Look for the stillness,
The peace and
The quiet,
For that is where you will find
your purpose,
Along with
Hope
Faith
And salvation.

So quieten your chaotic demanding cynical monkey chatter,
Pause,
Take time,
To breathe,
And breathe again.
Then notice,
The diversity of
Sights, sounds and touch
That’s all around you.
The vibrant colourful hues of nature’s forest,
The gentle touch of wind’s breath upon your skin,
The melodic mesmerising waves of the sea,
The warming glow from sun’s golden orb.
Take time
To breathe
Long, deep and slow,
To go inwards,
To reconnect,
Mind, body and soul.
What is your body saying to you?
What message is it offering you?
What sensations are crying out
For you to listen, to hear, to understand?
What do you need to learn
From the deep wise voice
Deep inside you?

A life ill spent
Through no fault of my own,
But drowning
In a muddy well
Of confusion
And pain
And oblivion,
Obnoxious toxic stale fetor
Permeating every pore and inhalation
As people passed on by,
Stuck inside their own dazed state of busyness,
Unseeing, unknowing, unaware,
Until one had the grace
To stop and notice
The floundering and muffled cries for help
And reach out a hand,
Unnoticed at first,
Then wilfully ignored from deep
Feelings of unworthiness,
But their strength
tolerance
Steadfast manner
And the grace of God
Won through in the end,
Patiently reassuring time and time again
Their intention was true and honest,
They did care,
They could be trusted
To not let go,
The forged in stone connection could not be broken
By man or foe,
In spite of devilish attempts to the contrary,
So I reached out my hand
To grasp
This longed for beacon of hope,
Tentatively at first,
Fingertips brushing gently against each other, but
Slowly and surely,
Step by step,
Bit by bit,
Until the foregone conclusion,
And Phoenix like,
Though blind and bedraggled
With muddied feathers for sure,
I am risen from a well of melancholia and oblivion,
To the bright light of day,
Drinking in the hitherto unknown golden orb,
And breathing in the fragrant rose bloom
Of hope and emancipation.

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

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.

Today
I choose
A different way
To the well worn path of old,
Today
I choose
To let go
Of all that’s holding me back,
My limiting beliefs,
My damaging thoughts,
My hurtful words,
My self flagellation.
Today
I choose
To let go
Of all I thought was wrong with me,
Of how worthless I used to feel,
Of being downtrodden with no voice.
Today
I choose to
Rise above the ashes
Of past thoughts, negative feelings and broken dreams,
And step into who I truly am,
Who I choose to be,
Who I’m meant to be,
Knowing God is within me and all around me.
Today
I choose
To trust
All is well.
Today
Is a brand new day,
An opportunity
To start living my life,
Truly living,
With love, joy, kindness and compassion,
Patience, faithfulness and grace

Give hope,
A word of encouragement here,
A sprinkling of joy there,
A possibility of light at the end of the tunnel,
A compliment and a smile,
And that’s how you’ll change the world,
One step at a time,
One person at a time.

All you need to do is send
SOS,
When overtaken by dementors,
When stuck in a web of loneliness,
When wallowing in a well of self pity,
Just three characters is all it takes,
S O S,
And in response
A kind word,
How can I help?
What do you need right now?
Would you like to talk?
Or to pray for you?
But you need to ask for help
You need to send that
SOS

Trust is a choice,
We choose to trust
Or we choose to mistrust,
Often based on our past
Rather than the moment and the person in front of us,
Choosing to tarnish them with the same brush
As those who mistreated us
Those who did not have our best interests at heart.
Trust is a choice,
But do yourself a favour
And trust from the present
Trust from the heart
Trust until proven to the contrary

There’s two ways to live,
Love
Or
Fear.
One is expansive.
The other restricting.
One is joyous.
The other painful.
One is unknown.
The other known.
But the uncomfortable comfort zone is no place to be.
Instead
Take a leap of faith
For it is only then you will learn to fly,
Like the baby bird leaving the safety of its nest for the first time,
It’s what it was destined to do.
So although it feels strange and scary,
It’s the only way to love, joy and freedom.
So trust,
Throw yourself off the cliff
With wild abandon
And wait for the wonderful experiences,
The dizzying heights,
The low valleys and dales,
Knowing God has your back
And you are fearless and undefeatable with God in your heart

Before I knew no other way
Only shown how to stay small
How to be insignificant
Valueless
Worthless.
Now I know better
I choose a different way,
For now I know
I am valued
I am loved, and
I am worthy
of so much more

Today I choose
Love
Trust
Joy
Gentleness

Actively choose what is good,
Shed what no longer serves you,
Surrender
Soften
Step into who you want to be
And trust all will be well
For you have more power than you realise
To create the life you want

We are here to remember who we are,
To become our true selves,
Not to learn, because we already know deep inside,
We just need to remember.
And you’ve had more than enough experience of what you’re not over the years,
Now is the time to experience what and who you really are,
To live with joy, love and passion,
Now is the time to let go of the fear and everything that’s been holding you back,
To be kind, to you and everyone,
To trust others and yourself.
With every thought, word and deed
Now just breathe and relax and enjoy the ride!

Listen to your inner voice of wisdom,
Notice the signs and people around you,
For they are there to help you remember,
To remember who you truly are,
A wondrous amazing being,
Know you are loved
Unconditionally,
Whatever, wherever and whenever you err,
Because you have free will
It’s down to you,
It’s your choice to live from love,
Or from fear,
But know you will receive back what you dish out,
You will attract what you focus on,
So choose wisely

Choose love not fear.
Two choices with every thought, word and deed.
After 50 years of living in fear,
Now is the time to let go,
To experience love and joy,
To let love in your heart,
To start truly enjoying this life,
And appreciate the world around you in all its glory and wonder

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

Open your ears
And listen,
Truly listen,
With an open mind,
Inquisitively
Unjudgementally
Unfiltered,
With no pre-conceived false slights
Tainting what you hear,
No black tinted spectacles
Marring your view,
No perceived attack
Altering your perception.
Just listen,
Truly hear,
Notice
The tone of voice,
The intention behind the words,
Know what is really being said,
And understand
The truth of the matter

Love trumps fear
The end

Love trumps fear
Love trumps all
All you need is Love

It’s safe now
You’re home now
You can come out now
From behind the barbed wire
Of your troubled mind of turmoil and strife
With its venomous insults, fear and pain.
I invite you my beautiful vulnerable imperfect child
To come into the light
To experience the grace of God
To know all is well now
You are free now
You can laugh now
You can live now.
Surrender and
Give yourself
Fully
Completely
Wonderfully
To God
And know
You are loved
And accepted
Beyond all compare
You are safe now
You are home now

Oh that cloak of shame,
Seductively swaddling us in its clutches,
Affecting every thought, every decision, every action,
Hiding our light,
From others,
From ourselves,
Weighing upon us,
Dragging us down,
Exhausting us,
So that even putting one foot in front of the other
Is a struggle,
A challenge to stay afloat,
When all you need to do
Is undo the knot at the throat
And throw off this stubborn, worthless dastard imposter
To reveal the glory
The wonder
The joy
That is you

A slave to fear no more
We are God’s children,
And I accept I’m a daughter of God
A heir of god
Co-heir with Christ
Sharing in his sufferings and his glory,
I may face rejection or opposition
In this topsy turvy world of ours,
But with faith and God’s backing
I stand strong
In the face of all adversity

Oh Lord,
Give me patience,
Forgiveness,
Understanding,
Gentleness,
Compassion,
And­ kindness,
Towards myself and others,
And ever lasting gratitude
For your perseverance
And tenacity
In never giving up on me,
And for your unconditional love
For all of me,
Warts and all,
Eternally yours
Thank you.
Amen

What will it take to remember
I AM enough
I AM deserving
I AM loved
By Him at least,
And to know
It will all become easier
When I learn to accept
And let go?

I’ve been through such deep seated pain for so long,
Like a knife to the heart being twisted and dug in deeper each day,
For 50 long years,
Like a glutton for punishment
Going back for more.
It’s taking time to know and understand there’s another way to be,
For my many wounds to heal,
For my barbs to soften,
For my defences to disintegrate,
And for my heart to fully open up and let love in
Unconditionally.

I know I am in need of humility Lord,
To throw off my shackles of insecurities,
Of needing to feel significant,
For only you need bear witness to the impact from my good deeds,
To know the impression from concentric rings
Of my thrown stones of kindness
Rippling out in the water of life.
Not others.
Not me.
I just need to let go,
To trust you,
To trust others,
To trust me,
And know the timing is ok,
I’m here now,
Imperfect yet ready
To serve you in whatever way you have chosen for me,
And to throw myself into others with kindness and compassion,
Starting with myself.
And to know I have your divine strength to help me bravely fight and overcome evil,
So I drown no more in the murky mud and tangled weeds of tumbled thoughts of negativity and insults,
And instead show others the way
Of truth.