When someone
Dares
To share
Their heart
Others’ hearts open too

And from the opening
Comes
Brotherhood
Sisterhood
Family
Care
Love
And a reason
To love

Sometimes
I wish I could hear
Your inner voice

I would stop time
And listen
To your thoughts

And perhaps then
I would understand this crazy world
Better

Morning dew
Whispered dreams
Rainbow Colours
Silver Streams
Heartbeat
Evergreen

You give to me

Time stands still
Meet my gaze
Sunbeams
Through a morning haze
All these things
Every day

You give to me

Tonight at 7pm UK time
People around the world
Prayed for ‘gentle rain’
To fall and extinguish the Australian bushfires
That have killed five hundred million animals
Destroyed one thousand homes
Ended seven human lives

Sometimes
All we can do
Is pray

Challenge
Myself
To challenge
The status quo
And make
Dreams
Reality

It's 2020
The first day of a new decade
And I wonder
What will the next ten years bring?

The time will fly by
That’s for sure
And on New Years Day 2030
Will we still be wondering
Why we are in such a mess?

Will a technological revolution for good
Have swept the planet?
Will the clean and green energies
Have replaced the oily polluters?
Will the super-rich have redistributed their wealth?
And will the poor have found their feet?

Will children dance with joy
As they grow and learn?

Will the old be comfortable
As they prepare to depart?

Will the homeless be housed?
The damaged be repaired?
The species be recovered?
The ice caps refrozen?

Is all of this possible?
Is any of this possible?

Is it possible to make the world
Turn differently?

Maybe those who make
The biggest mistakes
Are the ones who take
The biggest risks

And those who never make
Any mistakes
Never stray
Beyond their comfort zone

All things come
From mud and earth

Left alone
Seeds will sprout
Shrubs and grasses will grow
Trees will ascend
And all life
Will flourish

Over managed
Hunted, mown
Cut, degraded
Life is stunted

Thousands of years ago
Life was here
And we moulded
Our dwellings
In to bountiful landscapes

And now with
Brick, tarmac, pavement
Steel and stone
We weigh it down

But beneath
The energy
Of the mud
Boils and bubbles
Waiting to burst forth
In profusions
Of mystical creativity

I pray that we will
Give our earth
The chance to decorate our planet once again
With a brilliant eruption of diversity
And this will become a golden age
Of nature

How many lifetimes
Have I searched for you?

How many dreamtimes
Have I yearned for you?

How many voyages
Have I travelled to find you?

And now
You are here

Tender green eyes
Softest skin
Warmest embrace
Heart flowing with love

Beauty beyond compare

You allow me
To become
The man I want to be

I will never let you go
For you are

My true love

If you explore your dreams
Capture them while they are fresh
Turn them into words
Inscribe them in your life

If you can take a step
Then another
Continue
Even though winds rage
And the rain crashes down

If you can keep your dreams sacred
Thank those who travel with you
Remember the unique and beautiful nature of your soul
And your humanity

Continue to journey
Right until the very end
Moving with dignity
Taking great pains
Taking great care
Never giving up
Never losing hope

Then my friend
It will come to you

It will come to you

For you are a child of the universe
Most precious creation
Of the most precious creativity

You will have fulfilled your purpose
And shone for who you truly are

Perhaps
Finally
The tide
Is turning

For years
The cheats
And liars
Have prospered

And now
At last
The honest
Have fought back

To hold the powerful
And dangerous
To account

We are nearly there
Nearly at the place we dreamed we would get to
Nearly at the place where our reality has changed
Nearly

It all started in our minds
And spread to our hearts

We took the action
That we believed was right
And now we can see the end point
Aswe stand together and observe
What has been created

And it is beautiful
Imperfect
Wonderful

And although we may look the same
Although the land looks just like it always did
Somehow
Inside
We have changed

If things didn’t work out
The way we wanted
In the political world

I guess we will have
To make things happen
The way we want them to
In the real world

After months of politicians
Talking, shouting
Avoiding, annoying
Appearing, disappearing
Wheeling, dealing
Promising, denying
Lying, bribing
Flying, running
Walking, joking
Mocking, shocking
Knocking, flocking
Blocking, quaffing
Scoffing and parroting

It all comes down to this
A pencil
Some paper
A choice
A cross
A box
Some counting
Some checking
An announcement
An ending for losers
A beginning for winners
A new regime
Voted in
That will affect the lives
Of everyone

After months of politicians
Talking, shouting
Avoiding, annoying
Appearing, disappearing
Wheeling, dealing
Promising, denying
Lying, bribing
Flying, running
Walking, joking
Mocking, shocking
Knocking, flocking
Blocking, quaffing
Scoffing and parroting

It all comes down to this
A pencil
Some paper
A choice
A cross
A box
Some counting
Some checking
An announcement
An ending for losers
A beginning for winners
A new regime
Voted in
That will affect the lives
Of everyone

There will always be days like these
In which you feel
Nothing
But emptiness

Days for which you have to put on
A brave face
And pretend
To be cheerful

There will be always be days like these
When the wolves will circle
And you struggle to imagine
If they will ever leave

And you question whether
You can hold it together
Or whether it will all simply
Fall apart

There will always be days like these
When winter seemed destined to last
Forever
And spring feels just too distant
To even be real

But remember

These days will pass
They will always pass
And one day you will feel the sun on your face
And joy in your heart
Again

There are hidden lines
Between you and me
Energy lines
That bind us

Invisible
Yet tangible
Our hearts
Are joined
By threads
Which reach through
An unimaginable dimension

My devil carries a sword
Which for some unknown reason
Slashes at our bonds
My angry tongue burns
Hissing complaints
That erode our heart ties

And we have to start again
Repair our ties
Time and again
And I slowly learn
That I need to stop my devil
Slashing and burning

Although I cant see the breaks
The scars
I feel them
And my day starts badly
I feel remorse, sadness
At the destruction I have wrought

There are ties that bind us all
Fathers, mothers, sons, daughters
Brothers, sisters, friends, lovers

The heart is capable
Of reaching the fiercest enemy
Scaling the highest mountains
Breaching the thickest of walls

Sending invisible messages
Creating bridges of connection and love
Joining everything and everyone
Building hope

And it is stronger than all other forces
And yet more fragile and vulnerable
Than I knew
Until now

We must stop doing the things
That are killing the planet

Whoever we are
Wherever we are
Whatever we do
It is up to us

We must no longer put
Money in the pockets
Or power in the hands
Of those who plunder and destroy

We must change our behaviours
Change our choices
Awaken to our own wisdom
And create the future
That is needed

Destiny is only fixed
If we fail to act

Friday
Tired
Homeward
Bound

Happy
Sleepy
Satisfied
Feeling

Anti­cipating
Warm
Family
Time

Weekdays
Work
Complete
Again

Weekend
Seafront
Walk­s
Beckon

Morning
Dozes
Coffee
Breakfast

Rest
Renewal
Recharge
Ready

Return
Work
Struggle
Repeat

This moment is a memory
The burning red colours of winter leaves
Shining like torches in morning light

Bare branches
Luminous green with moss
Reaching out into space
Like spiders’ legs

Sun rising
Painting the pink of salmon
Across a turquoise sky
Clean white frost
Spread evenly over roof tiles

Everything has a winter feel to it

I walk the streets
With lines on my face
And shadows beneath my eyes

Each winter
That I am here
Part of me dies
Only for rebirth to come
With the spring

Sometimes I yearn for it all to end
This struggle, this journeying
To and fro
To and fro

A better part of me
Demands that I treasure each moment
For one day
It will all be over

And I won’t see the seagulls diving
I won’t gaze at the sunrise
I won’t witness the cycle of nature
I won’t breathe the crisp morning air
I won’t feel the warmth of my bed
I won’t hear the voices of my loved ones
I won’t share the balm of togetherness
Anymore

What is the pinnacle
Of man’s desires?
What is the loftiest
Of our goals?

Is it to live
In material comfort
Hunger, cold, poverty
Kept at bay?

When we are warm
Well fed, comfortable
To what do we turn
Our unique energies?

It is towards power?
Fame?
Authority?

Is it more wealth?
That drives us on?

Or is it the happiness
Of those around us?
Families, friends
Humans, animals?

We must ask ourselves
Honestly
For what purpose
Beyond self service
Are we here?

Golden sunlight
Surrounded by electric blue
All the colours of autumn
Unite in browns and gold
Cold and fresh air
Horses grazing in the morning sun
Coats and hats everywhere

Where are we all going?
What is our destination?
Who are we listening to?
What are we talking about?

Ice sculptures melt
Melt in the heat
Polar caps will melt too
And we will all be in trouble

If the truth is not told
And the wrongs are not put right
If human hearts are closed
And people's minds are fooled

How many more times
Will I approach Billericay
On this particular train journey?

Can it be counted

Is there a heavenly spirit
Who had pre-destined
The number of times
I will make this journey?

Will it be more than I thought
Less than I thought?

After all – I could be dead in a week, a day, an hour,
Is this my last ever journey
Through Billericay?

This is about
Being present
In the moment
With another human

Not rushing from them
Distracted
By our own
Desires and goals

Facing the shared problems of life
Entirely
Completely
Together

Whilst being true
To who we are
And what
We feel

Wherever I go
The spirits go with me
And I experience the oneness
Of self and environment

One self
One environment
Bound by invisble threads
As strong as iron

But if I change
My environment changes.
Faster than
The speed of light

So how can I change
To become less aimless
So that  I no longer hide behind
The goals of others?

If our bodies face forward
Then that is the direction
We should take
That is where I should aim my life

On a day like today
I have to trust
My very essence
Which gathers in great droplets
Like syrup running from a spoon.

If I can wear a smile today
And encourage everyone I meet
Then perhaps if this were to be
My last day on earth
I would be happy with it

Fill your cup with alcohol
To drown out the silence

Continue
Never give up
Change something
Change yourself
Never be defeated
No matter what
Never relent
Pray

Ancient trees
Look down upon saplings
As if to say

'Grow young friend, grow...
I will drop my leaves
To enrich the earth just for you'

There are lessons in this world
Before our eyes

Perhaps we should see them
More clearly

Frost has arrived
To coat everything

Frost that clings
To beautify
Ugly traffic cones
And shimmer the pavements

Autumn colours
Glorify the trees
Brown, gold
Copper, orange

Earth stands frozen,
Firm, clean

I’m making a fresh start
Although the sights, sounds, touch, tastes and smells
That pass through my senses
May be more than familiar
I will try and experience all things anew
With the wonder that they deserve

I will enter my place of work as if it were
My first day of work
And do my best to make a difference

I will treat each person
As if they were a King or Queen
I will try to be helpful and supportive
And treat each person with the greatest sincerity

I will give what I can
And enjoy what I receive
But I will not expect to receive
Only pursue the joy of giving

I’m making a fresh start
I will clear out any negative thoughts from my mind
And allow only bright ideas and dreams to take their place
I will say ‘Thank you’ whenever I get the opportunity

I will look back at this day
With great gratitude

A day of which I can be proud
A day in which I was able to renew myself
And the world around me

I’m making a fresh start
Although the sights, sounds, touch, tastes and smells
That pass through my senses
May be more than familiar
I will try and experience all things anew
With the wonder that they deserve

I will enter my place of work as if it were
My first day of work
And do my best to make a difference

I will treat each person
As if they were a King or Queen
I will try to be helpful and supportive
And treat each person with the greatest sincerity

I will give what I can
And enjoy what I receive
But I will not expect to receive
Only pursue the joy of giving

I’m making a fresh start
I will clear out any negative thoughts from my mind
And allow only bright ideas and dreams to take their place
I will say ‘Thank you’ whenever I get the opportunity

I will look back at this day
With great gratitude
A day of which I can be proud
A day in which I was able to renew myself
And the world around me

A mistake is made
And then it is repeated
Treated like an experiment

Wait a minute
This is not a mistake

It is a gift
So let it repeat

Let’s hear it again
And again

Give it energy until it becomes an engine

An engine that drives back the boundaries
Of what has ever been created before

And bring on the drums
Let them beat wildly as the new creation emerges
Experience the whole thing as it builds to an incredible peak
And then is surmounted by an even higher peak

Sounds and rhythms
Never even dreamed of
Are being played
And experienced
For the first time ever

And we are here witnessing it
Drawing it out of the musicians
By being open and willing to its creation
And somehow
Quite naturally

Anything becomes possible

What is faith?

Is it the struggle towards dreams
Based on the belief
That our dreams will come to be
Although one doesn’t
Have the slightest clue how to achieve them

What is faith?

Is it the belief
In the power that lies inside of each individual
A power so strong and vast
That is can deliver happiness across the entire planet?

What is faith?

Is it to be found in taking action
Even though a single action
May be so small
That one thinks it will make no difference at all

What is faith?

Is it the belief that everything will be all right
And turn out well
In the end?

What is faith?

Is it the belief that people who work for good
Actually do make the world
A better place?
And is it the belief
That cruel people will get
Their just deserve

What is faith?

Is it the belief that all the walls
Build around our hearts and across our lands
That keep people apart
Will one day topple?
Is it the idea that human beings
Were meant to share,
To love, to embrace, to dance,
To sing, to enjoy living and be truly happy together?

What is faith?
What is...
Faith?

I lie
Breathing
Observing pulses of pink
And purple light
Oozing
Behind closed eyelids

I wait on the surface of the earth
Ready to drop into the empty abyss
Of earthlessness below

My mind
Gradually loosens its grip
On the present
And I am no longer here
I am gone
To a better, deeper place
Where I am playful, rested, relaxed

Until, your voice calls me back
And I must return to my feet

My demons come in the small hours of morning.
They gnaw at my sleep
And nudge unwelcome thoughts
Into my consciousness

‘You will never get this done’
‘Never get that done’
‘You are not doing enough!’

I can’t hear their voices
But I can feel their power

And all I seem to want to do
Is disappear into some kind of burrow
Deep in the earth

Somewhere I cannot be found
Where not even bad thoughts
Can penetrate my hiding place

Perhaps
In these winter months
I become like a mole
Who prefers not to see the world
Or be seen by it

The two minute silence
Revealed
Sounds of my breathing
A humming of the building
Distant birdsong

The racings of my brain were stilled
And the gentle aching of my bones became perceptible

I tasted the air
Saw its colours
And noticed
The ticking of time

I wonder what I’d notice
If I would sit silent and still
For an hour?

On this day
48 years ago
I incarnated
Arrived, was born

Some might say
My existence began
But I know
That's not the whole of it

I may have been born
But my life
Just like yours
Has always been

It is energy, pulsating
Vibrating, waving
Manifesting in countless ways
Always existing

And you and I have travelled together
In lifetime after lifetime
Brought together
In this moment

To celebrate
Our eternity

I want to walk
And keep walking
Until I can’t walk any more

I want to be late
To the places that
I am expected

I want to fail
To turn up
Because I am too far gone

I want to walk
And walk
And walk

I want to hurl my mobile phone
Into the sea
And empty my pockets
Of credit cards and keys

I want to walk
Beyond people
And cars and shops
And throw my clothes
Away by the wayside

I want to walk
Until I am completely exhausted
Walk until I meet
Nothing but nature
And then I will lie down
And bury myself
In pure untainted earth

And there I will wait
Until I transform
Into a magnificent tree
******* carbon dioxide
From out of thin air
And turning it into solid matter

And I will grow and grow
Year after year
Knowing that I am doing something
Wonderful and creative

I will lean into the winds
Drink of the rain
Reach for the sunlight
Tingle with the snow

And I will live
True to my nature
Nothing but true
Growing and giving
Growing and giving

And when the time comes
For me to die
I will rock in the breeze
Until I rock too far

And I will crash
Crack and fall
Until I am left lying
Next to the earth
Whispering my thoughts
Unafraid

And time will pass
And I will fade
Until there is nothing left of me
At all

When it comes to politics
The most important thing
Is to tell the truth

It’s really quite simple
Birds flock together
Worms weave their way through the earth
Trees grow stronger every year
And the earth turns on its axis

The seasons blend, one in to another
And time passes

Babies are born
Children grow
Adults age
People die

One year ends
And another begins

As we cycle through the seasons repeatedly
Inhabiting the patterns of our behaviours

And I did not know
That trapped in my life
Was such a melancholic feeling
Of which I was never truly conscious
A heaviness hanging around my heart
Until I perceived it this morning

It was as if the mists of dawn
Had wrapped around my soul
And I, on this day
Became cloaked in a great sadness

‘I’m sorry
I’m in too much of a hurry
To speak to you
I’ve got to move on to the next thing
No time to have a chat
Or spend any time with you’


The wheels are turning faster
We need to get there quicker
So that we can save time
To get more done
And if we get more done
We can be quicker
And make the wheels turn faster
And we won’t even need to talk to anyone about anything
We can just click click click our way through the day
We will eat something, click
We will take a train click
We will message somebody, click click
We will book a ticket, click
We will spend our days efficiently clicking the world around us into a frenzy
While we sit on our comfortable chair and grow more and more....

...Alone

Ideas exist
There is no doubt about that
But without people
There can be no ideas

People without ideas
Do exist
And ideas cannot become active without people.
Although they can exist.

I have an idea that I exist
And that is real
And my existence, my ideas
Are my legacy
Even when I cease to exist

People and ideas
Interact
Without people, ideas are just ideas
With people they are life

What is it to be a man?

How should a man prove himself
Worthy of his earthly body
And ethereal soul?

In what way should a man
Defend his honour
And that of his children and partner?

What is it to be a man?

What is it to be courageous?
What is it to be strong?
What is it to live truthfully
And forge peace in a community?

What is it to be a man?

What is it to be kind?
What is it to be considerate?
What is it to think deeply of others
And use one’s life bravely?

What is it to be masculine
And be approachable?
What is it to live with vigour, honesty
To use one’s voice and body for good?
To gain power and influence
Righteously?
What is it?

What is it to display valour?
What is it to be full of honour?
What is it to fight
For that which is right?

What is it to be a man?
What is it?

Love is
A warm drink on a cold day
A familiar blanket to a child
A mother’s embrace
A scarf to wrap around my neck

Love is
The smell of coffee roasting on winter afternoons
Glistening waterfalls
The burst of spring
Newborn kitten’s nestling together

Love is
Distant bells ringing
Wedding gatherings
The sun setting
Quiet times, together

I've been worrying
About how I am feeling

Sometimes...
Oftentimes...
I want my feelings...
To stop
And I can't make them
Because I feel that my feelings
Aren't always good for me
With their torments
And criticisms
And not 'good enough's
They seem to rise and crackle
Like fireworks let loose
And I wonder if there is a way
To make me stop feeling them
For good

And so, one day
I prayed to feel like a Buddha

I don't know what I was expecting...
Peace, tranquillity, joy?

Instead my feelings intensified
And I don't mean, just the 'good' feelings
I mean, all of my feelings
The good ones and the awful ones
And I wondered - can this be correct?
Have my prayers been ignored?

I forgot about my prayers for a while
And carried on feeling things just as before
And then one day I pondered
And I wondered…
What if my prayers have been answered after all
But in a different way?

Perhaps I am feeling like a Buddha after all...
Because isn't the Buddha an enlightened human being
Capable of feeling all things
And I am feeling
So many feelings
All of which make me who I am

And the feelings that I feel
Provide me with information about the world
The terrible things and the good things
And if I felt only joy, only peace or only tranquillity
Then I guess I wouldn't bother to try and change the world for the better
And that wouldn't be the way of a Buddha

So, maybe now I have begun to feel like a Buddha
I can act like a Buddha
And perhaps make a difference?

Panic attacks
Build
And explode
Then pass
As transient
As April showers
Banished by the sunshine
Leaving barely a trace
But certain to return

Blue coats
Fried food
Headphones and alcohol

Gates and overhead fans
Travellers
Waiting
Clutching passports and tickets
Whilst giant machines
Queue up
Waiting to power along
Soaking wet runways
Blasting tiny humans into
The fantasy of imagination

We have learned to fly
And normalise
The experience of disconnecting ourselves
From the solid earth

We float in the air
Like babies in amnion
Normalising the abnormal
Dreaming our earthly lives away

It’s all but a dream
All of it
Organised into parcels of time
Bundles of adrenalised experiences

Inside all of us
Our hearts beat
Once
Twice
Thrice

Calmly counting
The measures of our time
In this incarnation

Until we stop
Fade
Disappear into the fabric of the air

Wider
Freer
Greater than any jet plane

Abundant in our disappearance
Untraceable
Unrecognisable
Lost in the wisps of our former existences

There are companies profiting  
From digging up grass lawns
And replacing them
With acres of  non-recyclable synthetic lawns

Landowners announce proudly
‘Oh yes, that looks much nicer
And so much easier to look after
And it really looks like a lovely green lawn now’

Do we humans not shudder
As we enjoy our new and clean synthetic lawn
Forgetting the suffocating earth beneath?

Do we not sleepwalk towards death?
Is this not plastic pollution
At its most base and senseless level?

And yet the 'market' is booming
Profits soaring 600% in just ten years

Well, that's something after all

Morning alarms
Baggy eyes
Wandering through
Dark caverns of life

Fallen leaves
Stoic trees
Journeys through blackness
And snowy clouds

Crisp crackly dawns
Overcoat walks
Firey coals
Pale faces

Flakes dropping
Frozen cheeks
Shovels scraping
Icy roads