Safety briefing for travel aboard planet earth

Tags

climate change, climate crisis, humour, planet earth, poem, poetry

 

 

Ladies and gentlemen,

on behalf of the cosmos and her crew

it’s our pleasure to welcome you

to this life aboard planet earth.

 

Your safety during this life

is important to the cosmos and her crew,

so we ask that you give us your full attention

while we explain the safety features of this planet.

 

While aboard this planet you are advised

to wear a belt, and be prepared to tighten it

should you be advised to do so,

as we may encounter periods of greed.

 

While aboard this planet you’ll

be glad to know that oxygen levels are

being carefully monitored and maintained

for your safety and well being.

 

However, should we lose forest cover

oxygen masks will not fall from above your head.

Instead, please immediately leave your seats

and go and plant some more trees.

 

For your information we will now

point out that emergency exits are

not situated here, here or here as

there are currently no alternative planets.

 

Should we encounter an emergency,

please assume the position of truth,

keep your feet firmly on the ground,

and use your head. Remember,

 

there are no emergency exits,

so we must all offer to assist,

and do whatever necessary to

ensure life can continue to exist.

 

However, should you encounter fear

you will find a high visibility vest

stowed within easy reach

to alert a member of our crew.

 

Please take the vest,

place it over your head

and tie the straps

around your waist and wait.

 

If a member of the crew

does not immediately come to you

please blow into the whistle

attached to attract attention.

 

Ladies and gentlemen we kindly ask

that all minds now be switched to ‘awake’

mode, and remain so unless

advised otherwise by a member of the crew.

 

You are further reminded that this

is a no smoking planet, and therefore

should you see or smell any smoke

this is an indication of a fire.

 

Even if you cannot see the flames,

we strongly advise you to listen to those

who can and take appropriate action,

for the safety of all on-board.

 

This completes the safety announcements

and we thank you for your attention.

Should you require a reminder

you will find relevant books and documentaries

 

listed in the google search in front of you.

On behalf of the cosmos and her crew,

thank you for choosing planet earth.

We wish you a pleasant life.

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

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Wednesday Writers’ Well

Tags

blackout poem, compost, creative writing, creativity, fable, first time, found poem, gratitude, hero, heroism, humour, imagination, job, joy, mistakes, nature, poem, poetry, river, soul food, spring, story, TED talks, well, well being, work, writing prompt, writing workshop

“The aspiring poet is constantly lowering a bucket only half way down a well. coming up time and again with nothing but empty air. The frustration is immense. But you must keep doing it anyway. After many years of practice, the chain draws unexpectedly tight, and you have dipped into the waters that will continue to entice you back. You’ll have broken the skin on the pool of yourself.”

 – SEAMUS HEANEY

Welcome back after a brief break, to this regular slot each Wednesday, which I call Writers’ Well because: it’s intended to be a source of nourishment and inspiration for the writer in you, it expresses my belief that creative writing can benefit our well being on many levels, and…I love the above quote from Seamus Heaney. It gives me goosebumps every time. It also resonates with my own intention when leading writing workshops. It’s not about producing good writing, it’s about brave, real writing. Writing that goes down deep within to draw up something unexpected.

Writing Prompt:

My recent trip to Scotland included several visits to my mother, who still has a couple of shelves of my ‘ unthrowable away stuff,’ some of which will eventually become ‘throwawayable’, when I have time to sort through it. Among all this I found some personal treasure – a collection of writing prompts and some responses from the very first creative writing sessions I held, five years ago, filed in a folder I’d made immediately after that first session, driven by the buzz of joy and playfulness I’d been left brimming with. I made it from a gift bag left over from my birthday.

This week I’d like to share a very simple prompt, which was part of that very first writing workshop I held – when I had just one participant. It’s super simple and has never failed to bring lots of playful laughter, and some rather random stories. I’ve used it several times since, especially when I’m writing with just one other person.

Each person writes the first sentence of a story, anything at all, and then passes it to the other person who then writes the second sentence and passes it back etc etc writing just one sentence at a time. The speed helps the imagination as does the cross pollination with someone else’s style and ideas. If you want to try this on your own…I guess you could write two stories at a time, alternating between them, and adding just one sentence at a time to each.

This is one of the stories my first ‘student’ and I co-wrote, five years ago. I think I originally set the task at 10 minutes, but we couldn’t stop so I think it ran longer! This particular story ended up in a style for children…I don’t know why, just because. If you look at the photo closely you can see the different styles of handwriting, and the blue VS black ink marking our different contributions. Completely spontaneous and unedited, written in about 10/15 minutes. Enjoy 🙂

Once upon a time there was a wizard living at the bottom of our garden. This wizard really wanted to build a fish pond so he could observe the fish swimming. Of course, with magic, it doesn’t take long, and with a wand he built the pond, filling it with beautiful fish. But then he thought of something else the pond needed, was it a bridge or a swing? He closed his eyes and asked the fish what they wanted, to make their pond even more beautiful and grand.

The fish were not aesthetic experts, but they knew an architect just down the road. The architect was a toad who went by the name of Mr Knowit. Mr Knowit was delighted to come over – he loved giving advice, especially to lowly fish. In his superior way he made his own slow hopping round of the pond and declared, ‘I know exactly what this pond needs!’

They all clamoured to hear this pronouncement, but first he said it needed a brass band as an introduction to his speech. Well, where would they find a brass band at such short notice they wondered, and asked Mr Knowit, ‘Would a chorus of birds do?’ 

Yes they would do, but only if they first had a practice. Could they sing God Save The Queen for example? Well of course, that was one of their favourites the head fish assured Mr Knowit, and with a loud splash he called the birds to the nearest tree.

But Mr Knowit suddenly had a moment of shyness; perhaps he didn’t really know what was best for the fish! There was a loud intake of breath – Mr Knowit DIDN’T know it, so NOW what were they going to do!? Perhaps they could have an attunement, but alas they had no hands to hold, only tails. So they all faced out and, like the most skilled synchronized divers, touched their tails together in the centre and closed their eyes.

A strange silence came over the group and the wizard appeared and said, ‘What did you get?’

There must be a bridge woven from reeds that all may come to seek the wisdom of the fish!

Mr Knowit knew some other toads and a neighbourly beaver who, when called upon, were more that happy to lend their skills to building the bridge.

If you enjoyed this prompt, then you can find more here:

https://wordsthatserve.wordpress.com/upcoming-writing-workshops-and-some-prompts-for-you-to-play-with/

and here:

https://wordsthatserve.wordpress.com/writing-prompts-the-elements/

 

 

 

Wednesday Writers’ Well

Tags

blackout poem, compost, creative writing, creativity, fable, first time, found poem, gratitude, hero, heroism, humour, imagination, job, joy, mistakes, nature, poem, poetry, river, soul food, spring, story, TED talks, well, well being, work, writing prompt, writing workshop

“The aspiring poet is constantly lowering a bucket only half way down a well. coming up time and again with nothing but empty air. The frustration is immense. But you must keep doing it anyway. After many years of practice, the chain draws unexpectedly tight, and you have dipped into the waters that will continue to entice you back. You’ll have broken the skin on the pool of yourself.”

 – SEAMUS HEANEY

Welcome to this regular slot each Wednesday, which I call Writers’ Well because: it’s intended to be a source of nourishment and inspiration for the writer in you, it expresses my belief that creative writing can benefit our well being on many levels, and…I love the above quote from Seamus Heaney. It gives me goosebumps every time. It also resonates with my own intention when leading writing workshops. It’s not about producing good writing, it’s about brave, real writing. Writing that goes down deep within to draw up something unexpected.

Writing Prompt:

Each week, I share one of the writing prompts used the previous Friday in my weekly workshop, along with an example of what was written in response. Today’s prompt (take about 15 mins in total) begins with completing the following sentence five times – ‘It was the first time…’

Now, for the next ten minutes or so choose one of those sentences, and expand on it… This is what I wrote:

May I introduce…the river Findhorn. I’m heading up to Scotland today – can’t wait!

 

It was the first time she’d spoken to the river. It didn’t feel like anything special. Actually it felt entirely natural, the most natural thing in the world. It didn’t occur to her until later that she may have been seen, overheard.

‘Help me,’ she’d begun. ‘Take this away.’

The immediate wordless response took her breath away. It was gone! She looked all around her. It must be a trick. Who? What? Nothing. But the sadness she’d arrived with really had disappeared. She began to giggle, and it felt like the rapids mimicked her joy as they rushed, white-tipped and wild, towards her. She began to sing, directing her song to the movement of the water, until her new lightness turned into a contented emptiness. She sat on a rock and watched; not anything in particular, just watched.

She began to play ‘what if’. What if I jumped in, where would it take me? What if I knew how to build a shelter and stayed for a night right here on the river bank? What if I could ask this rock to tell me all that it’s seen and heard? What if I were perched on the top of that tree, light as a bird – what would I see? What if being me weren’t so different from anybody else? What if I belonged? Fitted in…

The game stopped. She didn’t fit in, but just maybe that was a good thing. She stood, with new resolve, and bowed to the river. As she turned to walk uphill, back the way she’d come, it didn’t feel like she was climbing, for inside she was already ‘up’, and could see more clearly where she wanted to go.

If you enjoyed this prompt, then you can find more here:

https://wordsthatserve.wordpress.com/upcoming-writing-workshops-and-some-prompts-for-you-to-play-with/

and here:

https://wordsthatserve.wordpress.com/writing-prompts-the-elements/

 

 

 

Wednesday Writers’ Well

Tags

blackout poem, compost, creative writing, creativity, fable, found poem, gratitude, hero, heroism, humour, imagination, job, joy, mistakes, nature, poem, poetry, soul food, spring, story, TED talks, well, well being, work, writing prompt, writing workshop

“The aspiring poet is constantly lowering a bucket only half way down a well. coming up time and again with nothing but empty air. The frustration is immense. But you must keep doing it anyway. After many years of practice, the chain draws unexpectedly tight, and you have dipped into the waters that will continue to entice you back. You’ll have broken the skin on the pool of yourself.”

 – SEAMUS HEANEY

Welcome to this regular slot each Wednesday, which I call Writers’ Well because: it’s intended to be a source of nourishment and inspiration for the writer in you, it expresses my belief that creative writing can benefit our well being on many levels, and…I love the above quote from Seamus Heaney. It gives me goosebumps every time. It also resonates with my own intention when leading writing workshops. It’s not about producing good writing, it’s about brave, real writing. Writing that goes down deep within to draw up something unexpected.

Writing Prompt:

Each week, I share one of the writing prompts used the previous Friday in my weekly workshop, along with an example of what was written in response. Today’s prompt (allow around 15/20 mins total) is in two parts, and is on the topic of – heroes or heroism.

To begin, take no more than 10 minutes to just write whatever comes as you reflect on this topic. You might describe an individual whom you consider to be a hero, or you might explore the qualities or demands or what we term heroism. Just write.

Now, for the next ten minutes or so you’re going to read what you’ve just written and extract, carve out, discover…a blackout poem. This simply means you underline, or circle, or in some other way highlight words (or parts of words) from the text to make a poem. Ideally you won’t change the order or form of the words at all.

This is what I ended up with:

Unsung heroes

meet

daily living

with honest graft, heart

write them

sing them

the world wouldn’t turn

without them

mothers go without

so children thrive

bus driver leaves his seat

to help

never mind the timetable

everywhere heroes

keeping us human

hearts standing strong

hope alight

your stories all around me

make lots

of little differences

 

 

If you enjoyed this prompt, then you can find more here:

https://wordsthatserve.wordpress.com/upcoming-writing-workshops-and-some-prompts-for-you-to-play-with/

and here:

https://wordsthatserve.wordpress.com/writing-prompts-the-elements/

 

 

 

Wednesday Writers’ Well

Tags

compost, creative writing, creativity, fable, gratitude, humour, imagination, job, joy, mistakes, nature, soul food, spring, story, TED talks, well, well being, work, writing prompt, writing workshop

“The aspiring poet is constantly lowering a bucket only half way down a well. coming up time and again with nothing but empty air. The frustration is immense. But you must keep doing it anyway. After many years of practice, the chain draws unexpectedly tight, and you have dipped into the waters that will continue to entice you back. You’ll have broken the skin on the pool of yourself.”

 – SEAMUS HEANEY

Welcome to this regular slot each Wednesday, which I call Writers’ Well because: it’s intended to be a source of nourishment and inspiration for the writer in you, it expresses my belief that creative writing can benefit our well being on many levels, and…I love the above quote from Seamus Heaney. It gives me goosebumps every time. It also resonates with my own intention when leading writing workshops. It’s not about producing good writing, it’s about brave, real writing. Writing that goes down deep within to draw up something unexpected.

Writing Prompt:

Each week, I share one of the writing prompts used the previous Friday in my weekly workshop, along with an example of what was written in response. Today’s prompt (allow around 5 mins) is to write briefly on the topic…but something else happened instead.

This prompt was inspired by this TED talk, which I watched recently. It gave me and my perfectionist tendencies plenty to think about. Check it out:

 

This is what I wrote:

Something else happened instead

They say God laughs when you plan because, so often, something else happens instead. That something is an invitation to trust I guess, though sometimes I don’t want to ‘invite’ or ‘welcome’ that something else at all! I want everything to go exactly as I’d hoped, wished, made for it to happen – but then I would’ve missed out on so many important moments – moments of joy, learning, surprise, the opportunity to grow and practice my resilience and responsiveness. 

I thought that poem would go down a storm. But something else happened instead. I was scared to send that email, expecting an angry response – but something else happened instead.

Life likes to keep me on my toes!

 

If you enjoyed this prompt, then you can find more here:

https://wordsthatserve.wordpress.com/upcoming-writing-workshops-and-some-prompts-for-you-to-play-with/

and here:

https://wordsthatserve.wordpress.com/writing-prompts-the-elements/

 

 

 

Forest of Fear

Tags

courage, dream, dreams, fear, fun, humour, poem, poetry, rhyme

There’s a forest of fear

Where magic feels near

But not all of its white

And eyes give me a fright

As they look at me deeply

To greet me, or eat me!

I don’t really care

Just don’t wanna be there

So I run but the trees say

‘No! That’s the wrong way!

Your dreams are still waiting

Deep on the inside

For years now already

They’ve endlessly cried

‘’Don’t leave us we need you

And love needs you too!

We cannot be shared

Until you bring us through!’’’

***

So I stopped and I breathed

Though my back was still turned

The trees held their breath

Oh how my heart yearned

To turn, run straight back

to hug those wise trees

go into that forest

and set my dreams free

But I took a step forward

A small step away

Then felt my whole body

Go weak; tremble, sway

***

The time was now, I turned around

Is it just me, or can trees look proud

And as I approached that forest of fear

Quietly at first, I began to hear

My dreams at its centre, egging me on

‘Have faith, we’ll protect you

We need you! Come on!’

***

Once over the threshold, I hugged the lead tree

Then onward, eyes closed (it was too dark to see)

I used other senses to follow that path

Walking and stumbling right into the dark

The noise from my dreams getting louder now

They’d started to sing! (don’t ask me how!)

That melody lit up the path to the core

And I ran, ‘cos I just couldn’t wait anymore

The deeper I went, the more light I saw

Until, at the centre, I stood in awe

Surrounded by dreams that I’d hatched through the years

But that hadn’t yet grown, because of my fears

I cradled them gently as tears slowly fell

Showering dreams that began to swell

Follow me friends, it’s high time to leave!

And back through that forest we ran and we weaved

My dreams ran ahead and behind and beside

My heart felt miles high, miles deep and miles wide

Until I could see – there’s no forest at all!

Or at least it became infinitesimally small

As me and my dreams fly high up above

Smiling and singing on thermals of love

 

We can be the change

Tags

change, humour, karaoke, modern life, sam cooke, social media, song, technology, trump

 

This is my version of the Sam Cooke classic, made with the help of a YouTube Karaoke version – lyrics and backing track  below if you’d like to have a go at singing along yourself 🙂 Enjoy!

 

Don’t know much about twittering

Got no profile on that Facebook thing

Yeah I do talk to friends on Skype

But I wish email didn’t run my life

Coz I do know that I love truth

And I know that if you love truth too

Face to face is the best place to be

***

My Dad calls me a dinosaur

I won’t use Sat Nav when we go explore

Modern life is getting so unreal

What’s the use of hugs you cannot feel

But I do know that I love truth

And I know that if you love truth too

Face to face is the best place to be

***

Now I wouldn’t want to see into the future

Even if I could

But maybe, together, creating the future

We can build it up from good

***

Don’t know much about Donald Trump

But when he won I felt my spirit slump

Politicians cannot steer this ship

Leave it to them they’re gonna sink us quick

But I do know that I trust you

And i know that if you trust me too

We can be the change from the ground up

 

A new diet…

Tags

diet, food, fun, humour, joy, kindness, poem, poetry, smile

image credit: http://babybudgeting.co.uk/

I went to a brand new cafe

that didn’t serve food at all

but strangely enough

once they’d served me the stuff

I was totally, utterly full

***

The starter that day was a smile

that sparkled right into my eyes

for my main, some kind words

sweetly sung by a bird

and dessert was a warm hug goodbye

***

I think I might like this new diet

I’d probably lose some weight too (!)

and best thing you see

is that all of it’s free –

I think you should try it, don’t you? 🙂

 

 

I don’t usually post twice a day, but couldn’t resist turning a fun exchange in the comments on my earlier post into this poem 🙂 Thanks https://writingtofreedom.com/ You’re awesome!

 

 

I’d like a Mary Poppins’ Bag

Tags

humour, mary poppins, poem, poetry

This first line just entered my mind this morning, so I played with it to cheer up my Monday – enjoy 🙂

 

 

I’d like a Mary Poppins’ bag

So I could travel light

But would they get suspicious

If I took it on a flight?

But then, I wouldn’t need a plane

Just a simple black umbrella

And if the wind didn’t want to play

Well, I’d simply pack my walking boots

 

Now, they were in the bottom there somewhere…

 

What happens if you fall

Into a Mary Poppins’ bag?

Would you ever

get out again…

 

 

Unfinished Angel

Tags

angels, human, humour, life, poem, poetry, time

This is another re-blog – it’s a busy, reflective, re-join the dots and make a new bigger picture type of time for me, and some day soon I’ll share that picture with you.

For now…please enjoy 🙂
Your heart still gets frozen

You’ve yet to grow wings

but life’s not to rush

there’s still time to grow up

You’re an unfinished angel

still perfectly flawed

your corporeal body

must not be ignored

This world can be heaven

if you make it so

but halos can wait love

there’s still time to grow

You’re an unfinished angel

still earning her wings

accept being human

let real angels sing

I know you get scared love

this world’s pretty wild

in soul years my darling

you’re still just a child

You’re an unfinished angel

just celebrate that

make lots more mistakes –

you learn, and I’ll clap

Time isn’t in minutes

or hours or days

it stretches and spirals

in billions of ways

so unfinished angels

can’t look at the clock

just love and be humble

accept what you’re not