The Winning Ticket

Good afternoon all, I am still here despite the infrequency of my posts recently. The great hamster wheel of life has been turning and I've been unable to get off, an experience I am sure that you are all familiar with. Whilst I have been furiously been trying to prevent myself from falling off the wheel I have had a lot of time for reflection, a lot of time to face fears and ultimately get to what I am going to share today.

Sometimes it is easier to look at the floor than look ahead, because you just don't want to see what is there – something I have been guilty of many times over the years. Recently I've had no choice but to look directly at the horizon and stand up to what I saw before me. I'm not going to pretend that was easy and that I didn't slip from my usually sunny disposition because I did, several times, only to be caught by the good people that I have in my life which brings me onto the fact I was born lucky.

Define the word luck, I can bet if we all did it we all would come up with totally different definitions. When people first get to know me there is a tendency for people to think I have been terribly unlucky in life, that couldn't be further from the truth. I have always been told 'what doesn't break you makes you stronger', isn't that the truth.

My definition of luck has nothing to do with winning the lottery or anything along the lines of material enrichment, as you would of known if you had read my blog before. Having a life rich in love, opportunity and chances is what I see as luck – that is what I have. In my world luck isn't anything unexpected, it is something always present normally without recognition. Look around you now, go through your mobile phone, think of what you did last weekend – all the people that you know, share life with, who want to share part of their life with you doesn't that show how lucky we all are?

I am now through the other side of the tunnel I have been walking down for the last few weeks, I'm through it because I had luck on my side once again. As difficult as it is to accept the offer of someone holding your hand at times it is one of the greatest gifts that can ever be offered, it is part of the good fortune we have been blessed with. It isn't possible to go through life without tripping over sometimes but remember before you fall to look at what surrounds you and you will soon be upright and strolling once more. Believe me, it is the truth.

The phrase goes 'pick a penny up and have good luck all day' – I must pick up a penny every single day of my life.

Take care my friends.

Enjoy today, look forward to tomorrow.

Say What You See

In my world, especially in my blogs not many things follow on, I tend to bob around changing subjects as often as I change my socks – prepare yourself for a surprise. Okay it is in my own unique style but today's offering does continue (in a fashion) where my last entry left off.

Last time I spoke about the way we over complicate the world we live in, forget about how much simpler things can be, today I continue with a subject that highly agitates me and adds to the difficulty of life whilst masquerading as being helpful.

I am talking about the world of political correctness along with the abandonment of common sense. If I asked anyone to describe me there would be certain words that I would expect to be used, one of those being – short. A harmless little word and also very accurate but not in today's world apparently now that is highly offensive and will have me crumpled like I've been mortally wounded by it. Well that is if you listen to the political correctness brigade – absolute tripe!

Lets get some perspective back into the world, I'm far from old but I do remember a time when you could call a spade a spade without fear of recriminations. Common sense still existed in those distant times. If I tripped over a pavement that made me clumsy and caused a few laughs for those that witnessed it, not now. If I was to trip over a pavement as I left the house today I would be informed that someone was to blame for it, that I needed compensating for my 'ordeal' – again more tripe!

Is this what the world has come to? The need to apportion blame to any unfortunate incident. Whatever happened to brushing yourself down cursing at the pavement and carrying on regardless? All I can see arising from the culture of madness that is cultivated today is a fear in each and every one of us. The fear of each of our actions opening the possibility of us being blamed, becoming the guilty party despite having done nothing untoward.

As I've said before words have always been difficult enough but now they are pitfalls for each and everyone of us, words that have previously been accepted as containing no malice become vilified, if it was become the majority found them offensive it would be acceptable enough alas it isn't, it is a case of those who 'know better' instructing us on what language people want to hear, to be perfectly honest the politically correct language offends me so if you don't mind whilst addressing me say it as it is. Thank you.

If only it stopped there, but as you will know only too well it doesn't. Each action is censored, George Orwell now appears to of been a prophet, I am a strange character that much is true but I still believe that the majority don't need instruction on the 'best way' but then again I didn't think the Golliwog needed removing from Robertson jam jars, so am I out of touch? Or is it more of a case of too much cotton wool suffocates rather than protects?

Something for you all to ponder.

Take care my friends

Enjoy today, look forward to tomorrow.

Young Eyes

Firstly I want to get something out of the way before I carry on with my ramblings. My last entry was the low point of this blog and it will remain that way, I will endeavour to not post anything so bereft of substance and meaning again – if I do please tell me and I will do my utmost to atone for it.

You may of noticed that I have left the ramblings alone since that entry, the reason for this is quite simple – I was swinging from high to low, sometimes simultaneously therefore I would of struggled to write my own name let alone anything worthy of sharing with everyone else. Anyway here I am now and I believe I have something worthy of you, my reader.

Let 'normality' resume.

As I picked up niece from nursery yesterday and we skipped (literally, ask the witnesses) down the road I saw by looking at her exactly why life seems to be so difficult the majority of the time – the older we get the more we over complicate it. That little girl, that girl that I treasure so dearly shows each time in bright neon lights that we don't have to let life become so hard.

I'm not suggesting for a moment that we can remain as a 3 year old for eternity, as nice as it would be. What I am suggesting is that we can learn a lot from their outlook, the simplistic nature of their world and try and preserve some of elements rather than shedding them like an old skin that we no longer need, because we need it more than we realise.

There appears to be a switch in the brain that is triggered once we reach a certain age, once it is activated each simple task becomes a series of little problems and you are no longer able to simply concentrate on the task ahead without allowing an avalanche of other questions coming tumbling down upon you.

If a young child is hungry they go to the fridge and find food, their hunger is dealt with and they are happy. Contrast that with a 'grown up' doing exactly the same thing. The fridge is opened, we then think of the lack of food in there, the need to replenish it and just how we are going to afford it. What started as one of the simplest things possible has now snowballed in a problem, another weight that we carry with us.

The question is, is it really necessary for us to put all the extra burden on ourselves? Or is it possible to take each piece at a time taking bitesize problems rather than causing ourselves indigestion. Take 5 minutes to look at a young child go on their merry way, a step at a time, no need to think about more than that 1 thing at a time.

Before I'm shot down with people saying “life isn't that simple”, that sentence encapsulates everything I've been saying. Life will never be easy entirely but it can be made easier. Living in the present is harder than living in the future but dealing with the here and now will make what comes later that bit more manageable.

Go out of the door, skip down the street and leave the baggage on the doorstep, at that point you will realise how much lighter you can feel and remember how you once felt before you started piling on the worries.

Take care everyone.

Enjoy today, look forward to tomorrow.