You don't have to Advertise a Fire

May You Think, Speak and Act

with passion and fire in your eyes.

Ears perk up and eyes watch

when someone is in flames

People who are on fire,

tend to set others alight.

Zing!

It happened.

It's real.

No need to convince me otherwise.

Keys

(Why the Gallery Guard is so Grumpy)

Everyday, he strolls into work

serving his time.

Jangling keys, viewers annoyed.

Talking to no one,

because the whole time he's thinking,

"I could have done that.

I could have painted a few squiggles onto canvas."

Vulnerable

I like to think,

that when clams open their shells

for a brief moment of weakness,

In that moment,

they're having the time of their life.

Bus Ride

Stepping on to the bus,

smiling at the driver.

Found a seat half way down.

it was by a window.

Chatting with the man behind,

and the woman next to him.

Engaging with many people,

sharing our stories,

even if it was just for one stop.

Catching a glimpse of the most

beautiful girl, hail the bus to a halt.

She walked on and I prayed

she sit next to me.

She did.

Rumbling along, past fields, buildings and rivers,

Sharing the ride, and each other,

laughing so loud the other passengers stared.

Not knowing when she would reach for the bell.

But I sure am glad that

I didn't sit in silence.

Fizz

Let,

The foolish things, shame the wise.

The weak things, shame the strong.

The poor, be given extravagant riches.

Then.

Things will be shaken up.

1 Corinthians 1:27

Ignorance is no Defence

As the bars slammed shut,

it suddenly got real.

Heavily sitting down,

dry blood on his fingers,

head sank onto hands,

elbows onto knees,

feet onto floor.

He didn't know the reason,

He didn't know how.

As the bars slammed shut,

it suddenly got real.

Man in the Mirror

Complaining is the omittance of responsibility.

Sometimes the most courageous,

are the least argumentative

and the most satisfied.

Definition

We are not defined by what we do.

We are, Who we are.

What we do, is evidence, a pointer

to where our hearts lie.

I am not a photographer

I am a guy who sometimes takes photos.

Slip Up

Often the strongest people

Are not strong because they never fail.

but because they are the quickest

to admit, address and take responsibility

for their failings.

Greatest Secret

Memories of a 7 year old

"Whats your secret?

common, share!

you know you want to!"

she said smiling.

"mhmm... " I thought.

"If you tell me yours,

I'll tell you mine."

Following Humility

I shall not consider myself so wise

that I can call any man ignorant.

I shall not consider myself so learned

that I can't learn one thing from every man.

I shall not consider myself so without sin

that I may cast the first stone.

I shall not consider myself so deserving

that I can wrong another without remorse.

I shall not consider myself so experienced,

that I can resist the most fundamental and basic lessons.

I shall not consider myself so righteous

that I can say I would have done differently in his shoes.

I shall not consider myself so controlled

that I can implement all the above without fail.

Becoming Yourself No.2

I am.

choosing the path less traveled by,

steering into headwinds,

writing a personal life story,

resisting going with the flow,

celebrating the journey.

choosing sides,

picking teams.

Always consciously seeking truth,

trying to fill the unforgiving minute,

recognizing my weakness and folly,

drawing lines in the sand,

Focusing, preparing, consciously waking.

It's time to live like I mean it.

I am never not becoming who I am.

So I'll make sure I'm becoming who I want to be.

Aspire to Inspire

"The mediocre teacher tells,

The good teacher explains,

The superior teacher demonstrates,

The great teacher inspires."

- William Arthur Ward

Inspiration stirs passion,

Passion starts greatness,

Greatness seeds inspiration,

(which is a)

Manifestation of Love.

Becoming Yourself No.1

"Watch your thoughts, they become words.

Watch your words, they become actions.

Watch your actions, they become habits.

Watch your habits, they become your character.

Watch your character, it becomes your destiny."

Take every thought captive,

Lest they capture you.

Recognize the negative and divisive thoughts.

Send them through the firewall of who you know you are.

Divide by Two and Add Seven

Once, at a beginners dance lesson

I danced with an old lady.

and throughout the whole thing

I kept wondering,

if she was checking me out.

Legacy

If you had one quote

that would sum up your life

what would it be?

"Me? I'm about my father's business."

Learning to Be Happy No.2

He with no arms

but joy in his heart.

She with no family

taught me to dance.

He with no money

threw me a smile.

She with no sight

laughed for such a long while.

I with everything

gained so much perspective.

Happiness is a choice

to not live in self-pity

but in appreciation.

"It is not miserable to be blind, it is only miserable not to be able to endure blindness" -John Milton

Panic

She sat there, eyes wide with horror

Staring at the screen with sheer disbelief

How would she cope? everything had changed.

Why had it happened? so suddenly without warning.

Facebook. has. changed. its. layout.

It's so easy to be resistant to change

no matter how small.

Moments like this

When the outcome is uncertain.

When the change is permanent.

When the choice is painful.

When you must force your heart to serve.

When the journey is tough.

When you're at your limits.

It's moments like this.

That make a man.

Why I miss my childhood

When everyone else is captivated, fully engaged,

I. can't. stop. asking. why.

I. am. here.

Continual engagement feels like entertainment,

Escapism from the only question that matters.

Are, Are Yet and Not Yet

Remember son, I know you are eager.

Live in the days and not the years,

Live daily in the promise that the years will come.

Remember son,

You are.

You are Yet. and,

You are Not Yet.

Sitting outside the principal's office

Memories of a seven-year-old.

He knew it was him who kicked the ball

that smashed the window of the year 2 classroom.

He knew the teachers weren't sure

if it was him or Christopher that had done it.

He knew his conscience was telling him

to tell the truth and do the right thing.

He knew that sometimes the hardest thing

and the right thing are the same.

You can't go wrong

if you listen to your conscience.

Our Finest Hour

The Mind of Churchill.

On learning that the advancing German forces

had now successfully conquered continental Europe,

his heart sank, right hand moved from rubbing his chin

to lightly pinching the bridge of his nose between closed eyes.

It's Okay to let yourself feel overwhelmed

If only for a moment.

Why the traffic warden is late for work

Everday, he wakes up

rolls out of bed and thinks to himself

"One day, I'll have a job that I love,

People will thank me for helping them.

I'll have a wife and family

that will love me.

Then, I'll be living."

Cold Wind - Song Lyrics

Guided by moonlight,

as we run down the hill.

Cold wind lashes our hands,

but I don't feel the chill.

To the shore of the lake,

reflects the moon's face.

glimmers in your eyes,

as your chest starts to race.

It's the way you saw me,

the way you touch me,

the way you took me from who I thought I was,

the weight of conscience,

the weight of your heart,

the wait discerning if I deserved you.

Clouds rose from our lips,

like the trails of our souls.

As they began to mix,

then my mind lost control.

You had me frozen as a statue

but leaping on the inside.

Hands, face, lips all blue,

Crash, Smack and Collide.

It's the way you saw me,

the way you touch me,

the way you took me from who I thought I was,

the weight of conscience

the weight of your heart

the wait discerning if I deserved you.

Pencil - Song Lyrics

As rough lead grinds with paper

We don't know the end.

I've readied the eraser

that's why we can't write in pen.

I'm speaking words through the silence

I know you can hear, me.

You're so close I hear your eyelids

as you look up to see, me, cry.

The pencil writes our book,

As we figure out

Our lives share a story

and suddenly, there's no doubt

The eraser is useless

and it was from the start.

No matter how I try now

I can't rub you out from my heart.

It's time to turn a new page

It feels heavy to turn

I pause at the flick point

with disbelief that it's done.

The pencil writes our book,

As we figure out

Our lives share a story

and suddenly, there's no doubt

The eraser is useless

and it was from the start.

No matter how I try now

I can't rub you out of my heart.

I can't rub you out of my heart.

Risk

I'm making a heap of all my winnings

and risking it all on one turn of pitch-and-toss.

If I lose, I'll start again at my beginnings

and never breathe a word about my loss.

It's Not If, But When

How will you treat them

How will you see yourself

Will it strengthen your resolve

Will you rationalize loosing who you are

Remember you were prepared, Remember who you are

Remember through the darkest times you shine the brightest

You will get your opportunity

Because it's not if, but when.

Exploring

It's not cooking beef, tuna and peas together,

it's exploratory cooking.

It's not being weird to make awkward situations,

it's adventurous socializing.

It's not trying to be different for the sake of it,

it's discovering existence.

Measuring Oneself

Chris Mccandless

Life is only experiences.

You can't have your own

if you are on Autopilot.

Defense mechanisms

I didn't get it so people would look at me.

I got it so people wouldn't look too deeply.

Not everyone's defense mechanisms are visible.

Id, Ego & Super Ego

I sat them both down,

Big Brian on my left,

Small Saul on my right.

Brian began to speak."He doesn't exist. It makes no sense, its improbable scientifically, paradoxical logically, philosophically contradictory, inconsistent morally, unobservable historically."

I looked over at Saul,

who sat quiet, thinking.

Doby came and sat by my feet, panting.

Brian continued. "You're wasting your time, relationships, guilt and energy. All because you 'must' believe in something, you've been blackmailed into compliance! I'd bet my life that He doesn't exist!"

Looking timid, Saul blinked and looked up.

"He does exist.

I've met him."

It's that Moment

Sitting there on a train, in my suit

Looking sharp, its dark outside,

train is in the station, without thinking

I started making the most ridiculous faces

at myself, reflected back by the glass windows.

And it's that moment after you've gone

through the most embarrassingly hilarious

faces you have in your repertoire, you notice

the group of girls standing on the platform

looking straight at you.

too late to play it cool.

What if Everyone in the World were good Friends?

Would the world be a better place?

Would we revert back to strangers so that we could walk down the street?

Would there still be poverty?

Would there still be need for money?

Would countries still exist?

Limits

Ancient China was one of the most advanced nations of its time.

Yet in a short space of time, Europe overtook China in many areas.

This is due to the invention of Ceramics in China, which meant that

China never needed to invent Glass, which was used in Europe for

bottles, windows, mirrors, microscopes and glasses for vision giving

European Scholars 15-20 years more time with eyesight.

There are only two kinds of deceiving limit;

Diffidence tells us we will never reach our potential.

Complacency tells us there are no more limits to break.

Learning to Be Happy No.1

I'm working my way through my list.

Olives

Football

Person at School

Wine

Rock Music

Seafood

Cloudy Weather

Roller Coasters

Classical Music

Modern Art

Jogging

Early Mornings

Wildlife

Sweet Potato

Modern Jazz

???

The more I learn to enjoy,

The more I enjoy living.

Games

Memories of a 7-year old;

"Okay you pretend to be ducky,

and I'll pretend to be be peetree!

and, and you gotta hop and I can fly, okay?"

I dictated enthusiastically.

"Yeaahh!" she replied.

"Swoooosh, follow me, swooosh" I shouted with spread wings,

running fast down a hill.

"Owww!!" She cried behind me.

Turning I saw her lying at the bottom of the hill.

"Oh no, you've got a cut!

Lets stop pretending now, I'll go get a grown-up"

and I ran off.

"I'm going to stop pretending that I didn't break your heart" - Eels

No.1

Put down that mirror

so that you can look

at someone else for a change

then, they can tell you

how you actually look.

Potential Heroes

Alot of men

spend alot of time

browsing alot of sites

watching alot of videos

of alot of ladies

taking off alot of clothes.

when it's over,

will alot of men

wish they'd spent alot of time

changing the world?

Alot of potential heroes

never made it out of their chair.

Credit

Can I really take credit for an Idea?

Because it was only by serendipitous chance

that it came into my head.

News-flash

January 10th, 2010

Top 3 BBC News stories.

1. Man dies after 'queue jump row'
2. Woman dies after 'walk in snow'
3. Man killed chasing bag snatchers

After all the words, smiles, arguments, plans, chores, ideas, love.

End Scene.

Runcible Lessons

They didn't tell us

as we obediently learnt

word by word, every line.

But I suspect

that when he wrote

'The Owl and the Pussy cat',

he was on smack.

Read 'The Owl and the Pussy cat'

Perspective

memories of a 7 year old.

"COOL!" yawped Sam,

"that is the coolest thing I've ever seen!"

"mhmm" grumped rachel,

"doesn't look so great to me, theres nothing to look at"

"Where?!" I questioned

"I can't see it, I can't see anything good!"

"Thats because you're not looking at it right!"

said Sam.

"Here, stand exactly where my feet are,

and put your eyes exactly where mine are"

He shuffled out the way

and I carefully moved into position.

"COOL!" I yawped.

Gotta Catch 'Em All!

After many complex experiments,

Regression analysis and hypothesis testing.

Demographic surveys, quadratic equations and much deliberating.

I have concluded, that;

Girls are not like Pokémon.

If I sound clever...

it doesn't mean anything.

Looks like rain

My Dream.

Standing in a desert

dry and parched lips rip apart for a breath.

Lifting a dusty hand to my brow

watching just as the glaring sun is blocked

from the west.

The largest, pitch black cloud that I've ever seen

charges through the sky.

Scanning the distance,

I see the dark storm beat down on to every horizon.

"Looks like rain."

Waking up, I sighed to myself.

"mhmm not a good sign, but

I'm glad I learnt to enjoy getting wet."

Time Travel

Time Travel can be very dangerous.

Nostalgic people living in the past, remembering their glory days.

Anxious people trying to freeze time, not wanting to lose what they have.

Eager people waiting, preparing for their real life to start in the future.

It's important to remember, whether travelling to the past, or the future or even trying to stop time,

You can only live,

today.

Perspective

If you ever want to know

how I often see the world.

Walk through a crowd

wearing noise cancelling earphones

listening to classical piano music.

Start again

Yesterday, I watched a sunset
It was beautiful, but

it was cold and windy

Staring at it made my eyes hurt.

Wondering if people thought that

I had nothing better to do.

When I was cold and tired,

I had to walk home in the dark

because I had waited for the sun to set.

Start again.

Yesterday, I watched a sunset.

It was beautiful.

Religion

I don't like religion that much,

because I don't think men

with such authority and influence

should be allowed to riff,

the way they do.