Standing back

There are many times in a lifetime when you have to stand back and let things go on without your influence.. It is hard to do but I feel it is sometimes essential to stand back and not interfere or say things you might regret later. A couple of weeks ago I was standing in the bus shelter with various other people. A man came along and joined us then started to say how wonderful our prime minister was and how those on benefits or homeless should get a job and stop being idle. My first reaction was to move forward ready to defend those less well-off than myself but something stopped me. There was no response from those standing in the bus shelter either.

So where is this leading me? I could have put my point of view to this man but I could see that he would not listen anyway. There are many like him who are cosy in their own world and do not see what is happening in the world around them. It is easy to become homeless through no fault of your own. You may be made redundant and be unable to pay your rent or mortgage and then end up living on the street. It almost happened to me some years ago when I was told to leave my rented house as the owner wanted it back. This came after repeated complaints from me about a leaking roof so now I am careful about the number of complaints I make about my rented accommodation.

So if I had got in an argument with this man it would not have helped. I hope that we can all read between the lines, as it were, and see the truth about what is going on around us. We should be able to discern what is true and what is fake or just pure lies. Staying true to your own beliefs is important but I hope those beliefs include compassion for those who are vulnerable and need help as well. Standing back is not always the right thing to do but it can help you to see the bigger picture and help you to realise when to stand back or when to say something or interfere. If people had not interfered this last Friday then more people might have been injured or died when a man attacked others with a knife in London. Sometimes it is easy to know what to do especially in an emergency.

I know when to say things to others to try to open their eyes to what is going on around them but I can also see when they are brainwashed into their thinking and unlikely to change or even listen to what I have to say. Sometimes it is better to do nothing and stand back but on the other hand it is sometimes easy to know when to do something. Being a peace loving druid with compassion for others can bring its own challenges!

Getting things done

My time out has obviously been good for me. This week I had enough energy to do things that have needed doing for several months. This included a lot of sorting out, recycling, giving away and generally disposing of things no longer needed. It feels good to have done this and I also feel much lighter. There is still more to do and more decisions to make but I am half way there.

I have spent some time reflecting though, taking the time to sit by the large window and watch the activity in the garden. There are plenty of birds around and there are still some butterflies and the occasional dragonfly. There are also lots of bees around as there are still flowers in bloom although we are getting to the end of the summer season as autumn is approaching now.

Another thing I have been doing is making scrapbooks. I buy rather nice blank ones with a brown cover and brown pages inside. Very earthy! I sorted out photos, got them printed and decided which photos to go in which scrapbook. I have made scrapbooks before and they are good as memory books. I like looking back at places I have been and what I did in those places and what I saw. It makes me appreciate how much travelling I have done in the last thirty years even though I only stay in England nowadays.

The scrapbooks are also a way of recording the different butterflies, damselflies and dragonflies I have seen as many are specific to certain areas and are not widespread. For me it is also about recording the beauty of our natural world and allows me to stay grounded and strong while the outside world is crumbling down around us. Whatever happens in the future, I will have records of what it is like now in our natural world. The photo is taken in my garden where the cosmos flowers reign.

Achievement

From our first days after birth we spend time trying to achieve things. We learn to smile, to feed ourselves, to crawl and walk and talk. At school we continue in this way, learning to read and write and so on. When we get to working age the effort to achieve continues. But what is achievement? It is according to the dictionary ‘a thing done successfully with effort, skill, or courage.’

But we all achieve at different speeds and this is something that is often forgotten. What comes easy to some is extremely hard for others. In the world of employment, achievement is often seen as having a very good well paid job, a nice house, the 2.4 children and a big car. But is this really an achievement? If you have this are you happy? Do you ever stop achieving?

For me and for many others who suffer with chronic pain, sometimes just getting out of bed in the morning is a big achievement and to manage to do other things during the day is an even bigger achievement.

Do you ever look back to see what you have achieved? I did this recently and thought about the books I had written, the blogs I write and then I felt that perhaps that was my ego talking. So should we be proud of our achievements and tell others what we have done? I know many authors who ‘push’ their books and bombard social media with their adverts. This is not for me. If someone wants to read my books then they will find their way to them. But let’s get back to achievement.

There are many people in the world who feel they have achieved nothing yet they go to work and do well and have all that they seem to need. Is feeling happy part of achievement? I think we also need to look back and see what we have learned and done over the years. Every thing we do successfully is an achievement so for those who find it hard to do something, who then manage to do it, they have achieved that something. Achievements don’t have to be large, they can be small everyday things so look at what you have achieved this morning before you read this blog.

Looking back

We are often told not to look back but to be ‘in the now’ or to look forward to the future. But there are various reasons why we can look back and times when it is good to look back.

I like to look back at my life journey so I can see what I have learned, or not learned as the case may be, so I can  decide what I need to do next. I can reflect on my journey so far. I also like to look back in history to see how countries and people have changed over the centuries.

Looking back at my life can also bring to mind some wonderful memories, some which I have shared with others and some when I have made journeys alone. Yesterday I went out with my son and his partner to a local, wildflower farm. The sun was hot, the sky a clear blue, the flowers colourful and the butterflies, dragonflies and damselflies were out in abundance and stunningly beautiful. Tea and cake added to the day and it will be a day to remember when in years to come, I cannot get out to enjoy nature.

In my history/genealogy research, I am of course looking back, but I try to find out what life was like then, what people wore, and how they lived so that I am in a way bringing them alive. It enables me to see how much our world has changed in the last three or four hundred years.

So looking back for me is important. It enables me to make changes in the way I live my life and it also enables me to see how I do things differently than my ancestors. Do you look back and if so do you reflect on what you see? Does it help you to change the way you do things now? Does it help you to find out what is important in your life as it does in mine?

Here is one of the dragonflies from yesterdays memories.