Without one shadow of a doubt, writing is the answer to todays DP. Having said that, Emily Dickinson will take the stage with one of her beautiful poems.
Hope is the thing with Feathers
Hope” is the thing with feathers – That perches in the soul – And sings the tune without the words – And never stops – at all –
And sweetest – in the Gale – is heard – And sore must be the storm – That could abash the little bird That kept so many warm –
I’ve heard it in the chillest land – And on the strangest Sea – Yet – never – in Extremity, It asked a crumb – of me.
It’s so easy to become possessed by our possessions. ‘ Stuff’ just accumulates. It happens. But the older I get, the more miminalism appeals to me.
Two years back, when I was due to move home ( again) I had the luxury of the space, time, and the wherewithal to finally gather all my belongings together. ( Some had been in store for a long time)
There was an area in the garden used for composting and a fire pit. I went through old paperwork/admin with a fine toothcomb and burnt a pile. Old diaries, notebooks, negatives. So much hard copy.
William Morris once suggested that to have nothing in your home that is not beautiful or useful ( or words to that effect). I took that on board in a big way, and over a month or so gave at over half of my possessions to the Air Ambulance charity. Unwanted furniture and white goods collected by the British Heart Foundation. ( Yes, it does bother me the BHF suits take home fat pay checks – but it worked for me at the time). I gave boxes of lovely clothes to a young woman who I believed would appreciate them for her shop or sell online,help her family to pay some bills… ( After prompting from outside, she thanked me but never replied to a follow-up text( another story) Nice.
So, with less of everything, I moved to where I am now. I have gifted items, a few precious old photographs, a couple of pictures I love, and now just a tiny collection of books.
A ring left to me by my mom. 💜
There are a few pieces of clothes I like, and my multi- weather dog walking kit is invaluable. I have my birkies and odds and sods useful for my everyday existence.
I wear a piece of cremation jewellery. A small silver vial holding the ashes of a beautiful dog Tony, who once upon a time shared and shaped my life.
The rest you can have. Except Patch that is …and my tablet….or my wheels.
What’s a topic or issue about which you’ve changed your mind?
‘ Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything’.
~ Bernard Shaw 1856-1950
Bernard Shaw, Irish Playwright and Critic
When I first read the DP, I wasn’t quite sure what to say ( yeah, I know, that’s a first, lol) because I change my mind…or at least rearrange and alter my thoughts a lot. Especially now that I actually have the time to be still and see the big picture.
And what I see is quite staggering. A short while ago, the DP was about stuff we wish we had learnt earlier in life. My response then was that I wish I had known all those years ago that things are not always as they seem. The time and emotions I’ve wasted is quite something. Best not to dwell on it, really.
I love the expression ‘every day is a school day’ because I want to keep moving forward, updating myself, growing, living, learning, and changing my mind.
As writers, we are lucky to be able to put our thoughts down in black and white and then ponder them….
…it’s not yet 5am and I’ve already changed my mind several times this morning about whether should I get up now or not..and if so what to have for breakfast.
Bernard Shaw was asked towards the end of his life.. … “What would you do if you could live your life over again?” Shaw replied with a deep sigh : “I’d like to be the person I could have been but never was.”
And now I shall lay in the dark. Listen to the howling wind out there and feel the cool breeze on my face…..The birds will be hungry once the storm subsides.
When some one has slipped you the dirk in the dark, When eyes that are loving are lies, When some one you trusted has made you a mark, And somehow the heart in you dies, There’s dirt for you, hurt for you, trouble enough To shatter the faith of a man; But don’t ever think there is trouble so tough That you can’t overcome it—you can.
When living is losing its flavor to you, When worry is making you old; When there is no joy in the thing that you do Nor truth in the thing you are told, There’s balm for you, calm for you, out in the wild, There’s hope for you up on the hill. Get up in the timber and play like a child; You can overcome it—you will.
Get up in the timber; the trail and the trees Will make you a man in a day. The smell of the soil and the breath of the breeze Will blow all your troubles away.
There’s pine for you, wine for you, hope for you there—
The sun and the moon and the star—
If the ways of the city are not on the square, Get up in the woods—where they are.
Your life without a computer: what does it look like?
WP, I am going to take it to mean any device with Internet access?
A ‘ computer’ to me is a desktop. In fact the word itself sounds a bit dated since ‘ device’ stepped into the ring.
The first known use of the word was in 1613 by English writer and poet Richard Braithwaite ( 1588-1672) in his book The Young Mans Gleanings. ( A collection of religious essays) At this point in history, computers were people who carried out calculations by hand. So it’s quite valid to think the word sounds a tad dusty.
To today, listen up WP. I have spent most quite a chunk of my life without the Internet, so don’t think for one minute I am about to give it up… It’s way too precious.
I’ve stepped back from scrolling and the Socials. If I want to hang out, I’ll come here to DP@WP. If I want to be creative and write, check out a weather forecast, how to get from A-B, have some screen time, find out how best to cook something, touch base with peeps in the UK and overseas, book myself in for a restyle, a how-to on YouTube, Shazam part of a soundtrack, listen to music, test my grey matter, look up doggie issues, support charities, ask when something opens or closes, the definition of this or that etc, etc, etc…… You get my drift? It’s all there.
You ask how our lives would be without computers? ( Which has just made me think of a medical professional I’m getting to know here….His work life is tough enough. Without Internet access, it would be unbelievably compromised.)
So thank you. I am sure it would all be very Zen for a second or two, but I’m too curious about life and the natural world to let it go now. It’s where I get some light.
Of course, like anything, there is the other side of the coin, and I get to see and read about all the darkness, too. Those swinging dicks I sometimes write about. The megalomaniacs daily destroying everyone and everything in their wake for power and with greed, regardless of the consequences.These individuals fire up the rage my heart and soul at the injustice. That they, just a handful of absolute A Holes, can ruin the lives of so many, whilst making themselves rich…and being able to sleep at night!
Do you know what Jane Goodall, Martin Luther King Jr, Princess Diana, Emily Dickinson, Eleanor Roosavelt, Ralph Waldo Emetrson, Elton John and Neil Young have in common?
Yes, the clue is in the blog title HSP. Highly Sensitive People.
There is a good chance that someone reading this will be HSP without knowing it. Maybe they’ve been called ‘ too sensitive’ and crushed by that. As if it is a crime. It isn’t, and neither is it a disorder. It’s a trait. A trait to take you high and to the lows by being extremely sensitive to the world around them.
Yes, introverts may feel awkward in a room full of people known and unknown to them, but it’s not about being shy it can be about soaking up all the emotions going on in that space. Loud music or conversation, aromas, colours, textures. Does that sound like something you may understand?
Have you felt that in yourself? Catching snippets of conversation, eyeing some bright fabric, a waft of perfume, the ceing too high or too low, the room too big or too small, an angry voice, a mood, a vibe…all at once. Bam! And all you want to do is get out of there?
There’s quite a list of skills it would be great to master…and it’s fun to dream for a moment I’d achieve any of them.
To be fluent in Tamil and Arabic/Egyptian so I could converse with my buddies overseas when I’m there. To be able to totally understand what’s going on around me when I’m out and about in the street would be useful. At present, I just have the lad at the petrol station to practice what little Tamil I remember.
To be totally tech savvy would be very cool. To know my way around Computer Science, the whole shebang.
To naturally have the writing skills of AI..Boy do they have a way with words.Not sure they will get to grips with deep emotion, though.
It would be quite impressive to be able to do this.
The last for today would be able to play the piano in secret…Then at some soirée/ when the time was right pull out that stool, sit down and perform to the absolute shock of those around me. So funny!
I just need to say that time does not allow me to read everything you write every day.
Your words, thoughts, ideas, and dreams are so captivating to read. I wish I could engage with you all.
What I’m trying to say is if I miss a few of your posts, it’s not that I’m disinterested in you and your lives, it simply is i can’t keep up with you gorgeous people.
I love our community at DP @ WP….Keep writing and telling it how it is…
IN THE BOOMER PIGEON HOLE? 
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