Daytime

Palm trees sway under the afternoon sun's glare,
not a care in the world, aimlessly dancing, freedom abound.

The air is alive with the sounds of birds,
singing songs of life, good fortune, simplicity all around.

The sky struggles to stay blue in the light of the day,
shedding it's skin, revealing everything, wondrous rebirth.

Lonely geckos scuttle with with reckless abandon,
hastening the pace, on the move, flightless workmanship.

Peoples' moods remain cool despite natures intensities,
their hearts are chilled, beaming smiles, feathers unruffled.

Pikey

The Bloodshed Continues- Gaza

Excerpts from Mary Riddells article in Daily Telegaph, Thursday, January 8, 2009,

entitled:

'It is time to tell the truth- what Israel is doing in Gaza is wrong.'

She writes:

'This is not simply about security. It is not even just about innocent civilians who have seen their families obliterated and their land, a thin shard of hell, bombed to rubble. It is about humanity itself. As the tanks finally roll out of Gaza, the international community may congratulate itself on finessing the peace. The truth is that Israel has played its game exactly as it chose. If America had demanded a ceasefire sooner, or if the West had threatened embargoes and cried revulsion, then the schoolrooms of Gaza would not be graffiti-painted in its childrens' blood.

'Bring back the politics of denunciation. Yes, Hamas is a vicious neighbour. And yes, the West also has dubious warfare on its conscience. But nothing excuses acts so sickening that, if perpetrated by a less-blessed state, they would be reviled throughout the world as war crimes. Once again, the world has declined to tell Israel, in terms, that it has no divine mandate for destruction.

'The dead of Gaza will be buried soon. Remember them. In this new year, when the innate goodness of the human spirit is held up as the last bulwark against debt, recession, war and adversity, their ghosts should haunt us all’.

Pikey

Emptiness

The thirty spokes unite in the one nave; but it is on the empty space (for the axle) that the wheel depends.Clay is fashioned into vessels; but it is on their empty hollowness, that their use depends. The doors and windows are cut out to form an apartment; but it is on the empty space that it's use depends. Therefore what has a (positive) existence serves for profitable adaption, and what has not that for (actual) usefulness.

Lao Tzu

I love this notion of nothingness being all there is. The nature of the mind, in its pure form being IT. There is nothing more, and only when you settle in this natural resting place can you truly develop and grow. External reality (as we know it) takes us away from the essence of truth, blinding us with sensory desires and tempts us towards the illusion.

The truth then lies not between the lines or in the depths of philosophical discussion, it is simple and access able to all. Its has been called 'grounded luminosity' or likened to the pause between words, or massive emptiness, but one can be sure that resting in the ego less plains of the meditative mind, can help one appreciate how beautiful and simple the moment is.

No past,
Nor future,
No worries,
Nor dreams,

Just now.


Pikey

Live and Learn-Time to Fly

All of a sudden the countdown has begun. Time has flapped it's mysterious wings and once again one is watching the calender on the wall. Days are passing like the TGV on jacked up speed balls and what once seemed like tomorrow, becomes yesterday, and so the haze continues steamrollering along. Realisations like this make one sit comfortably in a comfy armchair and try to take stock of happenings. Its time to slow down, regroup, become mindful. No need to ride on blazing saddles, enjoy what you have, simplicity, enjoy the warm glow of grounded illumination. As Lennon said, 'Life is what happens when you are making other plans,' or somethings to that effect. How perceptive! His statement has beautiful imagery, albeit straight out of a Indian Guru's mantra chant.

A lot has been experienced in this particular period of life, and good chunky, diamonds of knowledge they are too, things that one can take, file away and learn from. Knowledge is indeed power. Power to learn from past mistakes and grow as a person, treading more gingerly along the par carious path of life, applying one's self with greater clarity of thought and action.

Alas, Thailand's sun baked shores are just within reach and I am ready.
Once again-

to sing the tune,
to dance with the language,
to tussle with the culture and,
marvel at gastronomy.

Pikey

Slievemore

Slievemore the slug, slouches contently, casting sliver tinged shadows
Picture book style,

Her dark seal skin stretched tightly, a sleekness uniform, pristine on the eye,
Cross-roads in bloom,

Sentinel white face attentive, squint-eyed, deciphering intensely,
Skyline calculus,

Imperious skirmisher stands to attention, oozing, colours,
Electric intensity,

Army of yellow units, poised, energised for engagement
Watching, waiting,

Swirling green guards, frenzied, unbalanced in commotion,
Brooding inevitability,

Up turned remains, from a by gone age,
Relics of the past to come.

Pikey

Good old New Labour

We've had a lot of rights removed over the past decade or so, rights we've had since the magna carta, but which have been discarded without debate or thought.

As an example:

* The government can ban any groups it labels ‘terrorist’ (Terrorism Act 2000)
* The government can monitor any and all private communication (Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000)
* Armed forces can be deployed on UK soil in peacetime (Civil Contingencies Act 2004)
* Property and assets can be seized without warning or compensation (Civil Contingencies Act 2004)
* Spontaneous protest is now illegal around Parliament (Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005)
* Without trial, any British citizen can be tagged, put under house arrest and banned from using the telephone or internet (Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005)
* Any citizen can be imprisoned without charge for 28 days (42 days has passed the house of commons) (Terrorism Act 2006)
* The executive can change any current legislation without consulting Parliament, with very few exceptions (Legislative and Regulatory Reform Act 2006)
* Arbitrary punishments with no legal precedents can be issued with little legal recourse, based on hearsay evidence ( Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003)
* British citizens can be extradicted to the United States with no evidence presented (Extradition Act 2003)
* Compulsory identification for all British citizens, with an unlimited amount of details stored in a central database, which the private sector will have access to (Identity Cards Act 2006)
* Upon arrest the police have claim to your DNA, even if you are released without charge (Criminal Justice Act 2003)

Time

The clock strikes seven, must get up.

Time.

Don’t have any of it, I’m bored, have too much of it.

Time.

Our modern lives depend on it. I plan my day around its illusive presence. I'm on a schedule, a timescale, a time stranglehold and when I run out I am in deep trouble.

My life is measured in seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, years and decades. I am petrified about losing the track of time as you are my master.

Time.

We have cycles, periods, loops, fast time, slow time. We must measure it all to the mille second, and use it wisely. There is never time for anything including good times and the bad times.

Time is money, we kneel in front of your imperious presence, and you are the Lord, our God.
Hurry up, quickly, get the finger out! Time waits for no one .But time snails along. Time moves forward and backwards.

Time

I am enslaved to you. The damp air of the past determines my future, the crystal ball of the future shapes the present moment. Could have, should have, would have.

Wait!

Stop!

Is this real?

Am I merely dreaming?

Is time tangible or simply a concept?

What if time is an illusion of the subconscious?

What else is there if time is a figment of our imagination?

Allow me this precious moment to contemplate your worth.