A poem - I'll be here
My first poem and thoughts on finding comfort in those who share a similar story for the future and have found inspiration and hope within that.
I’m not sure what defines a poem but these words came to me after two back to back conversations, one person who was feeling hopeless and scared about the future and not sure what to do and a conversation with a regenerative coach who was talking about how few people have realised the need for inner work and deeper self and systems awareness as central in creating the paradigm shift the world needs. So here’s my first attempt at a poem, it’s called…
I’ll be here
When suddenly the state of the world hits you,
I’ll be here.
When you feel lost or hopeless,
I’ll be here.
When you feel like you want to crawl up in a ball or run away from it all,
I’ll be here.
When you feel like nothing you do makes a difference,
I’ll be here.
When you feel like giving up,
I’ll be here.
I’ll be here. Because I’ve been there.
And there is a way through.
To feel joyful.
To feel motivated.
To feel inspired.
To make a difference.
And it lives within you.
Like a seed needing to be watered, you have it within you to thrive in these times.
And I'll be here if you need help to find the rain.
There is a wonderful book of poems by Richard Wain who I met earlier this year called ‘Beyond the Brink is the Beginning’ who writes beautifully about beyond the brink of global catastrophe is hope for a new beginning. I find comfort from those who see the scale of collapse happening and can bring wisdom, hope and inspiration, so thank you Richard for your inspiring words, I would recommend it if any of the above resonates.
I had an amazing experience recently seeing Nick Mulvey (my 2023, and probably 2024…no 1 top played artist) at the Wasing estate on the summer solstice. I’ve played his song ‘A Prayer Of My Own’ many times, particularly when the weight of the world has felt a lot - I deeply resonate with the lyrics and find comfort and strength in his words - he sings about ‘how to bear the unbearable’ and welcoming emotions, giving them names, a description and bringing them in with love (I talk about this technique for managing emotions in this blog) so that we can show up for those we love and those around the world. He’s another example of someone who I think ‘gets’ what’s happening in the world and I find comfort in him sharing how he is moving through times of crisis with resilience, self-compassion, love and mindfulness.
Reflections on my writing so far
I’ve been thinking a lot about how to approach what I communicate between what I think might happen - ‘everything might collapse in my lifetime’ and how I think we need to be to deal with that - ‘have a vision for a positive future, live life in the present, be joyful, live authentically, accept what’s happening and become love and peace’ - they are both true for me and I’m finding my way in how I want to communicate on them. I sometimes don’t want to go too into the ‘doom’ side but then I think about how much comfort I find when I hear from or speak to other people I think ‘get’ it and it makes me feel less alone, so I hope that my writing can do that but more so I hope my writing offers people another way, a path towards a happier and more fulfilling life as I’ve been on that journey myself. I think (and I’m open to other views) that we need the awareness of the state of the world, to really lean into what regenerative and consciousness thinking teaches us about how to create a better world and to have the motivation to really embody a different way of being and thinking. If you have any reflections about my writing so far, I would love to hear, so please share any thoughts with me.
Conscious changemaker walks are back - yay! I’m hosting monthly walks in the beautiful Surrey Hills for people who want to reconnect with nature and meet like-minded people in a relaxed and mindful way. The next dates are:
Sunday 11th August
Sunday 15th September
Sunday 20th October
You can find out more and sign up here. Feel free to share with anyone you think might be interested. I would love to see you there.
How to be with all of it? I really love The Work That Reconnects and Joanna Macy's work generally... I can't remember if you already know it? Active Hope is the book to read to get an understanding of all her ideas I think. She's brilliant at explaining why we need to feel the collapse, and how we move through into hopeful action.