Focus in times of virus….

Laid up in hospital, nothing to do, hopefully you will recover, the advice of the physician, the nurse who comes when your buzzer goes off, time to eat, time to take your medication. She is on a visit to see her grandfather. Down the corridor and second room to the left, she breezes along. A big smile is prepared before she enters the room, she wonders what form he will be in, he is a grumpy sort, but kind. Doesn’t fire but straight.

Hi she says, big smile on her face, she is wearing the obligatory mask, she pulls it aside while she bends to kiss him on the forehead, why are you wearing that he remarks, wheezing, nearly out of breath, the lungs not as strong as they used to be. He is approaching ninety, has been through the second world war, Korea, Vietnam, an army vet as the experience tells you.

We all have to wear them now, it’s the law.

It takes your mind off the other stuff he replies.

What do you mean by that she says. …

He drifts off to sleep, she leaves him to have the quite moment, she waits. He is in a dream, it’s not dreaming, he is a boy again, on summer retreat with friends, the two week camp they used to have during the summer break. Climbing walls, chasing cows, trying to climb the neighbors apple trees without getting caught, playing cowboys and Indians. She watches the expression change on his face, the array of smiles, what gives him the thrill, he is old, the life he lived, she can only imagine. Suddenly he wakes up, he is shocked to see her still there.

you must have been dreaming she says.

What?

You have a smile on your face, I was watching you.

Oh that he says.

there was a time when…

Children played, they slept in the same bed, teenagers, went about together during the day, no anxiety, no stressed parents, no one anxious, no one concerned with predators, no thoughts such as these existed whatsoever. He rambles on. and water you could drink from the tap, that was till they modernized it all. He looks at her.

She thinks, old man, what does he know.

I think it’s time to go she says. She pushes her mask to the side, tips his forehead with his lips, see you soon she says, whatever he replies.

later, she retells the story of the visit to her sister, how was he she says. He will live to a hundred, but I didn’t like the creepy stares of the male nurse, he scared me. What do you mean.

Solomon sighed, the difference in the ages, and the imaginings in the mind. The stuff that is fed into them, and the anxieties that last forever. The virus was a topic of conversation all over the world. It refocused the minds on the living.

 

Before The Virus…..

Crowds outside the halls of Justice, posters, yelling crowds, the felon is brought out, in chains, law enforcement wants to show him off, the district attorney wants to get re elected, while campaigners don’t want to miss an opportunity to increase the membership, no one wants to lose here, apart from the convicted felon. It could be Bernie, it could be anybody, it’s a good way to let them all know, you don’t get away with it anymore, right!.

Political forecasters, night and day studying the polls, reading the tweets, you said this, she said that, the spin doctors rumble through the thrash, hoping to find something damaging, anything to harm the candidate. The old bias cards are played, that will wind them up, the more dirt the better, the game hots up.

Solomon sighed, the plants co-operate with each other, the bugs get on, the birds fly cleverly, they don’t try to bump themselves off, and the human race that is watching it all, is supposed to be learning from it. At night the insects hum, during the day the birds sing, flowers lean towards the sun, while humble bees just buzz along; that can’t be too hard to imitate.

After the virus, when is this going to end, all other so called causes forgotten. The straw that broke the camels back was no heavier than the last. Solomon saw the signs, many had, the world was been watched from afar, it was a time for community driven thinking, could be learn from nature he sighed.

Red Hot Chilies For Fear

 

I am still young…..

On the streets, she is in her twenties, she is young for sure. Watching it all, for ever aware, it’s how she feels secure, getting over it has not been easy, she is trying to play it safe if safe is possible. The memory of that night, the lasting impression, not the one she wanted to store, it has forced itself inside her like a thief, unwelcome, but there. In her side pocket her hand, which is wrapped around, a small bottle of hot chili pepper spray, a concoction she prepared herself, by adding a few heavy peppers to the original spray, she wants it to stop a horse, she has tried it on her cat, and it worked. The cat stayed away for a month, sorry puss. The sudden noise of a car startles, she recoils from any loud noises, her inner calm, she was strong she thought, not strong enough to fight the pills they gave her; she has nightmares wondering what they did to her, the only scars, a large bruise spot, the real scar, the fear they left behind. Was that the reason she joined the pioneers; never going to trust alcohol again or anyone using the stuff. Who knows why, it happens, the therapist told her she’d get over it, words that came all to easily to mind, experts are supposed to know. Paddy, so polite in the beginning, never wanted much, was it all an act, years later, perhaps it was she doing the acting, she doesn’t enjoy the thought, he might have been happy with a go to woman, mentally he was never a challenge to her, is it all about my life, is the today me the real person, or is it a return to who she was before. Dreaming, did she dream. When did it stop, was it the bout of depression, no she sighs, that was after the first beating, at least she saw it coming.

Her head in her hands, she twists her vision towards the bottle, a sly glance. You, she reaches for it, examines the label, her vision is improving, she can read the small print, she lets out a laugh, what a sense of humour, she imagines God to be a comic somewhere, taking the piss with us, allowing us thrash the party, then like an absent father, returns out of the blue, not as a rich man, but as an extremely happy man, who wears a permanent smile, takes a can from one of the party goers while exclaiming, there will be a clean up she, or he says, to which all at the party nod approvingly, relieved to hear, that while the party is over, it’s not the end of all parties, a break in the contagion, slowdown time, as if the jet that is carrying his baggage is about to come into land, presents for the children, stiff warnings too, behave yourselves he says, play safe, a phrase everyone smiles at, especially Amy, who had her first close encounter of the intimate kind, with her boyfriend, love connection with play safe top of the priority list. Well, if you are provided with the means of spiritual well being in it’s fullest, you have to take into account the assets you are born with. Is that wishful thinking, she is young, how else can you survive, doom and gloom ignores the beauty of art, not everyone went to Amsterdam to view available women and cheap sex, not forgetting the other; there are museums as well.

Horror Stories and Us….

Living the nightmare, clutching the cushion before you, hoping that the Hero see’s the danger before it gets him, or hoping that the demon catches the girl and devours her, there are many ways of looking at a scene, a story, even your imagination. Every set of eyes see’s it different, they all have a memory, we are the sum of our experiences basically. You are young, you are rooting for the good person, your emotions are invested, besides, you are a child, those you nurture and feel most for, are those around you, and you want no harm to come to them, it hurts when they suffer.

Solomon recalled the journeys of old, how things happened, what being a child was like, before the advent of technology into the heart of so many lives. You didn’t have to text your pal to say this is boring, you didn’t have to tell your pal that everything was wrong, in a nutshell, you didn’t have the time to complain, you lived in the now, today was the day. You are going on holidays, you know your going, you don’t have doubts, there is a place, there is a road, you have been there before, and you know how to get there, it’s rather simple. The sandy beach, the caravan park, the others you will meet, the swim in the sea, and the guarantee of sunshine and good times, that’s the thought, you are going on holidays. You are not worried about the cost, what does it matter, you are not worried about the food, you haven’t starved yet, basically, you don’t worry at all, cause it always works out. For the same reason, you want the Hero to catch the bad man, and not the other way around.  Does this sound too simple, well, it used to be the way it was for a great many people.

Today we live with the uncertainty of not knowing, insecurity is mainstream, what we thought was for ever, doesn’t seem so, leaders are going strange, and the use of twenty word tweets and posts, can make the global news in a matter of seconds, as if we need to know, how so and so is thinking. Lets hope we don’t lose our minds with all the worry out there, that is the real horror story.

Solomon encountered the Spirit, heavenly assistance, magical rescues as if it’s the norm. It is, it was, and it will be again, for anyone who puts the eternal truth into their heads; God exists, and in these trying times, this is one truth you can rely upon, amen. There is no horror story when divine intervention is your friend.

August

The year 2020, the world needs rest, the populations on the move, internally if not physically, where to turn, can I, the questions, the world turned upside down, the news dramatic, the reactions chaotic, the mind full of the dread, what is happening, is this all in my head, turmoil. A mini version of a strange new world, it was going in one direction, then all of a sudden, change, how has it happened, what are we going to do now. Young artists, new ideas, the ideals they shared, the chance to put it in words, the cynics of the past, this will never change, those getting their wish, could we have done it any better.

Solomon wondered, the world stops, the ease of movement halts, a scene from a war movie, the unassailable march of the JUGGERNAUT, the sighs in the hearts of the oppressed, what does it mean, is there a message in all of this. Solomon read the story of old, how they harped on, about the unseen power, and the threat that existed, when we took it to be ourselves, our existence. The child sighs, the mother holds the hand tighter, she is nervous, they can’t escape to the country, it’s closing down. The knock on the door, the rattle of guns, the panic inside, everyone tries to hide and run, is this the end, the sighs, the nods, open up, the scream, the door comes in, boots on the stairs, it sounds like a Spielberg movie, only it’s real.

Solomon was applying the thought of the dramatic to the current chaos. In olden times, old stories, we get reminders, the ways of the oppressors, and what it usually means, are these those times, and what about the end, the light, there is always light. The Hope arrives, every civilization has the same story, the voice, the giant, the helper, who teaches the new generation, how to sustain life, the qualities needed, compassion, being aware, doing what is life giving, without trying to take over the world. In the papers he read the story of the Nuclear Space, the effort to control the world where the satellites roamed, the great new war field of the future, the destruction of our means of global communication, does this sound like today, are we being warned, the new direction, an easy way to teach us perhaps, this way of life can’t sustain itself, we better try another, just an idea…Solomon smiled, He always sends the Helper, hang on.

It’s Impossible….

Where does your light come from, how were miracles made happen, why do you pray, why are we here, the questions we ask, the days of old, young minds no baggage, the days continue, the accumulation of experiences, the collection of opinions, the rules you set for yourself,  the breakdown of society, the retreat, how is it happening, where have our leaders gone, where is the voice of calm, is it everyone for himself.

Solomon was listening to the vibrations, the shock waves, news, more news, the revelations, the feeling in many hearts, nothing like this has happened before, how is it possible, it can’t be real. Then he imagined the days of Jesus, the first time around, when concerned persons, the local authorities of the times, the Jewish leaders, called to see his mother and family, and wondered, “He has lost his mind, he is possessed by demons, he needs help, will you go and see him!”

So there you have Jesus in a room, with some friends, and those seeking healing and consolation, listening to what he has to say, a sense of wonder on their faces, in awe at the prospect, this is real. A pharisee comes in, your mother and family are outside, they need to talk to you. Then Jesus turns to those in the room, and explains to them, who is your Family.

It’s not easy following in the ways of the “Holy Spirit”, when the world around you is devoted to power and the material. There are many who will try to talk you out of your faith. In these times of much confusion and fear, its easy to retreat to the safety of numbers, in among-st the crowd, where you wont stand out. Hold to your faith, trust in God, was the message given all those years ago, the same applies today. The Demons have no power when it comes to the Power of the Holy Spirit. Let it flow, amen, let love escape from inside you. Jesus performed miracles in order to give confidence to those who had any doubts, amen. God lives inside you, don’t have any fears about it.

Who Do You Recall…..

What dents the heart, who is that wakes you up, what is it that reminds, Solomon was reflecting; the fast life, goes by in a whir, like speeding down the motor way, it’s a blur, you see nothing but think your going places, all you have in mind, the journeys end, not the wave of experiences, it’s so easy to forget life, or what you are supposed to be. He read the story of the carbon footprint, the legacy of your life in pollution terms, what a concept, how about turning the argument around, the impact you made in other lives, much more soothing, and thought provoking, the report that gets you a pass where it counts, not a long list of the negatives.

She is a busy modern woman, has success on a plate, lets the children out, to be reared by others, same as many stuffed to the gills with success on their mind. Years later,she has a distant relationship with them, and wonders why. Solomon was in the temple, had thoughts of old friends on his mind. It wasn’t bad, there were great moments, he had a few he held tight to, and then he thought of the little pal, the child who saved the world, well, the boy assisted him, and humbled him with raw honesty, made more of an impact than most, had a working heart. Then he recalled the cynics, the leave it to others brigade, he could hardly remember anything about them, seriously. So there he was praying for them all, he hoped the cold hearted woke up, before it was too late. Those who love won all the awards in his book.

Extremism

Push the extremists over the cliff, the effort they go to create trouble, how the ordinary people put up with it, the point in time, Solomon had choice words, double their salary, they know what they are trying to do, there is no reason to assume otherwise, and since life hereafter does not seem to matter to them, as their tactics testify to,  and as the angel said to Ezra, why worry, when they realize that God Most High exists, they will cringe in shame, amen.

Solomon was weary, and saw the great u turns, how lives are played with, how faith is battered the way a woman in a domestic dispute is smashed to the floor, while her children watch on, since the battering man acts with impunity, since he has done it again and again. Real faith was like that woman, beaten and taunted from every direction. How long had the world put up with the treatment of women in domestic arguments, a world outside the world, that few ever dared to enter into.

These are testing times he sighed, and there were many very weary, the long wait for a cure to the ills of the world. The virus was like a manifestation of all that was wrong, and had gone on for far too long. Those in the power positions had felt immune to the edicts they passed on, and the ordinary man and woman were powerless. Not anymore Sighed Solomon; the signs were pouring out, and the modern day pharaoh’s who felt untouchable as in the times of Moses, were feeling the affects. Moses was able to handle all the dark magic he had to contend with, as he had been chosen. Solomon sighed; the Great Spirit that gave Moses that authority, was still in existence. Create the Space inside you, for all that is good to dwell, and listen to the warnings of Jesus, the advice he was giving to all that cared to listen.

Treasure Box

Young Again

The dreams of a child, the fears so few, the welfare of your family, the normal priority, Solomon was remarking on the dramatic changes taking place in the world, how a simple virus had upstaged everyone, grinding to a halt the relentless machine, that spoke progress and destruction in the same breath, as each emerging tyrant tried to grab the pole position of envy and greed, a race to nowhere, that left scars everywhere you looked.

No competition, the only anxiety, who won the football match, are your friends calling around, will I have some one to play with, as for sexual predators, they were never mentioned and few existed, unless created in the press. Solomon was thinking young again, how basic the needs how rich the care, and how that way of living was infiltrated, in the name of progress, we haven’t got that here, can I have one of those. What happened to the peace of mind so many children used to enjoy. It was unheard of, years ago, for all these mental issues to be apparent in so many lives. If that wasn’t an indicator of the mad hole the world had fallen into, then they all must be blind. Stress, only good for those who can afford to go shopping or those already addicted to pills.

It even made those wild tribes men in those far away places seem normal, when they complained about the threat of modernity, today they seem the most reasonable of men. Well, the experts used to classify the over washing of oneself as a form of mental illness not so long ago, today it’s encouraged, has the world gone mad, as for those off shore schemes, that steal legally day after day, there comes a time, when someone says halt, enough is enough. If you can’t rear children in a stress free world, shouldn’t you do something about it?.

Being young, having ideals, it sure beats cynicism.

Jesus was tempted Regularly…

And so he warned his followers, there will be tempting and teasing, as there is every day, what are you missing, see what you lost, you could have had an easier life, you could have been this, what did you do with your life, this was the regular taunting of God’s people, and has been, come on, you can have it easy, look, there are no worries over here, we can fix everything, Jesus even warned and reminded the followers, the demon who thinks he has charge of the world, has no power over me He said, but don’t you worry, I will send the Holy Spirit, and that Help, will get you over the line, just don’t panic, amen.

Solomon had a dream or was sent a dream, he traveled a life of another, while there was another soul, hell bent on destroying the life he was viewing, competing almost, anyway, during the dream he told the visitor, Don’t you Believe in the Almighty God, and the visitor disappeared, amen. In a nutshell, hold firm thought Solomon, you faith will be challenged regularly, and you will get tested, and same as the virus, you will have to take precautions to preserve that Faith, the space you reserve for God inside you to dwell.

Treasure Box