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22 May 2011
Testing!
Autumn in the Garden
by Henry Van Dyke
When the frosty kiss of Autumn in the dark
Makes its mark
On the flowers, and the misty morning grieves
Over fallen leaves;
Then my olden garden, where the golden soil
Through the toil
Of a hundred years is mellow, rich, and deep,
Whispers in its sleep.
'Mid the crumpled beds of marigold and phlox,
Where the box
Borders with its glossy green the ancient walks,
There's a voice that talks
Of the human hopes that bloomed and withered here
Year by year,
Dreams of joy, that brightened all the labouring hours,
Fading as the flowers.
Yet the whispered story does not deepen grief;
But relief
For the loneliness of sorrow seems to flow
From the Long-Ago,
When I think of other lives that learned, like mine,
To resign,
And remember that the sadness of the fall
Comes alike to all.
What regrets, what longings for the lost were theirs!
And what prayers
For the silent strength that nerves us to endure
Things we cannot cure!
Pacing up and down the garden where they paced,
I have traced
All their well-worn paths of patience, till I find
Comfort in my mind.
Faint and far away their ancient griefs appear:
Yet how near
Is the tender voice, the careworn, kindly face,
Of the human race!
Let us walk together in the garden, dearest heart,
Not apart!
They who know the sorrows other lives have known
Never walk alone.
11 October 2009
Ooops no updates for a little while - life has been a bit on the manic side and all road signs point towards no let up between now and Christmas. Hurrah though, makes for an exciting time.
Time. Now there's a strange thing. On the one hand, the days, weeks and months seem to be flying by and more so the older I become. But on the other hand ... when I have productive days, achieved all I wanted for that day and crossed a shed load of things off my 'to do list' - there is a sense of time having slowed down. Maybe it's because I'm more focused on the here and now than I have been for a while, or maybe it's just because I realise that actually, when I put my mind to it, quite a lot can be achieved in a short space of time.
It helps that my energy levels have dragged themselves off the proverbial sofa and put themselves on a get fit regime. After my op's in the summer, it took a while to get back to full power again, but now I feel better than I have in years. So much so that a couple of weeks ago I decided that the kitchen/dining room needed to be repainted. It took me 5 consecutive afternoons after work, but I got it done and have since moved on to painting just about anything that stands still.
I've been a fan of Derren Brown for a while now, and have enjoyed his latest round of shows on Channel 4. The biggest thing I admire about him, is not his ability to distract and mystify us, walk on glass or produce ghosts out of thin air, but that he is in the business of exposing superstitions and myths for what they are. I'll admit I'm not the most rational person, in fact I would go as far as to say that rationality hardly ever comes into things, I tend to go with my feelings. But whilst there is certainly a place for that, I've come to the conclusion that there needs to be more of a balance.
I've selected a few books that I am hoping will help me along the way and give me a wider perspective of things in general.
I'll let you know how I get on.