A Christmas Letter

I had every intention of writing a blog post today… using my own words… and then I hopped onto WordPress and visited my friend Wic’s page first.
HIS words stirred my heart in such a way that I have lost all my own.
So today I am sharing his post with you, instead of writing one myself. May you see the hope ❤

Letters To Pogue

Dear Pogue,

I got all seasonal and thought I would write you a Christmas letter. Bit like a Christmas card but low on pictorial content and a lot more words. All in all, much better value I’m thinking.

Some years ago I spoke in a church at Christmas. I spoke regularly then. Anyway, I always looked forward to the challenge of Christmas as there is only limited and exceedingly well known material to use. You know me. I want original and I’ll walk the long way around to find it. Leave the audience with “I didn’t see that coming” on their lips as you vanish. Who was that masked preacher? 🥷🏻

So I searched for original.

I found what I was looking for in a part of the Christmas narrative that rarely gets more than a passing mention. The account of King Herod and his reaction to the news that…

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Monday Musings

The last few days have been particularly hard. And I suppose that on hard days, we sort of store up emotions… and then have a day where that just overwhelms us and comes to a head.
Today I have cried. A lot. Not about one thing in particular, but rather about everything that has just become too much.
And despite being overwhelmed by the negative emotions, and the whys and the whats and the self-doubt; with tears pouring down my cheeks, I have stated out loud the ‘so much’ that I have to be grateful for.

I came onto WordPress, wanting to write a post, but knowing I didn’t really have it in me today. And then I read this post… and I cried some more… because there is so much truth in here – I felt it in my soul, and right down to the soles of my feet.

So I know I will keep walking… for life itself IS something to be celebrated. The good and the bad. And there is always SOMETHING to be grateful for.
(Like great friends on WordPress who post things at just the right time without even knowing how much you need to read it! 😉 )

Letters To Pogue

Dear Pogue,

It’s said that we don’t appreciate things in our life until they are gone and there’s truth in that. We only understand plenty once we know lack, and companionship after we’ve greeted loneliness. I could go on with a list but I’m sure you’re there before me.

But have you ever thought that you must have what you don’t want in your life to allow you to experience more of what you do want? “We cannot have more sensitivity to pleasure without more sensitivity to pain” (Alan Watts). You cannot see more of what is good in the world without realising more of what is not.

Everything comes at a cost in life but if you want to be the very best person you can possibly be, it’s worth bearing. Realise it is only when you have been blessed with the good that you notice the bad. Count…

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The Gift

”The meaning of life is to find your gift, the purpose of life is to give it away.”
Pablo Picasso

I love giving. Most times, all I have to give is ‘me’… and those who value and appreciate that warm my heart immensely.

I read this post this morning, on a rather appropriate day…. and decided I’d like to share it. Because, as usual, there is a lot of good stuff in these Letters to Pogue 😉

It was also a good reminder to me of areas that need growth in my personal life – I find it a lot easier to give than I do to receive, ha ha!

Happy reading and pondering! 😉 Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Letters To Pogue

Dear Pogue,

You and I have little problem giving each other things. Gifts. You’ll agree that it’s nice to receive something especially if it’s unexpected. Flip the coin and I think it’s always uplifting to give a gift that is well received and, I believe, brings as much pleasure as receiving one.

But not everyone is the same as you and I. Here’s the rub. The whole area of giving and receiving is such a big issue for a whole bunch of people. Can you believe that? Here’s some of the issues that I have encountered.

No one has ever become poor by giving.

Anne Frank

There’s the feeling of unworthiness, the ‘now I’ve got to reciprocate’, the ‘I have to act’, or maybe react, ‘to keep this relationship in balance’ approach. To my mind, when I witness this I’m thinking what sort of relationship is this? Is it really…

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Soul Food

I read a saying the other day that gave me cause to pause. It said, ”Feeding the body is how we survive, feeding the soul is how we thrive.”
Who doesn’t want to thrive? To develop well, prosper, flourish? We all desire it one way or another, and what better way to achieve it than by making sure that the diet we have our souls on is one of nourishment?
I saw something else that indicated that if we do things to feed our souls and not our ego’s, only then will we be truly happy.
Then I found the following concept to be rather interesting, and true, when reflecting on situations in my own life : ”What you feed your soul is what you harvest with your actions.”

And all these little things were inspired by Soul Food, in a way… so I needed to re-blog this post – I hope you enjoy reading it as much as what I did.
I think I’ll go outside and stare at the trees for a bit now 😉

Letters To Pogue

Dear Pogue,

I was thinking how much I had just enjoyed riding my motorbike in the sunshine. I rode through miles of countryside and even saw a kite hoovering above the road. As I reflected I said to myself: “This is Soul Food”, which may have been an expression that I had just invented, but hey, it so described what had just happened. If it didn’t exist before, move over Wikipedia.

Your soul is the essence of who you truly are, it is timeless, ageless and eternal.

Muses From A Mystic

But what is Soul Food and does one’s soul even need feeding? After all, you and I are agreed we are souls having a human experience, are we not? Yet the world is full of people who go seeking spiritual experiences. And it’s not just a bunch of people who attend a so called “place of worship” on a…

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Wabi-Sabi

Absolutely loved this post, and the food for thought and concepts contained within it.
Hope certainly can be the result of seeing people who have embraced their flaws, grown through them, and managed to achieve despite them.
May you all be inspired today, and feel beautiful inside and out.

Letters To Pogue

Dear Pogue,

You remember that letter I recently sent you on heroes and antiheroes? I trust you read it? Well here’s a thing, our letter once again found its way to other people and one of those people was sufficiently absorbed by the contents to actually write back. Surprised? I was. The correspondent was a Mr Ohh and the gentleman (we’ll give him the benefit of any doubt) wanted to suggest that antiheroes bring us hope in so much as they overcome their flaws to achieve the deeds they do.

Good point, hey?

This caused me to recall a concept that exists in Japanese culture termed wabi-sabi (where’s he going with this I can hear you thinking). Wabi-sabi is the belief that beauty is found in the imperfect. Indeed it believes that nothing is perfect, everything is part of the circle of life, either becoming or decaying, all comes…

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Just going to leave this here…

Behind the curtain

Some excellent food for thought in here. As difficult as it is to ‘let stuff go’, it’s imperative for growth. Suppressing emotions and holding things in are indeed threatening to your physical health. I have found that negative emotions not dealt with quickly lead to bitterness. And none of us really wants to be bitter – we’d all prefer to be better 😉
Please take a look at this post, and hold it close to your heart. For the words are wise, and the advice is helpful.

Letters To Pogue

Dear Pogue,

I’ve had a really good few days. I’ve been with people who I feel able to talk with and really say what I am feeling and ask the questions I usually only turn over in my mind. That rare breed of people you can let your guard down with and explore some craziness. It’s been good. Feels good.

So, as we sat over a coffee at the airport on the way home, still talking, we got round to the last letter I wrote to you (I shared the contents – hope you don’t mind). We discussed the case study of the woman who suffered a trauma and went from a healthy functioning person to a total wreck. We wondered if she had received more than medication, if she’d had someone, somewhere, where she could have given expression to the events, the people and her emotions that maybe she…

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Necessary and Possible

I wrote this post 4 years ago. Where has the time gone?
Of late, I seem to be accepting a lot of impossible challenges – but instead of being afraid for the majority, there is an exciting expectancy for the future. Ah yes, this thing called life.

nopassingfancy

It’s called life. And despite my best intentions to control it, it still keeps happening when I have other plans.

And I have plans.

Plans that aren’t panning out at the moment. I take courage in the fact, however, that Life Begins At 40. I am not there yet. I still have a few more years to fine tune my motor, develop my mind, ready myself for what may possibly lie ahead.

And isn’t exciting to think that there is more lying ahead. Depressing if I think about the negative left behind; concerning if I focus on more of the bad, and less of the good. But exciting when I shift my attentions to the infinite possibilities of greatness coming my way.

Today, I read a quote that encouraged me…
Francis of Assisi said : “Start by doing what’s necessary; then do what’s possible; and suddenly you are doing the…

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Dreaming in the Darkness

An old post, which I have slightly tweaked. A small reminder of the hope and beauty held in darkness.

nopassingfancy

Darkness absorbed the passage way, making it seem endless. They had forgotten to leave the light on for me. Terror gripped my small body, and I shakily made a run for it around the corner to my parents bedroom, tearful and fearful.

That was me as a child.

Now I seem more inclined to pretend I am lead singer for Simon and Garfunkel as I belt out loudly, “Hello darkness my old friend”.

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Receive the Calm We All Deserve – Will’s Wisdom

Sharing this post today… a short and sweet reminder that technology is not the only battery that needs recharging! Smell the roses, my friends 😉

Tangible Triumph

“To share a moment silently with the universe is a lapse in time we all look for but can never find. The importance to meditation is far from a simple idea forgotten but rather, a monumental task all should abide by. To ground to the world and just be can set the tone for what is meant to be.Patiently waiting for the mind to disappear into the clouds of the sky unable to return until a later moment. Forgetting what is important and unimportant for the proper health of the mind.”

True but sad we all tend to forget to slow down from time to time. Having a daily ritual with meditation can keep that racing mind in check. With practice and discipline you can turn your mental capacity around to work with you, instead of against you.

Allow yourself a break from the rushing world of manhattan…

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