Rushing Around

This blog is about two main subjects my poetry and my life. This is an aspect of my life that I don't much like, rushing. Western life is crammed full of pressure and things that must be done and paid for every minute of the day. I realised this most when visiting Tunisia a few years ago. In their life there is space for other things such as just sitting and contemplation. People meet and exchange pleasantries until there are no more pleasantries left, unlike us who gabble a few words and worry about the next thing to do.
A good example of this is a couple that my wife and I met on holiday in Tunisia a while ago. Excellent people that we got on with really well. We kept contact after the holiday but it fizzled out. Recently they went to Tunisia again and sent a post card to us. I have their e-mail address but failed to reply. I was going to write but couldn't find their address. All the time there were other things needing to be done that laid pressure against me. Having forgotten about them completely, again they sent us a Christmas card - they really are good people. Now I feel even more sad that I have not replied to them. But even as I write this I have a massive list of to dos that must be done by this time and that before I go to work tonight. I am making a mental note that I must e-mail them and try to make amends. But first I have some rushing around top do and that is what I do not like. I rush around for a living which is fine because I get paid for it but I have no desire to do it in my free time. Advent is a time of preparedness both physical and spiritual but I don't feel the spiritual side at all at the moment just the rushing around like a headless chicken. These words from William Henry Davies say it all for me:


Leisure

What is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.

No time to stand beneath the boughs
And stare as long as sheep or cows.

No time to see, when woods we pass,
Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass.

No time to see, in broad daylight,
Streams full of stars, like skies at night.

No time to turn at Beauty's glance,
And watch her feet, how they can dance.

No time to wait till her mouth can
Enrich that smile her eyes began.

A poor life this is if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.

Try to remember, just as I must try to remember, there is more to life than just getting things done. Christmas is an excellent example of that if nothing else.

Peace Dave.