Monday Musing

Pogue, Good Morning. Has it stopped raining where you are? So this will be my last letter to Jonathan Livingston Seagull, for now, and to write it I have read Part 4 of the novel, a section that was not added by the author, Richard Bach, until 2014. By this point in the story Jon … Continue reading Monday Musing

The perfect blossom is a rare thing.

Dear Pogue, Have you ever thought that certain artist get to present their art over and over, such as a musician? They write a great song and people call out to hear it played at concerts. The artist enjoys the achievement again and again, as they should. But other artist don’t get to share that … Continue reading The perfect blossom is a rare thing.

Reading what’s not there

I’m currently reading what’s not there,It’s taken too long to see Between the lines there are gapsGaps that say so much,It’s what I’m not toldThe things not saidThe omissions waiting to revealThe things I shouldn’t know,But the whole picture seldom is completeSo you’ll forgive me please For reading into what’s not been saidFor pillaging your … Continue reading Reading what’s not there

Which Jesus?

Pogue, I guess we’ve both been around a few churches in our time. I remember sitting in one and being approached by a man who proceeded to ask me: “Do you know Jesus” and then continued to tell me that I definitely need a personal relationship with Jesus if I was going to achieve heaven. … Continue reading Which Jesus?

Monday Musing.

Well Pogue, We’ve spent two Musings thinking about the fact that we all have unique qualities and characteristics that make us different. Our weirdness. These things set us aside from others and make life more interesting. At least I think so. They also give us a new sense of freedom once we have learnt to … Continue reading Monday Musing.

Monday Musing

Dear Pogue, I came across a quote from Sylvia’s Plath yesterday where she said she had learnt “to embrace her own weirdness”. It sort of struck me that in doing so she found her own creative genius and whilst her life was a troubled one, she left us with a legacy of great poetry. Her … Continue reading Monday Musing

Monday Musing

Dear Pogue, Apparently my writing of late has had a dark shade to it. It has held overtones of grief, particularly my poems, and has been a cause for minor concern, or so others tell me. And all such comments have been marked with a tinge of curious concern as is befitting for those who … Continue reading Monday Musing

Monday Musing

Hello Pogue, I woke this morning in the land of fire and ice, Iceland. I’m on another road trip, visiting a place I haven’t been before, quenching the curiosity that drives me to travel. My initial impressions? It’s a land of rugged beauty with snow still on the hills here in their summer, steam found … Continue reading Monday Musing

Monday Musing

Dear Pogue, Well you read my letter on being Windswept? Several other people certainly did and I received some feedback. The good stuff😎 The gist of it was that people actually like the idea of being eccentric, if only in some small way. That they know that there are things that they keep hidden away … Continue reading Monday Musing

Monday Musings

Dearest Pogue, Have you ever taken note of just how influential your surroundings can be to your mood and the way you think? The Danish, aware of the affects of their overly long winters on peoples mental health have addressed lifestyle and have a word for what they perceive as the best of styles. That … Continue reading Monday Musings

Monday Musings

Morning Pogue, I haven’t run for two weeks now. It’s not that I haven’t wanted to. It’s a combination of moving home, being on a road trip, living in temporary accommodation. The routine’s gone! But this week I move into a place of some permanence, well at least for six weeks, so this week I … Continue reading Monday Musings

Songs to Pogue…What I’m Listening to

Pogue, You have just moved to new house. A new home. I've moved out of my house, and am pausing for a month or two and then moving into a new house. New home. So I'm out shopping yesterday evening as I have a wedding this coming weekend and had thrown out all formal shirts … Continue reading Songs to Pogue…What I’m Listening to

Prayer, I still don’t understand (3)

Pogue, There’s a word, a concept, that is largely lost in todays world. In fact, you probably won’t even use the word unless you’re a lawyer. The word is covenant, a covenant being a contract, a binding pledge between two parties. As said, whilst in our day it is a term largely used by legal … Continue reading Prayer, I still don’t understand (3)

Songs to Pogue…What I’m Listening To

Pogue, We've been having a series of rather spiritually slanted letters, what with "Go deep or go home" and "Prayer, I still don't understand". So I have been listening to some music in keeping with the mood. I'm also half way through "Rememberings", Sinead O'Connor's autobiography and as a result I thought I ought to … Continue reading Songs to Pogue…What I’m Listening To

Prayer, I still don’t understand (2)

Dear Pogue, My thoughts on prayer rattle on as I attempt to find some sense in the practice. I am trying to put aside much of what I've learnt up to this point and approach prayer with a blank sheet in front of me. My issue is that so much of what I have learnt … Continue reading Prayer, I still don’t understand (2)

Prayer, I still don’t understand (1)

Pogue, I’m interrupting my Go Deep Or Go Home Series as the other night I found myself laying awake praying and doing so with focus. For a guy who likes his sleep this was beyond unusual. I had even gone to bed tired and then transgressed one of my golden rules. I opened an email … Continue reading Prayer, I still don’t understand (1)

Go Deep Or Go Home (2)

Pogue, Having consumed the great piece of wisdom I sent you last week, ‘Go Deep Or Go Home (1)’, I must ask you, have you managed to slow down and are you taking life more deliberately? Are you taking the time to think things through, even (especially) the things you do day in and day … Continue reading Go Deep Or Go Home (2)

Go deep or go home(1)

Pogue, Try this. Go deep or go home. What are your thoughts on that one? Think, we've had 'go big or go home' and as I cast my gaze around I'm thinking that was a success but, as you know, no judgement here. I looked at myself in the mirror once and, hey, definitely no … Continue reading Go deep or go home(1)

Songs to Pogue…What I’m Listening To Now

Pogue, This song got a large mention in the letter I sent you this week. It was a driving force behind the direction of the whole blog. It encapsulates the spirit of the blog. It’s also one of the most viewed videos I have ever sent you. https://youtu.be/e3-5YC_oHjE Enjoy the song and embrace the journey. … Continue reading Songs to Pogue…What I’m Listening To Now

Begin and Continue

Hey Pogue, Well my letters to you keep getting out and, BOOM, out of the ether came an email from a stranger who had some interesting observations, asked some probing questions which opened the doors to musing and contemplation but, most importantly, is a restless soul who, like me, has still not found what they’re … Continue reading Begin and Continue

Monday Musings

So Pogue, My first post of the year, aside from my Musings of course, declared that we live in a world full of potential. It's all about us. Heaven is breaking in whenever the chance presents itself. Yet so many live such poor lives. Not necessarily monetarily poor, but obviously that exists. Rather with no … Continue reading Monday Musings

Songs to Pogue…What I’ve been listening to.

So Pogue, The last letter I sent you was titled ‘Affairs Of The Heart’. Well one thing led to another as things are want to do and before I had even put my pen down I’m remembering a song from back then. I know, it’s my curse, but it keeps me smiling. Why did I … Continue reading Songs to Pogue…What I’ve been listening to.

State Your Truth

Morning Pogue, The Buddha told a story which goes roughly like this. A young man, having lost his wife, had been left to raise his son. He loved the boy very much. One day whilst away from the village bandits attacked and when he returned he found many dead and much of the village destroyed … Continue reading State Your Truth

Songs to Pogue…What I’m Listening To Now.

Pogue, Today I have been listening to a song by Sting who I’ve seen twice in the past few years. This song is for me a metaphor for life. It talks of two foxes who struggle through the adversities of life to reach the Great Ocean, which for me is enlightenment or heaven. You choose. … Continue reading Songs to Pogue…What I’m Listening To Now.

Monday Musings

Dear Pogue, A poem to start the week. I haven’t done a poem before. Little boy I miss you, with your sudden smile and your ignorance of pain. You walked through life and devoured it with nothing but misty goals to keep you company. You wandered through quiet woods with friends and you were startled … Continue reading Monday Musings

Law 6. The Law of Resistance.

Dear Pogue, The famous Swiss psychologist Carl Jung once said, “What you resist persists”. So here we are with the Law of Resistance, something that we have both been subjected to without even realising it as we have pushed hard against something in our life to prevent it happening. As we strived to improve our … Continue reading Law 6. The Law of Resistance.

Songs to Pogue…what I’m listening to now.

Pogue, Here’s one for the lovers. I have always been a fan of Cat Stevens which is music from way back, I know. But the guy always seem to be seeking something and saw the world in a different way from so many of his contemporaries. Then he seemed to find what he was looking … Continue reading Songs to Pogue…what I’m listening to now.

I Choose Peace

Morning Pogue, I choose peace. A strange way to start my letter to you but, and I’ll say it again, I choose peace. Let me explain. What I am choosing is not a quiet afternoon curled up in a corner away from the world with a good book (although that is always a very appealing … Continue reading I Choose Peace

Surrender

Dear Pogue, I have not written for a few days as I have been allowing my curiosity free rein this week, and who could blame me? Here in lockdown I need to find some room for exploration. My curiosity has moved out from the last two posts I wrote and was seen to have a … Continue reading Surrender

Maybe things just “are”.

Dear Pogue, Tell me, who decides what is right and what is wrong? Indeed, where is the divide between so-called good and bad? If I was to draw a line and place a mark right in the middle, what would you place either side of the line? Well lies, lies are bad. I had a … Continue reading Maybe things just “are”.