” Stop telling yourself that you need to feel upbeat, and it begins to seem less pointless to make some tiny effort to address one or two of those problems: to take on a small weekly volunteering role here; to make a modest donation to charity there. The solution to feeling so despairing about the news, in short, is to let yourself feel despairing – and take action, too. “One of the great things about everything being so fucked up,” Jensen likes to say when speaking to audiences, “is that no matter where you look, there’s a lot of work to be done.”
Don’t kid yourself that you will single-handedly eradicate nationwide or global problems; instead, define and pursue small-scale goals, like joining a campaign with some connection to the issues that trouble you the most. Focus on activities you enjoy: these will be much easier to sustain. And there is certainly some relief in attending to your own wellbeing. Exercise, sleep, time spent in nature, meditation and socialising are all proven paths to increased happiness; they’re cliches, but only because they really work – and it isn’t self-indulgent to make time for them.
Paradoxically, it’s through taking action, despite not feeling happy about the situation, that a deeper kind of happiness can arise. (That’s certainly the implication of research on the emotional benefits of volunteering, charitable giving, community involvement and political protest.) Jensen has written that people sometimes ask him why he doesn’t just kill himself, if things are as bad as he says. “The answer is that life is really, really good. I am a complex enough being that I can hold in my heart the understanding that we are really, really fucked, and at the same time that life is really, really good. I am full of rage, sorrow, joy, love, hate, despair, happiness, dissatisfaction, and a thousand other feelings. ”
A strange flawed beauty caught my naked eye As if some monstrous beast is hiding near Where deep rose clouds hang from a darker sky
Now the rose has gone and all is grey The night will fall and sorrow is our fare A shattered beauty caught by mirrored eye
Yet underneath night sorrow there is joy The wisdom of the ages does not stare Though deep rose clouds hang from a darker sky
Now I see some gold spread unalloyed The artist we can worship ,love, revere Beauty, fearless, caught in mirrored eye
Nature in her way will never lie Yet she can kill what humans hold most dear While deep rose clouds hang from a near night sky
In the clouds of sadness faces leer Hallucinations look but cannot jeer Such beauty ,numinous ,affects my eye While deep rose clouds sing from a darkening sky
Turn back, live again, he asked of me Do not wander in the darkness anymore One false move might give death victory
We are each connected to that tree The sunlit top, the roots hid in earth’s floor Come back, live again, he asked of me
While we live, we’ll live with dignity Not scrabbling for the gold in blood and gore One more step will give hate victory
The kindness of the golden light was clear And left sweet feelings in my heart’s deep core Come back, live your life, he then soothed me
Do not wonder now why you are here We’re here to live and living shall restore What our suffering self has found so dear
I had never seen the Light before Only Christ the Tyger with his roar Come back, live through pain, he asked of me That first step will give love victory
She’d never seem rainwater deeper than eyes
Mystery undisguised.
Round the big puddle she ran and ran;
Too much for her dolly’s pan.
By reflections of trees she was hypnotised.
Curiousity’s often so wise
Oh,my dear sister what see you there?
I hope it’s a vision fair.
What are these ships and the tugs and the tide
Where are the sailors who died?
This is an ocean and I’m in my boat
Come sisters dear,let us float.
We’ll never see daddy again, ‘cos he’s here
And down her face travelled one tear.
I see him afar off, he’s meeting the Lord
There’s the archangel with his sharp sword.
We cannot follow,no, we must go back
We each must stay on our own track.
Three little children with long golden hair
On this road going to where?
Once three small sisters ,but now only two;
Eyes of one green, the other’s blue.
By the park gate by a pool of sea rain
We shall be three again.
One in a pushchair and one gripping tight.
I push my dear sisters into the light.
Keep hold of the handle and never let go
I loved my sisters so.
Keep hold of my hands as Dad crosses the sea.
Don’t hope for what cannot be.
I told her it’s only a rainwater pool,
Held in God’s hand like a jewel.
But she saw the patterns and she saw the tides
Which all human beings must ride.
For nothing is “only” and nothing is “just”.
All we can live by is trust
Mary picked up her mobile phone to ring for a cab..On it,there was a message .You have missed a call from home.Mary shivered. Has Stan come back? Then she recalled she had rung her own mobile before coming out.Her mind sagged like sheet of rubber suspended between four tall trees in the jungle.. Hello,It’s Mrs Tan.Can you do a me cab from the dental surgery to my home? It’s right by the doctor’s surgery. She stepped outside into the warm air which felt like a caress on her poor numb face. When she got home she found Annie in the kitchen looking at her collection of cookery books. Do you want to get rid of any of these, her friend queried. I am thinking of learning some new recipes so I can invite those awful therapists across the road for dinner.But I have to be sure that what I serve has no hidden meaning especially aggressive or sexual. Well,Mary said,don’t you think that people differ in what they find sexual? Beats me,said Annie meaningfully.I fancy doing beef in beer with French bread and mustard baked on the top. I used to do that,Mary said.Why did we stop doing that cooking? Penguin brought a new book every month.I have most of them and ,at the weekend, I’d study them for ages looking for things like apple mousse and different stews. When we first got married I used a kind of cheap women’s magazine approach and most often as a pudding I did tinned peaches with cinnamon sprinkled on grilled till hot and spicy.Eventually, Stan got fed up with it and so I got into cordon bleu and using real cream not Carnation milk Her blue eyes gleamed in excitement and were rendered even more remarkable by the teal and turquoise eye shadow Annie had forced her to wear which matched the sea blue mascara she already had.Annie said. it will be good for us both to meet new people especially educated ones Mary disagreed.I like ordinary people because a certain amount of education makes some people very conceited and only real scholars or mystics realise that the more we know the more we realise our own ignorance.Will such folk like makeup? Perhaps one of the psychoanalysts will be a mystic,Annie retorted loudly. But would such a person want to visit us? Mary bleated childishly. Why not? They have to eat and they may need a new love interest or someone sympathetic who will know how hard their job is.Someone like me,beautiful funny and willing to look after a man when he needs it. How about a man who might look after you,Mary said brightly Well,it’s not quite the same.I like looking after men whereas you prefer reading about Fourier series and infinite integrals.And knitting patterns,she added hastily as if omitting that interest would severely anger Mary. I think we’ll invite two men and two women ,all single.They can bring their cats for Emile to play with if they want.And we’ll eat in the kitchen to make it more relaxed. Thank God,said Mary as the dining room was full of paper and books. Why don’t I have a study,she pondered.Or ,if I slept in the dining room, my bedroom has a lovely view and I have an old desk somewhere. Mary ,in her younger days, had often moved the furniture around and had even slept on a camp bed on the lawn one summer but she no longer did this as looking after Stan had worn her down to a shred of her former self. But beds do take up so much room.Without them ,the house would be quite spacious.And how about tables and chairs… her mind ran on as she quite fancied a new start without moving house. With fewer clothes ,she could ditch a wardrobe… on the other hand ,she could not afford such quality clothes again on her widow’s pension. To think she might have to stop wear Bowlands of Wrath was a rather painful thought.Still most of humanity have got hardly anything so maybe Mary will think more deeply about donating some to Oxfam. Suddenly the doorbell rang.Dave the paramedic was outside Are you both ok?I’ve not heard from you lately,he remarked as he powdered his nose. Well,I do have an old desk that you can carry upstairs for me,Mary told him thoughtfully.Then we need the floor scrubbing.I’m sure the NHS will pay.After all dirt might make us ill! And so pray all of us
If the government gets its way anyone who smells can be put in prison.
I wonder who defines exactly what constitutes a smell? If you are wearing a perfume like Poison some people might think that is a smell.
Just looking for new meaning to the phrase
Poison is dangerous.
Come to that being alive is dangerous especially for the homeless. Where do they imagine they’re going to have a wash and apply a deodorant?
Come to think of it they might prefer being in person as they will have showers and regular meals and definitely a bed
But I would have thought you’d need to commit some kind of a crime to get put in prison and smelling however unpleasant is not a crime as yet.
I don’t like the idea of a policeman coming to my house and asking to sniff my armpits all my crotch or will there be some kind of a distance like can their smell me from three feet away or two feet away.
Maybe if it’s only that they smell you when you’re 10 feet away I think will be a crime.
And in any case I thought Britain’s prisons were overcrowded. With middle aged women shoplifters, and.. starring pregnant women and men who soft it was a good idea to break the window of the supermarket just to get .. a few bottles of brandy and a glass of red wine.
I hope they don’t put babies in prison because they often smell even from the best homes
The solution is this that they should put everybody in prison straight away and then there will be no more crime at all.
There will be sin no doubt but there will be no crime because you can’t commit crime in prison can you?
Of course this will break up families,.. friendships and lovers.
Churches will not be needed…. Most shops can close down and altogether it will save a lot of money because you won’t have to pay for your own heating anymore nor food.
The few people who are not in prison like the royal family might be a little bit lonely but they will get used to it and some of them might deserve to be imprisoned might I add nervously.
I found my first phone in the drawer by chance C 1 -01, a Nokia, coloured pink Memories of my flower photographs
We look but we don’t see,oh,happenstance Now I shall pour out the tea and drink I found my first phone in the drawer by chance
I saw cats and dogs but no giraffes Now I might just sit to muse and think Of memories and my flower photographs
We walked around those gardens holding hands Saw the iris and the rose.oh God be thanked I found my first phone in the drawer by chance
You preferred the sea shore.edge of sands The waves ran on our feet, the fishes winked Oh memories ,oh all our photographs
Like the fish, you also sent a wink Just before you died, a smile , cheeks pink I thought you looked much better,but no chance Blessed memories of our lives in photographs
There are three components to balance. The first is the visual system, which shows us whether we’re tilting. Then the vestibular system in the inner ear sends information to our brain about the motion of our head in relation to our surroundings. Thirdly, proprioception is our body’s ability to sense its location, movement and actions.
“People with ear problems that cause dizziness […] are more likely to have balance issues”
People with ear problems that cause dizziness, or with joint problems or muscle weakness are more likely to have balance issues. If you suffer from dizziness, see your GP to find out the reason.
Get your strength up
Exercise goes a long way to helping you stay steady on your feet
But there’s a lot you can do yourself to improve physical strength. If you exercise, you’re ahead of the game. One study found that a group that did 32 weeks of resistance training improved their ability to stand on one foot by 25 per cent and another group that did 32 weeks of aerobic exercise increased theirs by 31 per cent.
” If you exercise, you’re ahead of the game”
null
Otherwise, improve your balance by walking, cycling or climbing stairs – this will strengthen muscles in the lower body – or by practising yoga, pilates or tai chi. Or simply practise balancing on one leg – hold onto a chair to begin with, if necessary.
Reader’s Digest is a member of the Independent Press Standards Organisation (which regulates the UK’s magazine and newspaper industry). We abide by the Editors’ Code of Practice and are committed to upholding the highest standards of journalism. If you think that we have not met those standards, please contact 0203 289 0940. If we are unable to resolve your complaint, or if you would like more information about IPSO or the Editors’ Code, contact IPSO on 0300 123 2220 or visit ipso.co.uk
There are three components to balance. The first is the visual system, which shows us whether we’re tilting. Then the vestibular system in the inner ear sends information to our brain about the motion of our head in relation to our surroundings. Thirdly, proprioception is our body’s ability to sense its location, movement and actions.
“People with ear problems that cause dizziness […] are more likely to have balance issues”
People with ear problems that cause dizziness, or with joint problems or muscle weakness are more likely to have balance issues. If you suffer from dizziness, see your GP to find out the reason.
Get your strength up
Exercise goes a long way to helping you stay steady on your feet
But there’s a lot you can do yourself to improve physical strength. If you exercise, you’re ahead of the game. One study found that a group that did 32 weeks of resistance training improved their ability to stand on one foot by 25 per cent and another group that did 32 weeks of aerobic exercise increased theirs by 31 per cent.
” If you exercise, you’re ahead of the game”
null
Otherwise, improve your balance by walking, cycling or climbing stairs – this will strengthen muscles in the lower body – or by practising yoga, pilates or tai chi. Or simply practise balancing on one leg – hold onto a chair to begin with, if necessary.
Reader’s Digest is a member of the Independent Press Standards Organisation (which regulates the UK’s magazine and newspaper industry). We abide by the Editors’ Code of Practice and are committed to upholding the highest standards of journalism. If you think that we have not met those standards, please contact 0203 289 0940. If we are unable to resolve your complaint, or if you would like more information about IPSO or the Editors’ Code, contact IPSO on 0300 123 2220 or visit ipso.co.uk
But metaphors are not merely things to be seen beyond. In fact, one can see beyond them only by using other metaphors. It is as though the ability to comprehend experience through metaphor were a sense, like seeing or touching or hearing, with metaphors providing the only ways to perceive and experience much of the world. Metaphor is as much a part of our functioning as our sense of touch, and as precious.
Against sadness:no-one here can weep Nor lounge about in melancholy deep. Was Van Gogh senseless to permit his muse. For his masterpieces ,was the price too steep? We see the yellow chair but not his views Nor his mind where technique made such leaps. Nor was his journey broadcast on the news. Against sadness.
Happiness or joy is hard to find When we rest, the News preys on our minds Yet some are cold towards the slaughtered priest His nose a beak of bone in old face lined Now Muslims go to Mass and join Christ’s feast Against sadness.
What rages in the mind make men kill thus? In Syrian wars the innocents fare worse. But these are our near neighbours so we weep And wonder how to end the frightening curse The sins we once committed hold us deep We hold our hands out wanting to be nursed Against sadness
Coming back to earth is very hard When a loved one’s gone, the heart feels charred You took them to the gate but had to leave And now you know at last you are bereaved
Why get better, what is there left now? The Holy One has vanished,gone somehow Should there not be sentries of the heart To pull one back before it is too late
Maybe cruelty’s kinder to those left To punish us when we feel we’re bereft Is there noone else when God has gone Taking in his arms your most loved one?
The form may be grammatical and right Yet what it says is nonsense in daylight
How my heart speaks 