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.
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!
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!
Being a Highly Sensitive Person (HSP) is a trait, superpower and recognised as a neurobiological difference….and like everything else in life there is light and shade.
Sensory Processing Sensitivity ( SPS) it is specifically called in the science world. It is complex and impossible to put into a bite-sized piece for my blog post this morning.
I will endeavour to put some facts and figures about it for a post later if you are interested. Oh, here’s one statistic …20% of the population is hsp/sps.
Do you think that may include you? Lots of Creatives are.
List three jobs you’d consider pursuing if money didn’t matter.
So many of the bloggers here on WP today are answering the DP simply: We don’t want a job!’ And it’s not about being lazy, either. There is not a lot of freedom to be had for many trying to keep home and soul intact.
They change the percentage now and then, but Shelter say between half and three quarters of working renters are one pay packet away from homelessness.
There are people/famlies struggling to keep their heads above water, with bills to be paid at every turn.
No wonder WP the DP is being answered with shouts of ‘ give me a break’…..
I’d like that converted chapel or old school house and have enough room to take in the old and unwanted broken souls from a Rescue Centre…and adequate funds to keep that roof over our heads.
If I was younger? A Search and Rescue dog handler…and before you say anything, yes, I appreciate it would be grim at times.
That leaves being a philanthropist of some measure.Having the cash to give generously and regularly to charity appeals.
IN THE BOOMER PIGEON HOLE? 
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