Time out

Here’s a Substack post from last week. It's been a while since I recorded anything; that's partly because I haven't been walking in the mornings because I get so damn tired if I go out and walk too far, too quickly in the mornings - it kind of stops the day! So I haven't done much of that, and it's been later evening now that the evenings are longer and often with my wife. 

And also if I’m honest I haven’t felt particularly like recording anything. I’ve felt for a while a bit absent from whatever this Substack account of mine is about. At one level it's not really about anything, it's a chance for me to write some stuff and speak some stuff and, whoever might read it such as yourselves, well here you are and that's lovely to share it with you. But I'm not planning, I'm not expecting to become the next podcast superhero!!

I've also been absent from that part of me that turns to these more reflective matters that I try to speak about here. At one level [that’s twice I’ve used that phrase!!] that's okay, that's how a lot of people's lives are isn't it? I heard somebody say the other day (it's a rather damning summary of the human condition) I heard somebody say the other day that what sort of life is it: we get up we get educated - no we get born, we get educated to get a job, to earn money so we can buy things, and then at the end of that we die. That's not [inspiring is the word I was looking for amidst a lot of “Ums”!!] it's a bit bleak isn't it? However that seems to be the case for so many people and the systems we've established collude with all that don't they? 

Part of me is very proud to be able to offer in my own small way some stuff to people who aren’t going out of their way to listen to deep substacks and explore spirituality - they just try and live their lives. I'm quite proud of the fact that I can speak to them.

Such as a woman from Scotland. She had some coaching and was delighted with some new tools that she had to use. And a bloke nearer me who is not able to see his kids, so I offered him some tools that he could possibly use to help himself be a dad again so the court would, I hope by now, give him contact with his children.

It's good to be able to do some of this and I'm very privileged to be able to do some of that. So I suppose I'm saying sometimes it's okay to be fairly mundane and ordinary and normal. And it's certainly okay sometimes to have some time out. I'm not even sure this is going to be the first ever of a new burst of podcasts, but it feels good to be saying something about where I am just now.

I'll just end with this. I started this walk listening to Sez and she's talking about death and the death of her uncle and what that's brought up for her. She refers to the language that so many people use, perhaps some of you, who use the language of passing. I really do prefer, I notice how much I prefer, the language of death - I mean death is death and if there is something afterwards okay. But we can't know, and there's something about “passing” that takes away the edge of death and the fact that we are due to die at some point; in my case at 75 comparatively sooner rather than later. At its best death gives us a real motivation to do more than get up, earn money and shop, so I hope that might encourage you a bit, whatever's going on for you, to get up, make money, shop AND something else as well about your relationship with being human.

I'm gonna sign off now and wish you well with your day and I'll be back sometime fairly soon I hope. Thanks for listening.

John x