HEADMASTER

I am still in the office at home.
 I am still at work.
My head is full of stuff.
The number of things to do
seems to be getting longer, not shorter.
 
For as soon as I cross something off the list
another two things appear needing to be done.
My brain and my whole self are consumed
and controlled by this list
 of what needs to be done.

I can’t just walk away from it
for it all needs to be sorted.
And who else will do it, if I don’t?
If this day was twice as long, I would fill it.
If it was shorter, I would cram even more in.
 
Then it hits me, that I am being managed
by the time available – not by who I am.
I have it all the wrong way round.
For it's not about doing but being.
Being is the master of time, my headmaster.

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
 
Years ago, when we were travelling
we would stop at a lay-by,
take out our map
and plan our route.
 
We would create options,
factor in a coffee break
at a little village
and plot a route that worked for us.
 
Now we put our destination
into our phone which is more efficient.
The route is planned for us
and we do not have to think.
 
We don’t pause in the lay-by.
We don’t create our options.
We don’t stop in the little village.
We can just go where we’re told.

​COLOURING BY NUMBERS

When I was a child I had a book called
colouring by numbers.
The outlines of everything
were all there on the picture.
I just had to colour in the spaces.
 
Areas with ‘one’ were blue
and those with ‘two’ were yellow
and so on.
The picture came alive in front of me.
The outcome was complete and perfect!

Imagine if you could have the outline of your life
as a picture ready to be filled in now.
It would mean that we wouldn’t live
on the basis of process or journey
thinking about what happens next year
 or what our next job will be.

It’ll all be there in the outline.
We just need to follow the numbers
in any order we want.
Nothing will be left out.
All will be complete and perfect.
Draw your outline!

​PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT EXERCISE
1. What would you include in your picture?
2.   Is it about events, people, success, happiness - and what’s the background? 3. Who else is in the picture ?

​​STAYCATION 

Go beyond the junk
always.
See past the hassle
always.
And stay where you are.

Look at the bigger picture
always.
Be true to yourself
always.
And stay where you are.

Get rid of the distractions
always.
Discard what is unnecessary
always.
And stay where you are.

TOW ROPE
 
The world keeps
pulling us back
to its way of working.
To follow its rules.
To behave in the way
that it wants us to be.
 
Untie the rope.

The world keeps
taking us to places
away from where we should be.
Away from all we value
Away from our true selves,
to be dependent on it.
 
Untie your rope.

​PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT EXERCISE
1. How is the world pulling you back?  
2. How is the world  taking you away  from where you should be? 
3. How can you untie  your  rope?

​HOLY DAYS
 
There were no visits to a church.
There was no kneeling in prayer.
There were no readings.
There was no sitting in silence.
 
and yet
 
today was the holiest of days.
I spent every moment with you
working tirelessly
on the project.

COMMUNITY COHESION
 
A new community will emerge.
A new type of community
will emerge and grow.
Offering help and hope
 
A new definition of community
will emerge and grow
changing the why and the how
and serving all.
 
For community is not an organisation
or a structure.
Community is not based in a place
or even in a virtual space
 
Community rests in each of us
enabling us
to reach outwards and
to work with all others.

DAILY BLOG

Start your daily blog today.
Grab a notebook.
Put day one on the first page.
And write something.
 
This is a blog for you,
not for the world.
Not for marketing your products
or promoting your expertise.
 
This is your daily feedback,
conversation and notes for yourself.
It’s your life training manual.
To underpin all that you do.
 
These are the words that tell you
what’s really happening around you
and within you.
It’s only for you.
 
And as you build your blog
day by day
you will see themes develop,
ideas flourish and a plan emerge.
 
You will build a greater sense
of who you really are.
Every day write your blog.
Grab a notebook start today.
 
It is here where seeds
can be planted and flourish.
For if you write it down
It can become real.
 
Capture what’s happening
or isn’t happening.
Capture all the joy and gratitude
and all that causes you pain.
 
For your daily blog
is an ongoing conversation
with all that really matters.
Start your daily blog today. 

​ 
ALARM CALL
 
Started in work mode.
Straight onto my phone.
Planning the day.
Checking my appointments.
Writing my to do list.
Forgot to smile
and say good morning
to the one I love.

 
EMPTY CHAIR
 
This is a spiritual journey,
not a business or work one.
This is the journey in my eternal now,
not a plan for the next year.
 
This is a journey beyond this place,
not a marketing or income strategy.
This is a journey away from me,
not a reliance on myself.
 
This is a journey which cannot be described,
not one plotted by success or failure.
This is a journey without family or friends,
and without myself.