The long and winding road that I call simply, life.

Hi there,

I was on Facebook the other day and my sister posted that ‘life never ceased to amaze her’, which prompted several comments as you could imagine. Some were on the lines that ‘things happen for a reason, we just have to find it’. This led me to add, ‘Some say that there are reasons for things, others say it’s God‘s will but what about the random things that catch us sideways that seem to have no rhyme or reason? I like the saying that shit happens but life goes on’

This led me to remember some more sayings about life, such as;

S.S.D.D., Same Shit Different Day,

Life is never boring, boring people do boring things,

and,

Life has three rules,

Rule 1, Shit happens.

Rule 2, Shit happens on a regular basis,

Rule 3, If you’re not sure what to do next, refer back to Rule 1.

Life is all about choices, whether we realise it or not, we all have them, we all make them and the choices we make tell the world the kind of person we are. If we come to a certain fork in the road of life that is better for us but hurts others, what do we do, do we choose to put our needs before others or the reverse? whatever choice we make tells us something about the type of person we are. We travel down this road guided by our moral compass which helps us to make the right choices.

Now you might think I’m rambling a bit but what I’m trying to say, probably very badly that in my opinion life is a road that we travel, it has many twists and turns on the way and we’re never truly alone on our journey. If there is no one standing by us we still have our thoughts and memories to keep us company. Some travel like this whilst others have friends and family along for the company. While we make this journey we should never take anything for granted. As my sister once said ‘Live every day as if it’s your last, because one day it will be’ I don’t think she was advocating going out and bungee jumping every day or running off and doing anything stupid. I think she was trying to say that you have to envelop life around you, immerse yourself in its diverse qualities. Take nothing for granted, look around and marvel at what’s around you. Take pleasure in a simple flower opening to the sun, or the dawn rising above the horizon, revel in the amazing sight of a new moon in a star filled sky. Look around you at the people who inhabit this world, their diversity of cultures all wanting the same thing, to live.

This life is a long and winding road with many twists and turns, no one knows for sure what we’ll meet when we reach the end, just that we’ll get there, what’s important though, is how we get there.

See you soon,

Jan.

What makes life worth living?

Hi there,

as austerity measures bite even further into our economies, both national and personal we are finding it difficult to live our normal lives. That’s a given I know, a veritable no brainer, but what, in your opinion makes life worth living?

To some, having luxury item surrounding them, such as plasma tv’s, leather sofa’s and the trimmings make it worth while. To others being able to go out and have a good time is what makes life bearable. On that note last night we were invited out for a few drinks by some close friends. We planned on just a quiet drink down the local with some good chat and to be able to chill after another hard week at work.

That was the plan.

When we set off we found that the local pub had a biker’s festival taking place there. They had camped out on the campsite opposite, erected a marquee tent there and invaded the pub. Now this sounds almost like a hostile takeover but that couldn’t be further from the truth. The atmosphere was electric, there was a singer in the pub entertaining the drinkers and everyone was friendly and welcoming and everyone had a brilliant time. Over in the marquee the biker’s didn’t bat an eye when a small group of strangers walked in and we were greeted like long lost friends, again it was brilliant.

We left there and staggered back home after 1am which, to some, may be early but by that time we were ready for our home made curry which was waiting patiently for us back at home.

I haven’t seen so many smiling faces in a good long time. Everyone is affected by this credit crisis the world is suffering through at the moment but  those we met last night showed us that whatever may come we’ll face it head on and beat it.

Life goes on, that’s also a no brainer, so we have to make the best of it. I know that’s been said before by other’s probably more eloquently than I ever could, but that doesn’t make the sentiment any more true.

See you soon,

Jan.

It’s a Hard Life.

Hi there,

on my home from work today I was listening to the radio and they played a song picked by a member of the audience in a category called ‘Freedom Track’, the idea being that someone picks a song that they thought epitomised how they felt upon finishing work for their day, hence ‘Freedom’

The track chosen was an oldie, but great track none the same, Lovely Day by Bill Withers.

As I listened to the track I suddenly realised that it summed up quite well how I feel at the moment.

The song says that when the day ahead of me seems impossible to face,

and just lately most days are like that, my life just lately seems to consist of one catastrophe swiftly followed by a calamity with disaster right behind it,

the song goes on to say that you know someone else who always seems to know the way.

I think most of us knows someone like that, that someone who seems to live the charmed life, is not troubled by financial worries, that everything they attempt turns out perfect, the perfect job, the perfect home, perfect kids, perfect everything and they continually run off at the mouth about their holidays, where they went at the weekend, how nice their home is now they’ve done this or that to it blah blah blah. Now I know there’s an awful lot in that past run on sentence. Something writers are supposed to shy away from but I did it deliberately to convey some of the angst and frustration I’ve been feeling of late.

Don’t feel sorry for me, that’s the last thing I need. My God my life is perfect if you compare it to some, especially those living in war-torn areas or those that are famine ridden.

The rest of the song, to get back on topic, says, “Then I look at you, and the world is alright with me. Then I look at you and I know it’s gonna be a lovely day”

My wonderful girlfriend; my family, my son, daughter, their partners and my grandkids all help me to get through this and be able to fight on through. With their help and love I can continue on this wonderful journey called life. To strive to better myself, to continue to grow as both a writer and person.

See you soon

Jan.

Wonders of a rainbow.

Hi there,

since my last post my partner and I have been sight seeing around where we live, we set off to visit the Lady Bower dam where the bouncing bomb was tested before its use in the second world war but due to a little memory misdirection, we missed it by a few miles and wound up in Grindleford, a few miles shy of Sheffield.

We had a lovely walk through the fields, alongside the river then stopped for a snack. We then continued for a while until the weather looked like it might take a turn for the worst and we turned around and headed back towards where we’d parked the car.

The rain that arrived as we were about a third of the way back started off as a drizzle increasing in intensity until we were quite wet before we reached the safe haven of the car. Almost as if God was laughing at us the rain stopped and the sun came out as we reached the car but then as we were on the way home he rewarded us with the most wonderous rainbow I have ever seen.

Looking at the colours of the rainbow as it arced over our path from one field to the next I was filled with the feeling of wonder  that I felt when I was young and could be amazed by such simple things. Stopping occasionally en route we took photos of the phenomenon and both of us were like young kids as we viewed it laughing at the beauty of it and absolute wonder we both felt at viewing it.

Life is being able to see the beauty around us and being able to appreciate it and I hope I never lose the childlike wonder  I felt today when I saw the rainbow.

See you soon and look out for rainbows,

Jan.

Good news, bad news

Hi there,

why is it that whenever you get some good news it has to be tempered with a huge chunk of bad?

I had a lovely phone call last night off my nephew who has just purchased my first book and he was glowing with his praise for it. He even told me it was better than other first time novels he’d read, which really lifted my spirits. He’s asked if he could proof read my next which I agreed to whole heartedly. He’s incredibly talented and has an intelligence that just sparkles so any input he may give me will be invaluable.

That’s the good news,

this morning my partner drove off to work and a short while later phoned to say her car had broken down. Now as you can imagine, living in a rural area where everything is miles from home, a car is essential, so it was with trepidation we called the RAC. when they arrived it took the mechanic a short while to evaluate the problem. The engine had seized and it was totally useless so we were left with a couple tons of scrap and no means to get around. When he told us the diagnosis we were in total disbelief as there were no signs of oil leaking or of any warning lights and seeing as how the car had an MOT only a few months ago we just stood by the road side devastated.

I don’t know if it’s God‘s joke, or a test to see if we’re worthy or simply bad luck but why does any amount of good luck you receive have to be tempered with some bad luck?

It probably doesn’t happen to everyone like this, they could quite possibly sail through life only encountering good luck, if that’s the case then I’ll give them my address and they can come to collect their bad luck because I’m sure I’ve had someone else allotted amount.

That’s a little cynical I know but it’s hard to stay positive in the face of constant adversity and possibly the only thing that helps is something I touched on in earlier posts, knowing that there are people in the world who live their lives in horrendous conditions and thank God every day for a handful of grain or bowlful of clean water. Putting my troubles next to theirs makes mine seem like a drop in the ocean.

No doubt we’ll come through this latest set back with a smile on our faces, better prepared for the next time fate takes a swing at us.

See you soon,

Jan.