Tag: choices

  • Lessons from the sea …

    "... there’s a rhythm 
    to all this
    life’s moods
    as cyclical as the moon
    I’m minded that
    when life feels tough
    this too will pass ..."

    In my experience, you can’t beat a trip to the sea to recover your sense of perspective.  There’s something about the constancy of lapping waves that reminds me that, despite all the things I may worry about, nature carries on doing its thing.  

    I regularly fall into the trap of thinking I have some control over my life.  Yes, yes, there are some things I can control to some degree.  I do my best to eat healthy, stay fit, live within my means etc.  But you only have to look back to the Covid years to remember that none of us can ever predict what might be round the next corner.  There’s a balance to be found somewhere between taking responsibility for aspects of your life and accepting that, actually, most of it is beyond your control.  I’ve never managed to find that balance and have to admit to being a bit of a control freak.

    It often seems to happen that when I think I’m in control, life has a way of reminding me that I’m not.  Sometimes this is a welcome lesson, other times less so; usually it’s a bit of both.  

    My busy working life felt more manageable when I made to-do-lists.  I managed my work calendar with dedicated blocks of time for various tasks, and home life followed suite.  It was exhausting and often quite stressful.  But I didn’t dare let go of the little control I thought I had, because I feared it would all come crashing down around me.  The only time I truly allowed myself time to relax was on holiday.  

    This poem was written in the Orkneys when, at last, I slowed my pace to match that of island life.  I watched the breaking waves, spellbound by the rhythms and the sounds of the sea. My inner spirit soaring with the many seabirds, my skin free of make up, my hair knotted and wild.  I found out on that holiday that I hadn’t even made it through the paper sift for a promotion (yes, ashamedly, I checked my inbox).  It was a disappointment, but also a relief, which was a lesson in itself.  

    Coastline cliffs with crashing waves below.

    I had the sea to remind me that life goes on, promotion or no promotion.  I can choose to accept it or not.  I choose to fully embrace life as best I can. Some days that’s easy, some days not so easy.  But it’s always worth the effort. 

    seascapeDownload

  • Be ready for life’s opportunities!

    "... here I am
    listening at last
    on the brink 
    of something big
    ready to embrace 
    the future self 
    that I dreamed I’d be ..."

    I wrote this poem in springtime; a season where many of us might feel drawn to reviewing life choices, inspired by nature to wake up and take note.  In busy lives, it’s all too easy to be sucked into what can feel like an endless cycle of work, eat, sleep, with perhaps a little time for yourself if you’re lucky.  That’s why pressing the pause button, no matter how short-lived, is important.  If we didn’t stop once in a while to admire a view, watch children play, listen to a favourite song – whatever it is that works for you – our days would simply be all about doing and never about just being.  

    I’ve lost count of how many times I might have missed something profound, amazing or simply beautiful, if I hadn’t take the time to notice.  It might be fleeting, such as witnessing an act of kindness in the street, or a stunning sunset you would’ve missed if you hadn’t looked up at just that moment.  This happens a lot to me whilst out in my camper van and a reason why I’m always reluctant to draw the blinds.  Check out the photograph below to see the sunrise we almost missed in the highlands of Scotland earlier this year. 

    There are lots of things that offer up opportunities to review our lives if we are alive to the possibilities.  I know I’m not always receptive because I’m too busy thinking about the next thing on my to-do-list.  Half the time, I am on auto-pilot, doing stuff without really thinking.  I’m not present in the moment and I need a nudge to bring me back to now.  

    We don’t always have a choice about what brings us back to the present do we?  Lives can be turned upside down in an instant due to serious illness, redundancy or a marriage breakup.  Other times we do choose and we can prepare … such as a house move, a new job or retirement.  

    But all these things are big things and it isn’t necessarily the big things that bring the deepest insights.  I find it’s the small often ignored things that suddenly come into focus and help me shift my perspective. 

    It was an online session with a group of women that prompted this poem.  In my final months before retirement, it was an opportunity to think about how I could choose to be, free from work commitments that took so much of my time and energy.  I knew all too well that I’d missed out on so many opportunities over the years, choosing instead to preserve my energy for work. It was a strategy that helped, but came at a personal cost.    

    Of course, now I’m retired there are lots of other things filling my days and I’m fast becoming one of those people who declares, “I don’t know how I ever found the time to work!”.  But what I am purposefully doing is making time in my days to pause, no matter how briefly.

    This blog is an invitation to you to take time out to read a poem; let it take you to places, both within yourself, and beyond to the wider world.  That’s all – just try it! Welcome to to the present moment.  What invitations call to you? 

    invitationDownload