Sink or swim,
That is the question.
The seductive abyss,
Or the choppy waves,
Which choose you?

The mermaid of the deep
Beckons,
Seductively calling
My name,
“Come hither,
Come rest your weary head”.
No! It’s a lie!
There’s no rest in that direction,
Only torment and pain and confusion.
So reluctantly at first,
I rise above it,
I feast my eyes beyond,
I float,
And swim safely to shore,
Slowly, exhaustedly,
But more
Stronger every time,
I resist the urge
To drown

Life is precious,
We never know when it will be taken from us,
So enjoy every moment
And live like it will be your last.
No more time to be serious,
To carry the weight of the world on your shoulders,
Let go of grudges, perceived slights and those who wronged you,
Learn the lessons
And trust,
For there is hope in the now.
Enjoy
Smile
Laugh
Live every moment
With childish curiosity
Wonder and awe
And
Love.
Appreciate everyone in your life
See the light and good within them
Know they are struggling too
So do what you can to
Lighten their load
Ease their burdens
And bring joy to their day
By pouring yourself into them
And in so doing
You will bring joy and peace
To yours
In return.

Love trumps fear
Love trumps all
All you need is Love

Like
A
Jigsaw
Puzzle
Never
Fully
Making
Sense
Or
Allowed
To
Shine
Until
The
Final
Piece
Has
Been
Laid
In
It’s
Rightful
Place,
Releasing
The
Beautiful
Amazing
Vision
Appreciated
And
Adored
In
All
It’s
Fullness
And
Glory

If what you focus on
You attract,
Knowing
Your desire is
The path of success,
Then why do you
Gaze upon others’ mistakes
In the mistaken belief
That you’ll avoid them
When all it will do
Is lead to the
Repetition of?

Instead
Focus on
The Joy
The Abundance
The Success
That you so desire
To start
Attracting more of this
Into your life.
Learn your own lessons
On your journey
Rather than repeat the
Mistakes of others

And do you not see
Your true desire is not indeed to focus on mistakes
But instead
To be free
To fly
To soar,
So take my outstretched hand
Follow me
And I will lead you to your dreams

Once again
Succumbing
To the sleepy seductiveness,
Eyelids drooping,
Breath deepening,
Drifting off
In the arms of Morpheus,
Yet sofa bound,
Til waking in the early hours,
Neck taught,
Limbs frigid,
Dragging leaden feet upstairs
To the comfort of my waiting bed
And dreamless sleep.

A tone of voice can be many things,
It can hurt
It can wound
It can make or break a relationship,
It can soothe
It can repair
It can show compassion and care,
It can be
Seductive
Alluring
Enticing
Inviting
Or it can be
Closed
Cutting
Spiteful
Hurtful.

Be aware of the power of tone
How it can lovingly embrace,
Or slice through bone.
Listen out for what is behind others’ words
As well as your own,
Be clear with your intention,
Be kind
Be compassionate
Be forgiving
To all
With all you say,
Including to yourself

Phone call
Out of the blue
Sister in law abroad
Screaming down phone
Reassuring her it’s all going to be ok.
Brother rushed to hospital
Cardiac arrest
In the sea
While training for channel swim
Dragged ashore on board
Laying on pebbles
Heart stopped
Fortunately
Doctor and two nurses
Nearby
Pumping heart
Back to life
While curious onlookers watched
Nonchalantly
While eating their sandwiches
Amongst the steely determination
To bring life back
Thrashing arms
Made it too unsafe
For rescue by helicopter
So by road instead

Hospital emergency
Heart stopped
Again
Brought back to life
Again
Induced coma
To recover
High alert
Family worried sick

But for me
Calmness
Awareness
A knowing
He’s not ready to go
Nurses confused by my
Lightness
Asking if I’m really ok.
Yes I’m ok
Because I know
It’s all going to be ok
My brother is not yet ready to give up

And sure enough
Defying all doctor’s expectations
Awakening early
From induced coma
Physically weak
Mentally strong as an ox
With no lasting damage
It’s a miracle they shout
When quite simply
He just wasn’t ready
It wasn’t his time

Slowly
Learning and
Understanding and
Becoming
More confident
More assertive
More bad-***
Till you
Can stand
In your power
And no ******
Can come close
To you
Unless you say so

Finding myself
Desperately
Treading water,
Arms and legs flailing,
Trying hard to keep my head above the waves,
Rather than succumb,
To the
Strangely
Comforting
Seductive
Clutches
and
Familiar
Embrace
­of the
Abyss.

But this time,
Before it has a chance to ensnare me in its grip,
I lift my head,
I look to heaven,
And I smile,
Knowing I can choose now,
To instead rise above,
And not only that, but
Fly high above the turmoil
To my destiny and
My freedom

I am so grateful
To those who went before me
Signposting the way,
Patiently,
Over and over,
Until I had the grace to listen
And to learn
And to respond.
And now it is my turn
To repay that kindness,
To pass it forward,
And signpost the way to those behind me
With love, patience and kindness.