The moment a person wakes up and says: ‘Oops!’ is it then too late to turn back the clock and to grow younger? Of course we can’t erase the years we’ve been here on earth, but we can release ourselves from what those years on earth have ‘done’ to us. We can change the way we’ve always seen the world and life; which was probably in a blur, as we forgot to stop and appreciate the views as we were moving too fast! One might say: ‘but those years on earth, they’ve been ‘taken away by LIFE’!’ Nope! Not the case. The individual who says this, has taken away those years THEMSELVES, by not actually realizing that LIFE IS NOW. People feel to have been ‘robbed by life’ due to the circumstances they're faced with. But the attitude a person has towards the circumstances they’re living in, is the reason for those circumstances to remain the same! A person needs to realize that life can be changed and lived with deep appreciation, in every moment, for the ‘purpose’ of NEVER being the one to wake up and suddenly say: ‘Oops!’
Must a person wait until they turn a certain age before they’re ‘allowed’ to suddenly say: ‘wouw… how did that happen?’ Or can a person, regardless of their age, realize they can already say: ‘wouw’ and become a child who sees magic in the cows and the green grass and who believes in the power of dreams and who trusts that life is never ending? Can a person become ‘old before their time’ simply for appreciating every single moment, due to experiences of the past that have shown just how precious and delicate life is and how easily it can be taken away? Of course, us humans, we’re capable of experiencing both... we can do Anything! Regardless of our age…
In my moments of being a child, I feel younger than when I was in my early 20s, late teens, or even early teens! I can easily feel like a 5-year-old, excited by the smallest of things; it’s those cows in the field again! Yay! Oh, it’s a family of ducks with one actually being the ‘ugly’ one! Yay! Do I care that this ‘isn’t how it’s meant to be’ at 29? No I don’t. So I do this without giving any importance to what others are thinking or saying, either to my face or behind my back.
Does every 29-year-old cry when they get a bunch of flowers for their birthday and simply say ‘thank you’ for a bottle of perfume? Maybe not. Then again, not every 29-year-old is living with their mam, with a desk in a bedroom as an ‘office’, without a job in sight but amazing excitement for the unknown journey this world is taking them on. Is this how every 29-year-old feels and experiences life? So many different lives; people appreciating, seeing and being differently.
In my moments of being ‘old before my time’, I’m appreciating my physical body for getting me through everyday without fail. I’m loving the tea stops instead of the pub visits and stargazing is way more exciting than movie-nights! The man on the moon interests me more than the weatherman, the news reader and the latest ‘star’ on American Idol. Let me dance without a drop of alcohol and I’ll be the one to take over the floor; and I won't be doing the macarena! Silence then brings me home again, to curl up and feel a tired body, but again to thank it.
I often listen to myself speak or I read what I’ve written and there could be a lifetime filled with conversations that I'm having with 1000s of different people. There could be years filled with story telling, reflections, lessons, predictions and hopes. Reflections and lessons, meaning my life could be coming to a halt. Predictions and hopes, meaning my life could be just starting. Yet, 29 is what I am today. In the middle of LIFE itself. Sometimes a child, sometimes an ‘ould one’. But, somehow, always subtly trying to suss the level of maturity that’s needed, depending on the people, the circumstances and the situations that arise.
What an amazing journey. Time for bed!
Thursday, March 29, 2012
BURST OF LIFE
29 today!!! And what can I say? Not a whole lot or maybe too much to put into one post on this tiny little blog. Am I feeling older? Do I feel 29? How is a person actually meant to feel when they’re this age, or any other age for that matter? Old? Young? According to who? A 4-year-old will say I’m old. A 70-year-old will say I’m young. And what do I say? I say I’ve many moments of feeling like a child, as well as other times when I feel to have lived more than 1 life and I ponder, but am unsure of how many more I can still live.
From one day to the next, we feel different. We sometimes feel younger than we are, sometimes older. But, probably the most common ‘sense of aging’ people have is the one when a person thinks that they, THEMSELVES, stay the same age and everybody else ‘does the aging’! And then suddenly, one day, it hits home: ‘oops, I’m actually … years old! How did that happen?!’ This person then hasn’t got a clue as to how time passed by. Well, the answer is: Life happened, and one misses! Oops…! A person had been running through the years, and forgot to wake up and smell the roses! That’s a huge big fat OOPS I can tell you… Because people need to waking up NOW, in the MIDDLE of life, AS IT’S HAPPENING AND START SMELLING! (and whatever age you are today, the fact that you’re reading my blog, means you’re connected to internet, you’re ‘with the world’, and therefore fully able to stand up, walk outside into the garden (or to the nearest pot plant) and SMELL THAT FLOWER!)
Some stereotypes: Who, in society, enjoys planting new seeds, caring for the earth and anticipating the sign of new life? Stereotypically it’s the retired. And who, in society, runs through the fields enjoying the new life of the flowers, when Spring and Summer arrives? Stereotypically it’s the free, unburdened child. And there you have it! The ‘old’ life and the ‘new’ life… Both enjoying the roses! Both smelling the flowers, appreciating life. Both stopping to realize what’s important.
Hang on though, aren’t we missing more than half of society??? Where are those, who are no longer ‘officially’ children but not yet ‘officially’ old? Where are those who are in the MIDDLE OF LIFE (which really is ANY AGE)? They’re standing outside the field, looking at the child, happy to watch but TERRIFIED to join in. They couldn’t dream of joining in and BEING the child who is appreciating and loving life without inhibition, without feeling judged or criticized by the world.
So now, tell me this… what would those on the sidelines do if they were to see… let’s say… ME running through a field of tulips and being wild and free?! People would tell me I’m literally MAD! Well, guess what, if you gave me a field with blossoming flowers, I’d be the mad woman, and I wouldn’t care less! I’d be joining in with the dance of life, because man oh man, isn’t it everybodys’ dream to be wild and free… But we, ourselves, are the only ones putting limits on those dreams by telling ourselves that it’s 'wrong' and not 'proper' to dance and to love like a child in a field of tulips. Man oh man, how liberated from society a person can feel for taking life by the ***** and LIVING… simply by waking up right now and breathing deeply…
From one day to the next, we feel different. We sometimes feel younger than we are, sometimes older. But, probably the most common ‘sense of aging’ people have is the one when a person thinks that they, THEMSELVES, stay the same age and everybody else ‘does the aging’! And then suddenly, one day, it hits home: ‘oops, I’m actually … years old! How did that happen?!’ This person then hasn’t got a clue as to how time passed by. Well, the answer is: Life happened, and one misses! Oops…! A person had been running through the years, and forgot to wake up and smell the roses! That’s a huge big fat OOPS I can tell you… Because people need to waking up NOW, in the MIDDLE of life, AS IT’S HAPPENING AND START SMELLING! (and whatever age you are today, the fact that you’re reading my blog, means you’re connected to internet, you’re ‘with the world’, and therefore fully able to stand up, walk outside into the garden (or to the nearest pot plant) and SMELL THAT FLOWER!)
Some stereotypes: Who, in society, enjoys planting new seeds, caring for the earth and anticipating the sign of new life? Stereotypically it’s the retired. And who, in society, runs through the fields enjoying the new life of the flowers, when Spring and Summer arrives? Stereotypically it’s the free, unburdened child. And there you have it! The ‘old’ life and the ‘new’ life… Both enjoying the roses! Both smelling the flowers, appreciating life. Both stopping to realize what’s important.
Hang on though, aren’t we missing more than half of society??? Where are those, who are no longer ‘officially’ children but not yet ‘officially’ old? Where are those who are in the MIDDLE OF LIFE (which really is ANY AGE)? They’re standing outside the field, looking at the child, happy to watch but TERRIFIED to join in. They couldn’t dream of joining in and BEING the child who is appreciating and loving life without inhibition, without feeling judged or criticized by the world.
So now, tell me this… what would those on the sidelines do if they were to see… let’s say… ME running through a field of tulips and being wild and free?! People would tell me I’m literally MAD! Well, guess what, if you gave me a field with blossoming flowers, I’d be the mad woman, and I wouldn’t care less! I’d be joining in with the dance of life, because man oh man, isn’t it everybodys’ dream to be wild and free… But we, ourselves, are the only ones putting limits on those dreams by telling ourselves that it’s 'wrong' and not 'proper' to dance and to love like a child in a field of tulips. Man oh man, how liberated from society a person can feel for taking life by the ***** and LIVING… simply by waking up right now and breathing deeply…
Monday, March 26, 2012
There's more to Ireland... concluded
If people took a moment to step away from their worries, man oh man, they’d see Ireland as it’s meant to be seen and experienced. If Irelands’ main reason for being highlighted in the news – both inside and outside the country - WOULDN’T be because it’s in a crisis, but because of what it truly stands for, then there wouldn’t be any negative image related to the country and the spirits of the 3 million people still living here would be lifted; this country could and would start seeing the wild free spirit that’s buried underneath. They’d fully appreciate the power of its roots and heritage, which is where so much wisdom is held; something this country would NOW need to be calling upon. Its’ power is one that could lift the hearts and the lives of the millions in this country; as positivity towards LIFE in general would be raised.
Many will say: ‘It’s all well and good to be able to run through the hills, to walk the country roads, to greet the sheep, the cows, the horses and to meet the strangers who treat you as their friend and who offer a bowl of potato and leek soup with homemade brown bread; but at the end of the day, we need to live and we need to keep a roof over our heads!’ Of course, I DO understand that we need jobs, we need money to live… But we also need to realize that it’s not what life is ONLY about – even though it’s what life has BECOME about due to the lack of material wealth that’s experienced in the lives of so many. This is only a result of the shift in focus people made, years ago. They shifted their focus to what they THOUGHT was real and failed to take any notice of what was, and still is, AUTHENTICALLY real.
The nation has had to learn the hard way and slowly people will, and actually ARE, emerging from their gloom. I’m noticing the difference around me. People ARE waking up and appreciating LIFE more. I feel there’s more of a community spirit throughout the country (which I notice mostly on the radio – as I don’t watch the news or read the news papers – oops, Niamhs ignorance once again is showing…!). People are pulling together. There’s compassion and no sense of animosity or disregard towards those who are doing well for themselves and living a happy life and being successful (in whatever sense that may be).
Maybe this is the sign that Irelands level of appreciation for REAL LIFE is growing. When people support the happiness and success of others, they, unknowingly, are welcoming it into their own lives too. Hopefully, slowly but surely, the focus will change and move towards what’s actually important and real about this country and this life. And this simple ‘fact’ I wish for people to realize; appreciation for what’s ALREADY here will enable it to grow. And the spirit of Ireland - that has become buried beneath the worries - will come alive again. Who knows what the road then could reveal.
Many will say: ‘It’s all well and good to be able to run through the hills, to walk the country roads, to greet the sheep, the cows, the horses and to meet the strangers who treat you as their friend and who offer a bowl of potato and leek soup with homemade brown bread; but at the end of the day, we need to live and we need to keep a roof over our heads!’ Of course, I DO understand that we need jobs, we need money to live… But we also need to realize that it’s not what life is ONLY about – even though it’s what life has BECOME about due to the lack of material wealth that’s experienced in the lives of so many. This is only a result of the shift in focus people made, years ago. They shifted their focus to what they THOUGHT was real and failed to take any notice of what was, and still is, AUTHENTICALLY real.
The nation has had to learn the hard way and slowly people will, and actually ARE, emerging from their gloom. I’m noticing the difference around me. People ARE waking up and appreciating LIFE more. I feel there’s more of a community spirit throughout the country (which I notice mostly on the radio – as I don’t watch the news or read the news papers – oops, Niamhs ignorance once again is showing…!). People are pulling together. There’s compassion and no sense of animosity or disregard towards those who are doing well for themselves and living a happy life and being successful (in whatever sense that may be).
Maybe this is the sign that Irelands level of appreciation for REAL LIFE is growing. When people support the happiness and success of others, they, unknowingly, are welcoming it into their own lives too. Hopefully, slowly but surely, the focus will change and move towards what’s actually important and real about this country and this life. And this simple ‘fact’ I wish for people to realize; appreciation for what’s ALREADY here will enable it to grow. And the spirit of Ireland - that has become buried beneath the worries - will come alive again. Who knows what the road then could reveal.
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