Miscellany

POSSESSIONS = MEMORIES

He smelled of dope. He sat on our sofa, head bent forward, elbows on knees. Jokes were going over his head; he was intermittently closing his eyes and swaying. Suddenly he fell forward onto the tin tray of empty coffee cups. He wasn’t hurt.


Thirty-one years later, a different marriage, I still have that tray: blue flower patterns on white, it went well with my décor of the time. No especial sentimentality: it’s now stored under the sink, used in the growing season for flowerpots. I hate the other memories, the tray is rusty, and it still has that dope-head’s dent. He's probably an ordinary old man now.

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DANCE OF LIFE:
‘Helping you discover what works for you’ by David Mills
This is the title of an excellent website, http://www.enmore.org/ which Writing Life student David says, “is where my writing started and ended up”.

“The idea of this website is to make available, without charge, resources which can be of help to people both in their ordinary lives and in times of crisis.”

David has been a Relate Counsellor for many years and has written hundreds of nuggets of wisdom that he initially considered submitting for mainstream publication. His most frequently quoted advice is to ‘use what works for you’ and he has found that the website – with buckets full wisdom published for you to read free - is what works best for him and his ideas. On the very first page he says, “Use the ideas that resonate with you. Ignore the ones that don't.”

Here’s an example of one of the many nuggets:“[Ask yourself] If I only had one hour to live and one call to make, who would I phone, what would I say, and why am I waiting?None of us lives forever and none of us can know when our time will come. So if there is something that needs to be said, particularly if it is loving and supportive, then say it. NOW! The partner, parent, child, brother, sister, towards whom you have loving feelings you have not expressed for a while... just tell them...why are you waiting?”

Don’t wait:- go to http://www.enmore.org and improve your emotional intelligence.
Bernie