Do Not Be a People-Pleaser

Howdy! I hope 2017 has started off well for you.  It should be an exciting year as numerologically it is a “1” year – a time for new beginnings.  I’m sorry that it has taken a while to post this poem as promised. Previously I had saved it as draft and I mistakenly thought I had posted it.  Still every thing happens at exactly the right time. (The following few paragraphs are from my previous introduction.)

It is time to post another of my poems and I am endeavouring to provide my readers an indicative sample of both, the range of subject matter and philosophical directions of my poetry.

This poem has had some positive feedback when I have shared it and it offers what I hope is practical advice.  It seems particularly timely because at this time of the year many people, especially women, put enormous pressure on themselves, trying to make sure things are “just right”.

I hope you enjoy this and it helps you to be peaceful in “the silly season”.

 

Do Not Be a People-Pleaser

Do not be a people-pleaser.

Do not bend over backwards, to keep others happy.

Don’t be so anxious to meet others’ needs, that you’ve anticipated their “needs”,

before they’ve even realized that they have them.

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This behaviour is harmful… to you… and to them.

It is harmful to them because they do not have to struggle.

They do not have to deal with the vagaries of this world.

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Struggling, and setting goals and meeting them are vital steps for each person’s development.

When you meet a need for someone else you deprive that person of the growth,

that comes from struggling to make their dreams come true.

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When you hand things to another on a plate, it is akin to royalty being served by servants.

How is this healthy for them?

How is this healthy for you?

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You are so busy meeting others’ needs that you do not even know what your own are.

You have a compulsion to make others happy…

a compulsion to keep the peace…

to prevent any eventuality which could bring an uproar.

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 Where are you in all this?

When will your needs be met?

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So what if there are some harsh words?

So what if others are unhappy?

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Peace comes from balance…

Peace comes from within…

You cannot make another person peaceful…

no matter how much you want to…

or how much you care.

Thanks for reading my blog and for a little time sharing my world.

I wish you and all your family and friends and acquaintances and “strangers” (those friends you haven’t met yet) a wonderful peaceful and loving Christmas and New Year holiday season.

Let us all help to make 2017 better and more peaceful and more equitable for the world.

In love and light,

Alan

The World is in Need of You

Well, that was a surprise for me finding that my last “post” is saved as a draft and not posted after all.  Oh well, I’ll save that [“Do Not Be a People-pleaser”] for another time.

Today is the start of a new year and I’d like to post something uplifting and hopefully inspiring to help get 2017 off to a positive start.  This poem was written in October, 2016. I hope you enjoy it.

 

The World is in Need of You

“There’s a light at the end of the tunnel.”

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It is important to keep your faith… and to keep your hope, and trust…

especially in these difficult and troubling times.

Tomorrow will be a better day. Peace will come…

but we must do more.

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It is not enough to trust in a brighter tomorrow… for we need a brighter today.

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If you want more light… and more love in this world…

then be a source of light and love.

Sow the seeds of peace and love today…

Right now!!

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You are standing on fertile ground for everyone, almost without exception,

wants a peaceful world… a world of love… and light.

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Turn on your light, little one…  Don’t wait for another…

You are enough…

You think you are only one… (even though you are one of many),

Even one is enough….for One…

is the All.

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It is not enough to intend to do things, one day…

Some things need preparation and this is fine,

but start today… not next week… or next year.

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The world is in urgent need of you, functioning at your highest capacity.

It has need of you functioning at your highest capacity.

It has need of  you as a bringer of light…

and love… and peace.

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Accept your circumstances, little one.

Accept your limitations, and your desires, and your aspirations.

You are in exactly the right place… right where you are meant to be.

So start today… right from where you are.

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You say you are not capable… that you are not enlightened…

But, little one, you are on the path to enlightenment…

You are on the path to becoming a realized soul…

a light-bearer… and a light-bringer…

 a sower of truth… and peace… and love.

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So reflect on your situation. Find someone who you can help… today…

and offer your assistance.

Learn something today so that you will have more to offer tomorrow.

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Make sure, too, that you learn about yourself, and how you function.

Take time to reflect in stillness… to meditate…

and to connect with the divine essence and understanding,

that permeates everything.

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Little one, take time for yourself.

Little one, take time to help others…

and allow yourself to grow.

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Blessings be to you… and to all humanity…

even those who know what they do.

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Turn on you light… today.

Little one, turn on your light…

 and shine.

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God bless.

Alan

At Peace in an Age of Chaos

With all the “craziness” that is going on in our beautiful world it is a challenge to remain peaceful and in the moment. It is perhaps asking too much of people, to embrace the words of “The Planet of Peace” which was the subject of my first blog, without a stepping-stone. It could be too big a leap.

So I am posting this poem for that purpose, and to publish a more current poem as most of the poems I have published here have been ones written five or more years ago.  This poem was written at the end of November, 2016.

The purpose remains however to raise the spiritual functioning of our planet and to produce as a by-product, a “Planet of Peace”.

At Peace in an Age of Chaos

This is an age of chaos… a time of upheaval.

It is a time of intensified suffering.

Incredible as it may seem this is good!

.

Perhaps this is hard to believe when one looks at what is happening in Aleppo,

where civilian populations are indiscriminately bombed,

and hospitals and medical facilities…

(Yes, unbelievably this is true)…

are deliberately targeted.

These are acts of “war crime” which can certainly seen

as acts of “evil”.

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However, these evil acts are for our own good too.

We are being woken from our slumber.

For too long, we have been going through the motions.

It is time to awaken and to stir…

it is time to “fight”for peace.

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These evil acts are rousing us…

calling for us to care about the world,

and the suffering of others.

Do not be discouraged by the evil-doers,

for then they will have won.

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Do not be disillusioned and think that the world is beyond hope.

Everything is happening at the right time and place.

You are in the right place…

at exactly the right time.

You are here to make this world better.

You are here to bring peace…

and then joy and love, to this world.

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The peace of the Universe is in your hands…

for you are at the centre of your universe.

Do not lose faith in the future.

God is behind all actions, even all this suffering.

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Little one, you are being called to awaken.

Little one it is time to take action…

to help this world move forwards into peace.

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It has been said that if you want to have peace and/or love…

then you must be… peace and love.

If everything is happening at the right time in the right way…

then you must embrace this understanding…

and be at peace.

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If there is nothing “wrong” then there is nothing to stop you being peaceful.

All this trauma and travail is happening to bring peace.

So embrace this process.

Be happy about this process…

(whilst always being mindful of, and compassionate to the suffering of the “victims”)…

for better days are ahead.

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There is no reason for you not to be peaceful “now”.

So be here in this moment, now.

Be grateful for your situation… and the unfolding divine plan.

All is well.

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So be at peace, little one.

Find someone to help today.

Cultivate appreciation of all the things that bless your existence.

Cultivate gratitude and pass your calm appreciation on to others.

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Now is not the time for doubt.

Now is the time for resolute determination…

to see only good…

and to remind yourself to be here… now…

in this joyous… peaceful… moment.

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Support those in need and ask your government to do more.

Expect more… Demand more, but peacefully.

Trust in the process…

for we are taking a big step forward.

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Go with God. Be your real… God-self.

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Lots of love to you and all humanity.

Alan

(P.S. If you are wondering about the use of the phrase “little one” and are a little disconcerted by it, you may be reassured or intrigued to know that I was a little uncomfortable about the expression the first time I wrote it.

I too am a “little one”, but it is time for the little ones to pool their energies and love to make our world “big”.)

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In love and light,

Alan

Into the Silence

It’s not long since my last post but I’m keen to have a more uplifting message “out there”. Although this poem was written seven years ago it still speaks to me and is appropriate on another level as I’m off to a meditation class tonight.

There is another reason for using this poem because it has a scriptural allusion, and I feel that it is useful to mine the spiritual truths that are often hidden or overlooked in some of the sacred books of our religions.

Into the Silence

In the silence there is surrender… a letting go…

a turning over of things to God.

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I let go of my busy life. I let go of all the things that “matter”.

I sit still… and I just am…

I listen to the things of which I’m “normally”unaware.

I listen to the rhythms of my breathing.

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With each breath I go deeper… and deeper… into the stillness.

Deeper into my centre… deeper into my heart.

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My heart feels like it is the centre of the Universe… and it is…

For all things are connected… all things are united…

all things are one.

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Into the stillness I go.  It is a journey of no distance,

but it is as far as anyone can go:

for I have gone from the realm of separation and limited identity –

which is not real – into the world where everything is one.

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I have stepped from the world of time… into the everlasting Now.

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Stillness… It has all been said before:

              “Be still and know that I am God”.                                        (Psalm 46:10)

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God bless.

Thanks for your interest and support.  In the near future I will post a poem “Spirituality and Religion” to build on some of the themes of my posts so far.  I will also be talking about choosing “supposespiritualblog” as the name of this site.  But, that’s enough for now.

Enjoy your journey and don’t forget to stop and smell the roses. Be kind and true to your principles.

In love and light,

Alan

There is No Honour in “Honour Killings”

This is my third blog and, despite some reluctance,  I am drawn to publish this poem. The poem was written in 2008 and remains, unfortunately, relevant to current events. I heard recently that in one country which I won’t name there are around 1,000 “honour killings” each year.

I have a couple of reservations about this poem. The first is that it has some political overtones which I normally try to avoid, and the second is that it has some language usage with which I am not entirely comfortable as I prefer not to talk about “evil”. Still I feel that it is important to present it in accord with its form on its creation.

I also warn you that I have used a new word for God – “Itheshe” which I will comment on later. I mention it now only because it can be disruptive to the flow of one’s reading enjoyment if there is something unexpected. But, that is enough preamble.

 

There is No Honour in “Honour Killings”

There is no honour in “honour killings”, just like there is no love in “shotgun weddings”.

When we force others to do what we desire we are like rapists or murderers.

When we do this… we are doers of evil.

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To kill a family member, because they have been raped,

especially if they have done nothing to provoke such an evil attack… is itself evil.

When the value of the family “name” is worth more than the welfare of one of its members… there is perversion.

This is a sickness of mind and a great, great evil.

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There is no honour in “honour killings”… only evil.

God help those who do these things to understand,

how great is their blindness and how hard are their hearts.

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Let them receive this form of cruelty in this lifetime, or in the next incarnation,

so that they will truly understand how evil was their act,

and how they have made themselves distant from your love.

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God please find these lost sheep, these evil “honour” killers, and bring them home to your fold.

Open their eyes Itheshe, help them to see.

Help them to recognise their blindness, and to feel compassion for those they have hurt.

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God bless these evil-doers and draw them to the light.

Please have compassion on their “victims”, who are also learning about love, even through their “deaths”.

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There is no honour in “honour killings”, but there can be, and ultimately will be,

learning about the meaning of your love, through these acts.

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     Cast out your darkness little one. See the error of your ways.

     Seek God’s light to guide you and you will have better days.

     There is no strength in compulsion and no purity in these heinous acts.

     Honour killing is pure evil, and that is just a fact.

     Reach out for forgiveness. Let go of the need to save face.

     Value each person for who, not what, they are… and the world will be a better place.

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Go little one. Repent and sin no more.

God bless.

I am sorry this poem has an almost religious tone and also oversimplifies a complex situation, but if it can help to save even one life then it will have been worthwhile.  My next blog will, I promise, be more directly spiritual and, hopefully, uplifting.

Finally I will mention that the word “Itheshe” was “lexicrated” (neologised, or invented) in 2008. It was constructed to counterbalance the common “misrepresentations” of God as “male” or “female”. Using the word “it” in relation to God seemed totally inappropriate as it is the same pronoun as is used to describe any inanimate or non-gendered object.

God is all-embracing and Itheshe is found in all beings, whether male, female or non-gendered, and in all things. God embraces all male, female and neutral beings and things, so it see med appropriate to coin this word for “It” / “he” / (and)”she” to recognise this commonality.

This is my reasoning, and I trust that you will understand, or at least tolerate, this usage.

That’s enough. Till next time, may the divine be with you in all things. Go in love and light. God Bless.

The Butterfly of Happiness

This is my second blog and I’m sitting down to write it listening to the beautiful music of Chris James’s “Fiery Eyes”. That’s restful, melodic and inspirational. Keep up the good work.

This poem actually rhymes which is unusual for me. I guess it’s nice to be able to “prove” that I can write “poetry”. (Of course that has nothing to do with real poetry.) This poem was written in 2009 and I thank Nancy who liked it and has inadvertently encouraged me to share it in this blog.

Finally in the poem is the expression “(hu)man” which can be read as either “man” or “human”. I mention it now so as (hopefully) not to break the rhythm of the poem when reading it.

“The Butterfly of Happiness”

The butterfly of happiness is fluttering as it flies to who knows where.

It doesn’t seem to have a plan, and it flies without a care.                                                                

The butterfly is so delicate: its wings seem attached by thread,                                                           

so if you try to grasp them, they will fall off… and the butterfly will be dead.

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Don’t try and catch the butterfly. Don’t try and pin it down,

for though the butterfly may flutter off, it will soon come back around. 

The butterfly of happiness goes wherever it can

to bring colour, joy and love, into the hearts of every (hu)man.*

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The butterfly is like a rainbow, for it is a godly sign:

it doesn’t belong to you or me. It belongs to everyone, for it is divine. 

Don’t wait for the butterfly to come, or go and seek it out. 

Just get on with your life because of this there is no doubt:

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The butterfly comes most to those who try to stay out of strife,

so be tolerant, trusting, kind and true, and live a loving, peaceful life…

and when you do this… you will usually find…

the butterfly of happiness, fluttering through you mind.

Thanks for reading. The “(hu)man” was originally written as “man” in the sense of applying to all of humanity and that probably fits the pattern of the poem best. However, as I mentioned before, please feel free to read it as either “man” or “human”.

Next time I will probably blog something a little more controversial, though I hope still spiritual and uplifting. Till then: “Be gentle and kind, and help to make our world better”.

In love and light,  Alan

The Planet of Peace – My First Blog

[Finally I am sharing some of my spiritual poetry with “the world”. Thanks to Robin and Jenice for their support.

I have been debating what poem to share first and all indications point to this one which was written and/or scribed in 2009. With all that’s been happening since then perhaps this is the one that is most useful.  I hope you enjoy it.

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THE PLANET OF PEACE

I am a point of peace…

Peace radiates outwards… and counterbalances disharmony…

to leave… Stillness…………..

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Peace expands outwards from me like a ripple across a pool –

only in reverse.

The stillness spreads outwards… calming the disturbances of the world.

My world, my pool… is still.

You, too, can be a pool of peace…

spreading outwards……….

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Those around you are bathed in the light, reflecting and radiating, from your surface.

They feel the love… reverberating… to… and through… them.

They too will be become calm, if they allow themselves to.

Just as the Earth is a blue planet because it is largely covered in water…

one day it will be a planet that is covered in inter-connected pools of peace.

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One day the Earth will be known, throughout the Universe,

as a “planet of peace” radiating love

and goodwill into the cosmos.

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Just as a baby starts from a single cell

and grows into a miraculous creation:

the process of the peaceful Earth has begun.

But it is not growing from a single cell:

it is expanding like a culture of bacteria, growing simultaneously from many places.

I am, and you are, or will be, part of this growing culture….

of peace… and love…

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Each “bacterium”is a pool of peace.

Each ‘bacterium” is a factory of penicillin bringing good health to the world…

bringing peace and light and love.

You may be a single individual… but you are always connected…

to all other individuals.

Your thoughts and feelings and actions have always influenced all those around you.

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Now is the time for you and me and all aware “bacteria”, to create positively…

so that we may bring into conscious reality…

the creation of the Earth as “Planet of Peace”.

You may be just a little piece… but being a little… peace

is a fantastic start…

for we are seeding the Earth, with pools of peace and love.

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Keep up the good work. The process has begun.

Be a gardener and nurture the delicate blooms that are yourself,

and all who are spreading light…

and peace throughout this planet.

The process has begun… and it will continue, inevitably…

if we support it.

So… be… a pool… of peace…

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Each pool is an abode of the cosmic ocean.

We are all part of this ocean… but:

by consciously being… a pool of peace…

we are acknowledging… and supporting…

the Divine in its purpose.

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Keep up the good work.

God bless.