so many choices

I'm reminded of the story of the man who gets caught in a flood and turns away rescue repeatedly, saying "God will save me".

In the last few hours I've had choices. There are things I want; finding them is proving difficult. Or so I thought. And then I noticed that doors are opening - just a crack, a glimpse now and then. So often I react by wanting more - more certainty, more information - and less - less risk, less exposure. The result? I miss out on the dangerous chances - the half-opened doors. What makes that happen that way? Is it fear; and if so, is it the fear that Marianne Williamson wrote of so clearly and vividly?

Who knows? I just know the level of frustration rises when the half-chance slips away.

Part of me wants more certainty; part wants to have choices stay open so that I can wander in and out. But would I want to be with someone who acted like that?

Simon

thoughts in the night (fragments)

The blind leap
Faith strong
Or eternal wait

----

Who pays the cautious?

Who's to say which side
has the greener grass

----

How often must I choose
With so little to go on
How sure must I be
Before I start the dance
I choose, I live
I wait, I shrink a little
And confusion grows

Mould or movement
Sounds easy
So many doors to open
No map here lies
Just dust
Decay

----

Simon

the macro world

Or should it be, the micro world? In the world of photography, the word macro has been adopted to apply to the idea that you can take a photo of something small and make a big image of it. Lots of people do it. You can find images - often in stunning colour and detail - of flowers, insects, all kinds of stuff that you'd normally just walk by.

Years ago, I bought a camera lens that had the word macro on it; I believed that that was it. I took photos that were close-ups of things - usually flowers or leaves. Then, just recently, I found a website with lots of stunning shots of really small things - and I realised that my so-called macro facility on my lens couldn't produce anything like that. So I turned to that wonderful source of so much information - the web - and found out how they do that - those wonderful shots. I found that you can pay huge sums of money for very fancy bits of kit. I also found you can do it on the cheap. And then I found the world of extension tubes; I picked up a set this week for very little money. At first sight, they seemed impossible to use. But I stuck with it for a few hours more - and came up with an image of rare beauty. I'll share it very soon - here's a thumbnail.



What you see here is about the actual size of the object; now imagine it blown up to be the size of your screen. Now imagine that you can sit, bathed in the light from the screen alone, and maybe you will see the light in a new way. I printed this out on a sheet with the image 8 by 10 (inches) - and then realised that I was looking at a print that was eight times the size of the original object! Wow!

So, now I have yet another dimension of this world to explore - not just words, music, photos of nature, but now also photos of the smallest, slightest glimpse - the world within a world.

The journey continues.

Simon

the speeding mind

Ever had that moment when your mind is spinning faster than your body can cope with? It seems to happen to me a lot. A while ago, someone said she had the impression of me as this very active brain dragging along an unwilling body. And that felt very true. I suppose that's why I get frustrated a lot; I have ideas that I would love to have take root in reality. Things I'd love to make happen - now, no delay. And, of course, it doesn't happen.

The other day I was exploring the variety of poetry websites where you can log on and post whatever you like. I needed to choose a username, and this particular website said "choose something different, something unusual, something creative". That stopped me - but only for a moment, because what came along was the name "the speeding mind". Now, that really appealed to me; it seemed to sum up so much of where I'm coming from. So that's the name I chose.

I don't know where it's going to lead, but I feel it's a part of me now.

This has been a Speeding Mind Production.

Simon

maybe

Maybe we have
Doubts
So we may have belief
Rain
So we may see the sun
Fear
So we may feel courage
Pain
So we may feel healing
Loss
So we may feel love
Adversity
So we may have joy
Hunger
So we may rejoice the harvest


Simon

do be do be do

How hard is it just to be
After a lifetime of doing
How hard is it just to sit
With hands and brain idle

How can we be in this moment
With itchy feet urging us on
How to capture the sunlight
On its fleeting glance across our lives

What reward is there to sit
As if a cat dozes on your lap
Or a baby close to dreams
Asking only for your peace

To see the morning mist
The glisten of frosty leaf
A blade of grass
Sprinkled with dew

We live as if our deeds
Are the only way to immortality
So that our hearts feel lost
In a tossing sea

What if we take a breath
And see the beauty around
Listen with the heart
And let the mind drift free

Will that fill our lives
Quiet the unstill mind
Mark our place in time
Or just let be


Simon

thoughts on the ideal CV

too little or too much
short and punchy
or chapter and verse
which should it be


Simon

dreamtime jottings

dreamers live on
in fantasy full
no vale of tears
no sharps or flats



Simon