Busy Bee

Sometimes in life you have to consciously stop yourself - just to take a breath. 


Today is one of those days.  Tasks seem to pile up and you begin the day looking through your diary noting things that need to be done - when you look back over the day, you wonder where the hours went.


I've been working extremely hard, but I'm enjoying it so much it doesn't seem like work at all.  Going down a mine or fighting a fire - that's work!  But there are workers out there, just like Steve Kemp, who fight fires for a living and weaves his experiences into his writing, too.  Steve has entrusted me with his work - to get his first novel 'Harry Dennison' into print.  We've been busy working together for over a year.  Editing, redrafting, editing, and redrafting again and again.  Fine tuning it to such a point where it will finally be published this year.  October is the month we're aiming for.


I've just put the finishing touches to a self-indulgent romantic comedy that I've had on the back-burner for some years now.  of 'For The Love Of Sweet William' .  It is a fictional tale about a middle-aged woman who creates a 'dream-boat' in order to hide from the reality of her own life - until she's forced to acknowledge it.  The tale itself is totally fictional, but much of the background to it is based on the reality of my own life experiences - for which I do not apologise!  


Another fictional tale (again, based around my own experiences) is a psychological thriller called 'Daisy Chains and Hand Grenades' .  It tells the tale of a psychologist working in the military environment with a paranoia that someone's out to kill her.  I'm just putting the finishing touches to this one, with an aim to create a series of books from it. 


A couple of years ago, I published a non-fiction book which aimed to help girls get a better relationship with their guys 'Slippery Frog or Faithful Dog - which do you wanna kiss'.   So the boys don't feel left out, I'll soon be releasing its companion volume, aimed to help guys get a better relationship with their girls - 'Ugly Witch or Beautiful Bitch – which do you wanna kiss? will be available before Christmas.  I've had help on this one from one of our brave young soldiers who gave me some brilliant ideas for new line drawings.  Thanks, Nathan!


I can't wait to share it all with you. I'll post some pictures in the next couple of weeks and those of you that have requested early info on the release of the books.




Kaye Bewley MA is a published author and qualified psychotherapist. She has recently created BewleyBooks to promote her own publications as well as the work of other authors (at low or no cost). Meanwhile, BewleyTherapy has been created to assist those with stressful life difficulties - it currently provides a free counselling consultancy and offers local community workshops to those with low income.

The Secret to Living Successfully in Western Society

Love is Dead

Are you aghast?  Do you disapprove?  I am not asking forgiveness for it.  Why?  Because, if you look around, you will see that the time for love has past.  You may argue the case that there is room for the heart amongst us, but is there? 

Really? 

The secret to living successfully in this western society is not to empathise, nor to emote with anyone.  Emotions are dead, they are unwanted and are ungraceful. 

This is what our society seems to be instilling into us of late.  If you want success you need to be focused, persistent, determined.  These kinds of people don’t allow distractions to get in their way.  This thought occurred to me when I was laying in bed this morning, mulling over why one person has so much success over many others who are far more talented and in tune with the human psyche.  When I woke, it was as though someone had switched on my bedside lamp and it glared in my sore eyes.  I know why!

Let's compare my life to another psychotherapist.  Perhaps the meteoric rise of Lucy Beresford.  I was interested to know why this lady, out of all the psychotherapists  (including me!) I know (and I know a lot, as I promote them on my web site) was so much more extremely successful than most.  Obviously, how you rate success is up to you, but in this society, money seems to be the marker for it. 

When we look at the 'success' Lucy has had it is correct, she’s earned a tad more money than most, she's living in a beautiful house and has the world asking her opinion.  Yet, returning to the comparison between her and me - her education, lifestyle and age are so very similar to my own.  Like me, she worked in a different environment prior to several years re-training and, like me, she promotes her work through her writing and publishing. 

Is it her confidence?  Is it her style?  Her wealth?  Her connections?  After all, we've all heard the phrase "It's not what you know, but who you know ..."

Before I answer that question (and before I get to sounding vaguely like a tad jealous), let's take a peek at her background.  Prior to becoming a psychotherapist, she was in Investment Banking.  Now, if that’s not a logical-left-brained arena then tell me what is?  I, however, was in marketing and media - very creative industries.

Taking our minds off the subject of Lucy and I, cast your mind back and think about what the orderly Generals of World War One thought about the boys who sat in trenches.  As those young lads put pen to muddy paper to allow their feelings to be expressed in prose and poetry, what were they afraid of?  Many were shown NOT to be afraid of losing their lives or being wounded, but in not being able to support their families.  Many could take orders and face a bullet, heck they even joked about it.  But we cannot forget that they also were driven to the extremes of emotional turmoil.  And their anguish is vividly expressed in their poetry.

Given that there was so much poetry in WW1, how much of it came out of the Second World War?  I’ll grant you, books were compiled and films were made, but poems?  Not as many, nor as famous, as the previous catastrophe.

You may argue that this world is over-brimming with creativity, with music, song and dance, as well as prose and paintings.  I grant you that.  However, the room for emotion and empathy seems to be diminishing fast.  In this world it seems not to be wanted, needed, nor desired.

Why do I think this, when the likes of Emma Watson have only just appeared on a world stage promoting the advancement of feminism?  When a waif-like, beautiful, actress insists women will gain success when they express themselves through fighting for their ‘equality’ while urging grown men to cry, to get in touch with their ‘inner being’, why do I say that lack of emotion is the secret to life?

Think about it.

How many people do you know grasp success when they allow tears to fall?  Let’s stick with people in the public eye, if for one reason that they depict the image of success we are all supposed to look up to.  Take Gwyneth Paltrow as a first port of call.  When she received her Oscar, and allowed the emotional outburst take control of her, she was openly scorned.  Others have openly held back the tears, not to gain composure, but for fear of ridicule.  Of course, we’ve seen footballers and even firemen do it.  We’ve even seen politicians do it – Maggie Thatcher being the prime example when she was ousted from Office.  Madonna doesn't seem to have ever cried, in fact she's internationally known for her 'no-nonsense' frank attitude.  It was her determination and ability to think logically that got her to the top of the musically creative world.

There is such a thing as ‘overwhelming’ emotions.  ‘I don’t know what came over me’, when the person who had had the audacity to emote, looks back at images of themselves in tears.  They are embarrassed.  I’d even go as far as to say they are ashamed.  But those tears were used as a valve that the heart needed to express itself with. 

We think animals pictures like this, are cute. 

We look at a furry puppy and get the urge to take its huggable little furry body up in our arms and squeeze.  

Have you noticed how there are so many lists of things to do and not to do to make your life successful?    We can take one trawl of the morning’s columns of advice that are crammed with them: ’11 things about humans dogs hate’ (by the way, hugging is one of them), ‘5 things to do in bed with your lover’, ‘8 Gift Ideas for Christmas’, ’10 most dangerous cities in the world’, ‘8 sleeping positions and their effects on health’, ’30 things to tell a book snob’ … and so on and so on.  Have you noticed how they never actually work?  Chiefly because many people take note of them, read through them, smile and then promptly forget them.

If you can’t come to terms with this little open secret, simply take a look to the media and ask yourself this question: What do Maggie Thatcher (politician), Angelina Jolie (actress) and Lucy Beresford (psychotherapist) have in common? 

I’ll give you a clue:  Left-brained dominance.

In our heads we have two brains, linked by a ‘bridge’.  The two halves express our views differently.  The right side is where our creative juices flow thick and fast.  It is what allows us to think outside the box, to become the artist, the writer and even the fighter (there’s an art to boxing!).  However, our left brain is the compartment where we are encouraged to hone down our thoughts and focus on one particular thing at a time.  It is where emotion is barred entry. 

There is hope in the form of a little bridge that connects the two brains.  It’s called a ‘corpus collosum’.  When we are young, it’s a very big, thick bridge that bars entry from one side to the other in the majority of people.  This is why young people can be seen as either very emotional (like many girls) or very logical (like many boys). 

As we age, that organ between our brains diminishes, or becomes smaller.  This is why, when very left-brained people get older, they get more emotional.  And why very right-brained people, as they age, become less emotional.  Note, I didn’t say more logical!  It doesn’t mean that we cross over entirely, to the ‘other side’ but through its reduction in size, it simply allows us the benefit of empathising with ‘the other side’.

Returning to our people in the media spotlight, I’ll focus on two actresses that have gripped the imagination of the nation.  Having come to this conclusion that love is in its final death-throws and logic is alive and kicking-ass, I do see now, why women like Jennifer Anniston time and time again lose out to women like Angelina. 

 

Jennifer is a woman.  A right-brained individual who appeals to the male who wants a female.  However, he quickly finds out that he cannot cope with her rollercoaster of emotional needs that she expresses through her creative right-brain.  Jennifer seems to need to be appreciated, she seems to need to feel safe, she also seems to need to feel that she is liked by everyone, yet very much wants her privacy.  This seems to come across as ‘desperation’, but it in actual fact, it’s not. 

Her needs are just a small part of expressing her female-ness.  And, yes, this does hark back to pre-historic times.  Jennifer appeals to men because she has a woman’s body that appeals to their sight sensors.  She has all her curves in the right places and that innocent, ‘please don’t hurt me’ guise hanging around her demeanour. 

In relationship psychology, many know that men are guided first, by what they see, then by what they hear.

 

But what about Angelina?  Angelina has the beautiful body, the long hair, the long legs, the big boobs (artificial though they are) – just as Jennifer.  But, she has the additional ‘bonus’ of her no-nonsense, straight-talking, logic.  When you peer closely into her face and observe it carefully, though she is smiling, it seems a ‘practiced’ motion.  Her smile doesn’t seem to reach her eyes, which are more often than not staring straight into others eyes, which though can be misconstrued for confidence, reveals more of an acknowledgement of ‘this action must be done to gain approval’, rather than ‘please like me?’

Whereas Jennifer’s emotions are clearly visible on her face even though she tries to hide them, Angelina will not allow the mask to slip.

In Angelina, there appears to be no jealousy, no fear, no worry involved.  Also, there’s no emotional turmoil.  No thought of ‘am I good enough’?  It’s ‘I am great and alive and adored’ (note I said adored, not loved).

So, from these instances is it becoming clear that it’s not confidence that gives you success in this world, but logic.

It’s the left-brained people who get on to rise to the heady heights of success nowadays.  And if you don’t get that now, then you had better get off the rollercoaster. 

No one wants your emotional turmoil anymore.  No one is interested in the emotional needs.  No one wants to admit to crying or to feeling down.  You are an outcast when you express anything. 

Success is gained when you become straight-faced, straight-backed, expressionless zombie who cares not a jot about other’s way of life.

However - yes, there’s a ‘but’!  

Society is simply unable to function without the ‘female’ qualities.  For instance, how far can a psychotherapist go in the ‘feeling’ world without any empathy for their clients? 

When you look behind the mask of women like Angelina, Margaret Thatcher you can see that Angelina is supported strongly by her beau (Brad Pitt) and hoisted up on high because she conforms to the accepted society beauty, whereas Margaret Thatcher had her loyal side-kick who was prepared to stay in the shadows and support her come what may. 

Without these ‘feminine’ qualities alongside the ‘maleness’ there will be no balance.  Logic can take you so far.  It may have its good qualities, however, balance is what is needed. 

Therefore, I’m prepared to stick my neck out and mention another public figure.  One that has been derided, not because of his emotions, but because of his ‘outside the box’ views on life:  David Icke (DI)

 

David Icke (see those smiling eye-lines?) may have something going there when he talks about ‘infinite consciousness’ and human beings not being ‘human’ without acknowledging it.  He states that all these experiences in life have a way of telling us what virtues are prominent in our hearts.

When you think about it, he is right when he says that “all the great people that have moved humanity forward have been mavericks – rejected the norm of the time, took the abuse/consequences, but moved humanity on as a result”.  Maybe it isn’t the ‘norms’, that ‘go round in circles’, but those who do not express any kind of emotion.  Those who are unable, or unwilling to bend down and stop a while to think about what being human is all about.

So, in the words of DI,

1.    Recognise you are infinite awareness having an experience in a human form

2.    Don’t allow others to impose their views upon you

3.    Don’t seek to impose your will on anyone else

4.    Think from your heart, not your mind.  Let higher levels of awareness in.

5.    Intend that you want to make a difference, and contribute to the world as a place of love, compassion, integrity – make the emotional/energetic charge by ‘meaning’ what you say and things will change, coincidences will start to happen

6.    Observe the world from a distance, see how the dots connect

We have progressed as a species, but only because of people who were prepared to think outside the box, because of those who were inquisitive and believed there was ‘something else out there’. 

Anybody who has changed the world in any way shape or form, have put it down to being able to strive – logically - to create something different.  The Wright Brothers are a prime example.  Their aeroplanes were flying in the sky a whole FIVE YEARS before anyone would acknowledge they had been able to put a man in the sky. 

We should stop ‘policing others views’.  Even if they are ‘trolls’ who say nothing but bad about others.  We should just ignore them and leave them to their own games. 

You can think what you like but realise that those that you think about, have their views to.  Therefore, don’t impose anything on anyone else unless you’re prepared to accept their imposition upon you too. 

It’s easy to say to people ‘don’t do this’, or ‘do that’ instead, but it is down to each individual to begin to notice what is happening in the world.  We can advise others to get out there and grab life by the neck and give it a good shake, others can advise you to stand up and be counted, but if we are clouded by emotional turmoil that won’t happen any time soon.

It’s easy to advise someone to ‘take responsibility’ not only for what is going on in the world, but for what your life is like – but it’s quite another to actually come to terms with the fact that success is within our grasp only if we change our whole personality to achieve it.

There are solutions to getting this world back on track again.  Some have been suggested in my previous blogs, take a look now if you wish. 

As a psychotherapist, who (unfortunately, or not) does think with her emotions, I understand that people who emote are faced with the term ‘cognitive dissonance’.  It means that when we do something that we know we shouldn’t or don’t want to be doing, yet do it anyway, our emotions scream at us to do the opposite.  But if you want success in this world, and you’re an emotional being, then you’re going to have to get to grips with that.  Conforming to the logical requirements that this present society wants from you, and you’ll get what you want.  Allow emotions in and you’ll fail every time.

Put simpler, if you want monetary success in this world, be more like Dr Spock than Dr Who, and you’ll get on just fine!

Copyright © Kaye Bewley 2014

 

 

 

Love Me Tender

 

Barbara Streisand (72)

 

What a fantastically, beautiful collection of songs by such a talented artist.  When I first heard Barbara Streisand had released another album out at the age of 72, I wondered what she could sound like and wondered if her voice had stood the test of time ...

Lately there has been a steady stream of mature women songstresses (Kate Bush, Agnetha Fältskog, Annie Lennox, Cher and Tina Turner).  Through collaboration with their men-folk and encouragement of their loyal fans, they’ve been confident enough to make their dreams come true.  And it was so wonderful to hear that Barbara Streisand was going to do her bit, too.

As soon as I knew Ms Streisand had released an album, I didn’t hesitate to get online, on Amazon, and buy a CD.  But, in this day and age of instant gratification, I couldn’t wait a week for postie to deliver - so got modern technology (chiefly unavailable during the time when Barbara was warbling her way through the 60s, 70s and 80s), to work to download it soon after my order had been processed.

 

 

Kate Bush (56) 

 

The whole album of soul-filled songs brought back memories of an era when life seemed more simple and serene, a time when we were not so hurried and could believe in the miracle of love.  Barbara’s sincere voice is filled with the essence of soul.  She has this uncanny ability to make a fictional love song appear very real indeed.  When I watched the video of her behind the scenes with the smoothly melodic Michael Bublé, I was struck by the similarities in resemblance between these two stars and two other actors, Jennifer Anniston and Justin Timberlake.  Perhaps there’s a biographic movie in the making there at some point in the future?  (Oh, pretty please?)

 

 

                                                                       

Agnetha Fältskog (64)

 

 

Given that I've bought nearly every album by these ladies listed here, both in their younger days, hey days and (now) latter days, I just can’t help but point out that their wonderful albums seem to be giving a hint to the media-savvy moguls that real people want to look up to and emulate real people - not the factory production line of pretty-plastic-parade-painfully-puny-peroxide blondes.  Therefore, I think it’s safe to say, the fashion industry hasn’t got such a strangle-hold over people’s minds the way it thinks it has.  These women (Kate, Agnetha, Annie, Tina and, of course, Barbara) seem not to be what the media want you to see covering their magazines. 

 

                                                                   

Annie Lennox (60)

These are mature ladies, supposedly past their ‘prime’, and seemingly so totally relaxed in their own skin that it’s a real pleasure to be able to enjoy their talents once again.  These women don’t appear to have had much done along the cosmetic lines (except for Cher, of course, but given the industry they are in ...), yet, they ooze a kind of deep inner appeal that certainly has not faded.  In fact, the magic they were able to weave around everyone's hearts with their soul-filled musical tones is still as strong as ever - perhaps more so.  And they still look absolutely gorgeous.  What a blessing it is that they were all confident enough to give us another chance to hear and see them again.

 

 

 

Tina Turner (75)

 

Yes, beautiful Barbara still has it – by the bucket load.  And these confident and, it must be said, beautiful women, appear to be leading the way yet again.  It is such a refreshing change it gives one inspiration and a renewed hope for the future of the whole of mankind.

 

Cher (68)

 

Thank you ladies!  

 

PS Don't you think it would be a good idea for these ladies to collaborate (with a few other older ladies) and make one beautifully huge album, together?

 

© Kaye Bewley 2014

So What?

When I first heard these words from Professor David R. Hawkins, I thought “What an uncaring attitude for such an enlightened man!”  It wasn’t until after I gave it some serious thought that I began to understand how refreshingly ‘releasing’ that statement was. 

Think about it yourself.  When situations have gotten particularly bad and you’re feeling sad and down about it, try to catch yourself during the midst of your worrying and ruminating and say it: “So what!”  It can be quite liberating.  It kind of stops the anxiety in its tracks.

Strangely, I’m reminded of one of Aesop’s fables ‘The Fox Without a Tail’.  Aesop’s fox didn’t have a tail, felt odd and set out to slyly convince every other fox in the neighbourhood to get rid of their tails too.  After reading this piece you may make out the metaphor in that story.

I got to thinking of all the many scary events that seem to be raising their ugly heads all over the world just lately, and how we were all slowly being convinced to take up arms and begin what seems to be another big war.  As a result, there seemed to be something swirling around my gut and I began to start to believe there was some truth in the following:

 

 

So, for my own sanity, I had to begin to think of a way out of that way of thinking.  The only thing that passed through these neurons in this head of mine was to throw the question up to God, the Universe or the heavenly angels (whoever/whatever might want to hear my tiny voice):

“Help?” 

 

I pleaded at four in the morning.  A cat had squealed outside and woke me.  It was a fitful sleep anyway, so she wasn’t disturbing anything good.

The way David Hawkins explains it is so simple.  ‘So What’ offers a ‘tidy’ way around all these emotional fears that take a grip.  It merely shows you a way of learning how to cope with these huge events without feeling overwhelmed by something I feel powerless to do anything about .

Each of the big scary events, on their own, could make you feel as though you’re on the edge of a precipice you’re about to slip into and that there is just no way to deal with them to make the world a better place.  But when they are all put together? 

Uh oh! 

They have the ability of presenting a picture of the world where you might feel as though it’s just not worth going on anymore.  What chance do we stand? 

(Please note, this is not a political stab at anyone, it’s just a light-hearted overview of what is a horrendously scary situation - and just a small offering of assisting those who feel nothing but despair and weariness at the state of the world as it may be perceived today).

We are often led to believe the saying “an eye for an eye”.  But, didn’t some wise man (Ghandi, I believe) say that sentiment would leave the whole world blind?

Regardless of what people say about Putin, Obama, Cameron and the other big figureheads leading the way, I do believe they are intelligent, switched on, individuals.  They must be to have reached such a high level and command the respect of the people who elected them.  I don’t believe they would do anything rash that would lead the world to total annihilation.  When you weigh up what would be gained and lost, it just doesn’t seem like the thing anyone with any sense would do.

I feel pain in my heart for the people (on all sides) whose lives have been torn apart by a never-ending conflict that was not of their making.  And there seem to be many of them all over the world today.  Israel and Palestine, Russia and Ukraine, Scotland and England, not to mention a group terrorising people of their own religious outlook. 

 

It does seem such a shame that people just can't get along.  Love thy neighbour seems such a far off sentiment that you wonder if we have not learned anything from the title of the scandalous erotic novel currently doing the cinema rounds at the mo (that the way of the world is not all simply black and white/yes and no)?  If not now, then when?

These events can not be described as small, insignificant worries.  They could change the world as we know it if they got out of hand and the wrong decisions are made at the wrong time by the wrong people, in haste.  The one thing these scenarios have in common is that the vast majority of people standing just outside of them, looking in, are frightened of what might happen.

And herein lies the rub. 

 

We are becoming so frightened of the next possible catastrophe, that we’re basically becoming frightened of fear itself. 

“The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”

Franklin D Roosevelt.

The Answer?

When I read through David R Hawkins’ books I get the feeling that the answer to getting over this fear state seems to be in stopping seeing ourselves as individuals and starting to see ourselves as one big family.  Well, aren't we all supposed to be descended from Adam and Eve? 

There are so many of us residing on this planet (just over 6 million at last count, I believe).  We all have different abilities, skills, interests, intelligences, emotions and personalities that it seems a crying shame that we can’t see this for what it is and value each quality that each individual can bring to this big family residing upon this tiny speck of a planet in the vast heavens surrounding us. 

 

 

Of course, we are all different.  We all have different opinions, outlooks, and views on the way life should be lived.  But at the heart of it, there is a connection that cannot be severed. 

Trust?

Instead of screaming in anger and throwing bombs or bullets at others, if we are able to press the 'pause' button and be quiet for just a minute or two.  And in that moment, we can begin to respect someone else’s view by giving that time to them.  In those moments of observation, trust can be given a chance. 

 

Trust opens the door for dialogue to begin.  If a person believes that you have ‘heard’ their message, regardless of the outcome, then they feel respected and listened to.  Trust only comes from honouring through listening.

Variety?

The nature of human beings as we are is that we are driven by passions that are fragmented, disjointed, unconnected.  We are eager to get things done in the name of ‘something’.  We are courageous for a ‘cause’ and hell-bent on making the world a better place for our own ‘tribe’, ‘family’, or ‘nation’. 

Let me help you get into your ‘observing self’ for a moment.  Cast your mind back to when you were at school.  In your mind, watch the person who got held up for cheating.  If he was caught, he was reprimanded and failed whatever exam he was taking. 

However, step back from that scene again and think of it a different way.  Instead of casting blame and dislike upon a person you believed was dishonest, try to understand the value in that deed.  See it as a deed of generosity. 

 

The generosity is in the sharing of knowledge. 

 

This a type of co-operation.  If we can learn to share, we learn to respect opinions and perspectives and then learn to respect different viewpoints. 

When we respect different viewpoints, it gets easier to understand the nature of forgiveness. 

Forgiving?

But how are we to forgive those who we think have done us wrong?  What was it that Ghandi said?  Something about blinding the whole world while ‘getting even’?

When emotions run high because of an injustice done to our loved ones and we are left to grieve, forgiveness can seem an impossible gesture.  But many people have done it, and continue to do so. 

I cannot forget the brave, bloodied face of a man, in Northern Ireland after a bomb had blown his beloved daughter (a nurse) to pieces.  He was wracked with pain and the deep sorrow etched into his face as he cried to the cameras “I forgive them.”  He said, if I don’t then this will never end.  Then, recently, there was a woman in Iran whose son had been killed by a man who was about to be executed.  On the scaffold ready to be dealt the death penalty, she was benevolent enough to forgive her son’s killer, whereupon he was freed.  Then the parents of the latest American journalist who was beheaded asked for only one thing: “Mercy”.  Not for themselves, but for those who were still held hostage.  While they didn't technically 'forgive', they didn't express hatred from their hearts.  All very brave, noble, people who understand the core message of love.

Confidence

I read a piece on the web by Meryl Streep.  She is such a beacon of a guiding light that it’s hard to miss her halo.  She was reported to have said the following:

 

 

“I no longer have patience for certain things, not because I’ve become arrogant, but simply because I reached a point in my life where I do not want to waste more time with what displeases me or hurts me. I have no patience for cynicism, excessive criticism and demands of any nature. I lost the will to please those who do not like me, to love those who do not love me and to smile at those who do not want to smile at me. I no longer spend a single minute on those who lie or want to manipulate. I decided not to coexist anymore with pretence, hypocrisy, dishonesty and cheap praise. I do not tolerate selective erudition nor academic arrogance. I do not adjust either to popular gossiping. I hate conflict and comparisons. I believe in a world of opposites and that’s why I avoid people with rigid and inflexible personalities. In friendship I dislike the lack of loyalty and betrayal. I do not get along with those who do not know how to give a compliment or a word of encouragement. Exaggerations bore me and I have difficulty accepting those who do not like animals. And on top of everything I have no patience for anyone who does not deserve my patience.”

 

In saying this, she has released the stressful burden of pausing to care about attending to those who don’t deserve her attention.  Her sentiment enhances the very title of this piece. 

Our problems can seem so very big.  But, when you look at the planet from afar (as in the planetary picture above), they can seem to be a simple silent noise in a far away place.  Though much of humanity is capable of horrific acts of brutality and cruelty, this planet is also filled to the brim of people who are able to offer the hand of kindness, be so very generous and even bring humour to a dire situation.  There are even those who can teach us to offer that most benevolent of deeds and, as we’ve learned, to forgive.

However, if you see things happening in the world that make you fearful because you feel too small to make a difference, then there is a little ray of hope on the horizon.

"Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid."

Albert Einstein.

Educate Yourself

 

One thing that bosses of old have counted on is their employees ignorance.   So, how can you become more ‘enlightened’ or 'aware' of what is really going on in the world? 

It’s a proven fact that the internet is two-thirds filled with lies.  Only one third of it has any ring of truth.  If you want to find the truth, sift through what interests you – or scares you - and compare the differences of opinion.  Talk with others about what you’ve read.  Listen to what they have to say.  If these stories don’t ring true, think: ‘So What?’ and let it go.  

But if there is some element (or evidence) of truth in it, then muster the courage inside you to do one of the following.

Get Involved!

What you must remember is that all politics is local and to make a big impact, you need to start small. 

 

There are town and county council meetings that you can attend and groups that set themselves up (have you seen ‘The Vicar of Dibley’ and their weekly Parish meetings?). 

It’s all well and good going online and creating a community there, but you need to get involved with REAL LIVE people at the local level.  I’m afraid that means you need to get off your butt.  And if you get off your butt to go to a rally in the town, please don’t get angry and fight those that oppose your views (we’re all different remember), because then your real message will be forever lost!

Vote! 

Even if you feel it won’t count, if you don’t know WHO to vote for, or if you just feel so hopelessly despondent by the voting system - just get off your butt, get outside and put an X in the box. 

Even better, if you really don’t have any confidence in the system that has been set-up and you’d like it to change, you are perfectly within your rights to simply scrawl across the voting form:

 

‘NO CONFIDENCE’. 

If you did that one small thing, big things would begin to change.

Write!

If you don’t want to get involved in that sort of thing then write to your MP and get them to act on your behalf.  The idea is to let them all know you are paying attention to what they are doing and ask them how they are spending the money locally, nationally and internationally.  Let them know how you would like that money to be spent. 

 

Yes, write to your Member of Parliament.  It’s easy enough to do nowadays. 

If you don’t like pen and paper and post, then they are all online.  They all have web sites with email addresses where you can bombard them with your views about how they are dealing (or not) with the situation in the local community, county, country, world. 

You don’t have to write legibly.  Just get the words out of your mind, down your shoulder, through your arm, to your fingers into the pen and let them emerge onto the paper in front of you.

Set Yourself Up!

As a political party.  Get like-minded people together, and even do the most unheard of thing ever – get together with ‘oppositional’ groups and discuss meaningful items on a structured agenda.  Allow the adult-like behaviour in here, not the child-like playground scruffian’ behaviour we see in Parliamentary ‘debates’ - honestly, can you imagine Richard Branson holding a business meeting that was conducted in that manner?  

 

If you do think things might get out of hand, then draw up an Agreement beforehand, have a cup of tea, and say out loud if need be, to each other that you know there will be differences of opinion and that you will respect that.  Regardless.

It might be a good idea to have people present who know how to cool heated emotions in a diplomatic way. 

Build A Web Site!

What is needed is one place (a web site perhaps) that can collect all the different abilities, skills, interests, intelligences, emotions and personalities and gather all the fantastic ideas these people have in order to help the planet back to a better state of ‘being’. 

For instance, topics that could be included are: that teenage girl who knows how to make plastic out of banana skins, and the project by the Chinese that shows how you can build self-sustaining Oasis (groups of plants that create their own water holes).  Other people know how to grow edible veggies in patio pots and others know how to desalinate water (take salt from sea water to make it drinkable) and, still others know how to make cars go without petrol (!). 

Ideally, monetary gain (and therefore this ‘patenting’ system , should be taken out of the situation, in preference of perfecting our planet – this tiny dot of a place we call home - being healed.

At the end of it all, you are perfectly within your rights to simply sit in your armchair, moaning at the tv about the way of the fearful world that’s frightening all and sundry.  But, if you don’t take up any of these ideas, or worse, begin to be convinced to get rid of your own tail by the ‘fox with no tail’, then the planet WILL NOT CHANGE for your betterment – merely for someone else’s.   

What would you have to say for yourself then?

So What?

 

 

© Kaye Bewley 2014