so Spanish would be more convenient to her now.

In contrast, I thought about something I am passionate about and I don’t remember when the learning started and I know that it hasn’t ended.

My conclusion is that when you have different reasons for learning the lessons can stick like glue or fall away like old wallpaper.

Motivations make the difference in learning opportunities.

“They’re good people”

This is in the form of a personal affirmation.

I remember when my parents used to talk about people who my older brothers and sister would bring home. They would ask, “Are they good people?” This simple question was heavy with meaning. My elder siblings were required to recount the positive attributes of – not just their friends – but of the entire family, going back a few generations.

It was only in this way that my parents were even close to being satisfied that the people they were being introduced to were worthwhile company.

Too often people will judge others as a bad people because of their own narrow-mindedness (and yes, I do include my parents in this).

Because other people dismiss me as not good (because of their own ignorance) does not change the facts of who I am. Those who get to know me find out the truth of the goodness that is part of me.

I am remembering to tell myself, in the way of the old folks, that “I am good people”.

Affirmations

There are greetings cards, books, leaflets, bumper stickers and a whole host of other items that share affirmations with us in a subtle or not so subtle way each day. Some people go searching for them as soon as they awaken so that their day will start with self acceptance, approval and a positive attitude. Some people happen across them as they wander through their day. Others fall over them when they are at their lowest points.

These affirmations can transform your thinking. They can imbue you with personal power, they can steer you towards success. Positive affirmations are medicine for the mind that shows up in your positive actions and behaviours.

Why do we need positive affirmations? For a balance life, that’s why.

Here are a few to be going on with:

I am wonderful and my happiness is important.

I will make time to be happy every day; I am worth it.

I have a right to love and be loved.

I am a kind and loving person.

I will say yes to my dreams.

I believe in myself.

Holding back

Some conversations you want to end quickly, others you don’t want to end because it feels like you are talking to yourself, outside of yourself.

Last week I had the opposite type of contact; I wouldn’t really call it a conversation because it does not warrant that label. At the time I wrote down something like this, “Conversations with friends should not feel like entering a trap.” I felt like I was editing my thoughts before I spoke them.

Now I look back, after better conversations, and I remember that when you are comfortable with someone you never feel like saying anything is dangerous.

So you don’t hold back. You share, and they listen because they care. They share, and you listen for the same reason.

There is no holding back with true friendship. The edit button becomes dusty through lack of use.

Trauma

By its nature trauma is ... traumatic.

Sound silly? Maybe so, but that’s the point that I’m making, something too obvious to notice sometimes. The ordeal, the suffering, and the distress of whatever incident is like a sledgehammer to our minds and – sometimes - bodies.

We become fractured by the episode.

After we have been physically, mentally and emotionally torn apart the last thing we want to do is to think positively about the situation. That may come much later. Much, much later.

Later we may see that the trauma has presented us with an opportunity (it may not have been the smoothest path to that chance, but there it is) to start something new. A chance to create something new with the new person we are after the trauma. A time to recreate and start anew.

Trauma – as traumatic as it is – may be a restart we can use for our own benefit. It’s worth a try I think.

Here’s looking at you, Kid!

I had an unexpected conversation the other day which reminded me of a two way mirror. The fact is that what we commonly refer to as a two way mirror is really a one way mirror. There is only one side that is illuminated and the other, darkened, side is where the majority of the viewing takes place from.

Someone rang me to get information about a third party: I did not have any to give. This is because the connection between me and this third party had been broken a long time ago. Because the breach occurred a while ago but the innocent caller (Y) had decided to forget what they knew and stay in their own darkened viewing room.

You see, when the third party (called person X, for legal reasons) realised that I was no longer their puppet then their perception of me was destroyed. It was like throwing a brick into the centre of a floor to ceiling mirror: nothing can be the same again.

X took a step too far one day and I stood toe-to-toe instead of backing up as I used to do. At first X didn’t know what to do with my altered behaviour so they increased the pressure (sometimes known as bullying tactics) and I still refused to cave in because I was tired of being wronged without using my voice. The mirror cracked. Simultaneously we had both realised that our images of each other had been wrong.

At the end of this incident I felt that I was left with my pride intact and a new perception of X. Time passed and I did not follow the old script of crawling back for any morsel of conditional love that X would care to throw from the table.

What I found was that once I really started loving myself totally I was less dependent on others for scraps of their affection to make me feel better about myself.

The caller (Y) expressed a sense of anxiety about X’s perceived situation and tried to include me in it. I stepped back and explained that living in a constant state of dread and anticipation of something going wrong no longer suited me (I did not add that it also left me teetering on the edge of rejection and I was never good with heights or falling down).

So, the call ended.

I thought about X,Y and all the Zs... for a very short while. Then I exhaled again and went back to my peaceful place.

The beauty about losing the two way mirror is that I can see clearly for miles now.

Lent? Meaning and importance

It's amazing how some things change over time (writing styles, for example) and other facts never change.
At this time of fasting (for Ramadan) I was reminded of this old piece of writing that I did way back in 2007. It is on the local BBC website.

Lent is a time for giving up luxuries

Taken from bbc.co.uk/northamptonshire:

Forty lines for Lent

Read Marjorie Morgan's poem explaining the meaning and importance behind Lent, set out in 40 lines.

http://bbc.in/riBvJ6

How much time?

When baking a cake, well, at least when following a recipe, there are details laid out for all the ingredients and two very important time indicators: one is the preparation time and the other is the baking time.

I think they should add other timings to these recipes when you add the extra ingredient of children. This thought came to me as I was stood at the kitchen sink doing something that is not included in the schedule: clearing up time.

This particular time seemed to be longer than the other noted times I had read. But then I remember the happiness on the girls’ faces while they were mixing and measuring the ingredients. And then I thought to myself (with elbows deep in washing up liquid) how much time does it take to make children happy?

I completed my task with a bigger smile as they sat eating their own freshly baked toffee pudding dessert.

The time didn’t seem long at all then.

Kindness ripples

I was discussing a Bible story with my child and a friend. We were talking about Naomi, Ruth and Boaz. As we went through the different aspects of the tale we started discussing the effects that being kind to someone can have on their life and subsequent behaviour.

And this got me thinking about some experiences that I used to have when I was a child. As you probably know by now, I am one of a large family of siblings and as a result we hardly every had any quiet time at home.

So that made me remember when I was younger and how I used to spend a lot of time out of the house. As a family all of us would spend hours in our big back garden or we would go for long walks, especially at the weekend. I now think it was part of our parents’ plan to get some peace and quiet but at the time it seemed like we were getting the best deal as we were free to roam and explore everything around us in the Wiltshire countryside. It was fun!

While on our walks we would inevitably happen upon a river: not unusual when you live near the River Avon – it comes up all over the place. When we got to the water we would skim rocks across the surface in a competition mode. Each of us wanted to have the most rock skips. And we could do this for what seemed like hours.

Once we’d started we just wanted to continue. Seeing the initial ripples made us want to do it all over again. So we kept repeating the experience until it got so dark that we finally had to go home. But I still remember that feeling of doing one thing in our games and seeing another one happen because of it.

I think it is the same with kindness.

Have you ever noticed that kindness ripples? Just like skimming a stone in the river. Try it, it’s a lovely experience.

You won't be the only one who remembers it for a long time.

Expectations confounded

Sometimes you get an opportunity to do things but it never turns out quite like you thought it would. You have great expectations and you are disappointed.

And other times when you have few - or no expectations - you are pleasantly surprised, so much so that, again, your expectations are confounded.

Life is full of surprises. How wonderful!

Healthy connections

There are times when other people’s anger seems to seep through the atmosphere and touch you almost the same as new blood soaking through a white handkerchief. Then, like an oasis in the desert, you find a spot of hope.

I know someone who no longer likes me (this is not such a strange phenomenon until you know that for well over a decade we were very close - by mutual choice). For the first time in nearly four years we were in the same place at the same time. This was by design - but not mine.

I didn’t know she was going to be there, but seeing her didn’t make me feel comfortable. Nevertheless, I stayed.

I felt her dislike reaching across the space towards me like the tentacles of an octopus. Others who also felt it kindly came and buffered the pain as I was there on my own and I felt that I was drowning in it for a while.

Even though that part of the experience was hurtful, the thing I remember most about this occasion is what a man said in a speech. His words were like healing balm that distracted me from the dislike directed at me. He said that there is so much anger and upset in this world that sometimes we forget the beauty around us, sometimes we forget that with each touch of friendship we have fresh witness of the love of God in our lives.

That made me smile and remember wonderful people whom I have got to know and love.

To each person that I have ever been blessed to connect with I thank God that He has used you to remind me of just how much love He has for me. That alone can blot out any anger or dislike from those who have severed connections.

Sometimes we have to let go of those who would poison us with their negativity and when we have sutured the wound we can make fresh and healthy contacts.

Each new friend is another manifestation of the magnificence of God – just as you are.

Turn the tables

Try this for size: (it can be either emotional or physical) If someone behaved towards me the way I do to them, how would it feel?

Would I feel happy or sad, attraction or repulsion?

Just try it for an hour, a day, a week: turn the tables.

Robert Sanderson's XII sermons, 1634:

"Whosoever thou art that dost another wrong, do but turn the tables: imagine thy neighbour were now playing thy game, and thou his."

Loving the word ‘no’

Often we do not understand just how grateful we should be for the times when things have worked against our initial plans.

In the moment when we want to hear a ‘yes’ the opposite answer holds no attraction whatsoever. It is only when time may have passed and different things have happened that we see the true colours of the answers we wanted and were given.

I have recently wanted a situation to be so different, but it didn’t turn out the way I desired. It wasn’t pleasing to me; in fact I was morose for a while. But then as I lived the other avenue that I didn’t choose I saw things in a different light: I realised that if my plans had gone ahead the way I wanted them to I would have been walking into the most awful disaster.

Smiling to myself – in ‘No Avenue’ I realised that it was a brilliant thing to hear the word ‘no’.

You see, I can see across to ‘Yes Highway’ and know that it is more like Spaghetti Junction that the free flowing thoroughfare that I thought it was.

And right now I am loving the word ‘no’.

Lessons learnt

When starting with a presumption instead of a fact things could go wrong. This is my lesson learnt.

“Come here. I know you did this,” I called my son from the other room. I asserted my surety as I saw something incorrectly done when I entered the kitchen. This is a situation that I have repeatedly asked him to correct and I was not pleased to see that it was not done yet again.

His confused reaction was something I chose to ignore right then – I made another presumption. Morgan approached me meekly as I stood by the scene of his supposed crime. To be fair to him, although he didn’t seem to have any clue what I was talking about he still came when I summoned her.

As I started to lay out the fine details of this repeated offence we both heard another voice pipe up from the stairs, “It was me, Auntie Marjorie, I did it. Sorry.”

Immediate shame hit me.

In that second I learnt a lesson. The first thing I did was to apologise to Morgan for the false accusation, then I thanked and praised H for owning up without hesitation even though she was aware that I was not pleased with the situation I had found.

My other lesson learnt?

Unless I see the ‘crime’ being committed with my own eyes, then I need to ask first and don’t presume to know it all.

Starting anything with a wrong presumption will invariably lead to erroneous ‘facts’ that seem cast iron truth. With good fortune, in this situation, the truth came to light quickly and I was not hesitant in acknowledging my errors: lesson learnt.

Five simple words

How did I end up washing out paint brushes when I started out a short while before to put the tent in the loft? Those tasks could never be connected ... could they?

Here's what happened.

It’s quite simple really. It’s my old companion procrastination having a cup of tea with her mate distraction.

I was fed up of stepping around the tent so I decided to put it away (after a few weeks of avoidance) so I thought it made sense to put other things in the loft at the same time.

Some packed up painting equipment was also nearby so I placed those at the bottom of the ladder and then ... that’s when I left the task in hand and went back downstairs. You see, it made sense to put ALL the painting equipment away as I’d finished with it for a while. Therefore I decided to get the extra brushes from the kitchen.

The only problem was I hadn’t finished washing them out yet. (I know, it’s been weeks and they’ve been sat in the white spirit ‘soaking’ so that they’ll be easier to clean.) A quick task, I thought.

Having lain there so long the brushes had become congealed with paint so I had to get more white spirits to free them up. This is when I began to regret not doing it sooner. The paint began to flick all around the sink as I tried to free the sticky bristles. My hands were now covered in paint and white spirit and so were the brushes.

After struggling with them for several minutes I decided one was a lost cause and threw it away. The other two could still be rescued, I thought. This is when I looked out of the window and remembered what I had started to do all that time ago.

The ladder sat waiting for me to lug the tent up it and there I was, in the kitchen, washing month old paint-caked brushes.

The words that ran through my mind when I decided to get the paint brushes now sang a different tune as I attempted to rid my skin of the paint and white spirit smell.

“I might as well just ...” I had said to myself when I remembered them. Now I thought that it would be better to say “I might as well just do it now ...” when the task is fresh then I wouldn’t end up with the twin sisters distraction and procrastination for company when I had other things to do.

I might as well just ... remember that in the future!

What is hidden ...

This is a health story.

I noticed a tingling in one of my toes. It bothered me but I thought it would pass so I ignored it. I looked at the distracting toe and could not see anything obviously wrong so I learnt to live with it.

But the unsettling feeling would not go away. Oh, it was pushed to the back of my mind for a while but it always surfaced again. After years (well, days really) of doing nothing about it I woke up one morning and noticed that there was something new on my toe: a lump.

What was hidden had begun to show. The cause of the tingling was making itself evident right there, so I could not only feel it but I could also see it. The discomfort had also increased. It was no longer possible to walk with my usual ease. The numbness that I felt had started as a mere tingle, now it was spreading through my body. I felt something approaching fear.

Therefore at this juncture I decided to seek specialist help. I took action and saw a professional. The doctor checked me over and said that with a minor operation the cyst could be removed and everything would be back to normal again. The numbness would go and the tingling would cease.

Within a short while the pain will be totally gone because I didn’t ignore it forever.

As I said, this is a health story.

But remember, what is hidden eventually shows.

Focussing on Nanny

I have to attend a funeral in the morning. Well, I say I ‘have to’, I don’t have to – I am choosing to. Although I really dislike the separation and loss that is encapsulated in the funeral service I am going because I want to.

It’s not a party – that’s not where the want stems from, but I’m sure there will be words of celebration about this woman’s life, so I’m not excited in that sense about going there. I know I will cry because I cry for most things and ever since my mother’s funeral nearly 30 years ago I have kept up the tradition of tears on these occasions.

A few days ago I wrote on Twitter “Funerals have a way of focussing you. Whether it be family, friend or a fellow life traveller: a reminder to concentrate on what's important.”

That’s one of the reasons why I’m going. Another is that she was a kind, funny, loving woman who always had a good word to share and when she held on to my arm as she got into the car I felt as if I was doing something good for another human being. D had lived a long life and had suffered through many illnesses that would have stopped many people years ago, so for this woman who reminded me of Nanny of the Maroons, I will take some time out to share another retelling of the journey and they joys of her life.

As D is buried tomorrow I will remember ...

I will remember those who have already left this life and those who are still here.

I will continue to take every opportunity to focus on what and who is important to me in this part of my life journey. I will be focused.

Multiple identities

Living multiple identities sometimes cannot be avoided; it is a matter of the most basic survival desire. When there is an option and people still choose to live within multiple identities they seem to exist in a state of ‘edginess’.

A negative of living multiple separate identities is that you could open yourself up for multiple separate bouts of discrimination, but not always. I guess it depends on just how good you become at splitting your personality and reality. It needs perfect balance.

Balancing acts were never my strong point but I have honed the skill of a high-wire tight-rope walker over the years – because I had to. I learnt to live ‘edgy’. Everything that I did was at high speed and intense (thankfully some of the intensity has stayed with me, although the need for speed is diminishing).

At church and in the community I was permitted to share my spirituality and elsewhere I tried to find a safe place to share my sexuality: in the later endeavour I failed for many years. It was only in the last decade that I shared with one of my siblings the fact that I had been far too close to succeeding in suicide that she realised how strenuous it was becoming for me to manage my separate identities. My eldest sister was the first safe person in my family that I chose to come out to. I managed to start breathing as a whole person then.

What I didn’t realise for many years was my coming to accept my wholeness was the opening up of the fragmentation of my family as they dealt publicly with their new position as a relative of a gay person. They then took turns inhabiting multiple identities as they went into the closet I had broken free from.

Being allowed to be yourself seems such a simple desire (as so many people do this without a second thought) but for some of us we are still pushed to the edge of sanity and society and forced to wear the straight-jackets of multiple personalities.