blame it on the moon
Poets, lovers, and lunatics have such seething brains.
lost and alone, dismal depressed heartsick
I didn’t want to get angry again so soon
I spoke with her in the late afternoon
and I thought I was now immune
you can blame it on the moon
I’m still just a bitter lunatic
blame it on the moon
~
jack collier
jackcollier7@talktalk.net
It’s just the dark of the moon.
choices really matter
The best luck of all is the luck you make for yourself.
In the past couple of weeks I have had the fabled luck of a sailor being followed by an albatross, (never, ever, shoot the albatross). Something has carved out a window to let me see who I truly am, and allowed me to start to take control of my fate. But, it’s also enabled me to surrender to the will of the cosmos ~ working with natural energies to empower my body, mind, and spirit to true and lasting enlightenment.
I shot the ALBATROSS…..
I had done a hellish thing, and it would work ’em woe: for all averred I had killed the bird, that made the breeze to blow. ~ Samuel Taylor Coleridge
These changes in me are never going to be some quick way to amass a fortune, (I don’t need to), or find an easy way out of life’s problems. Instead, taking control of my fate allows me to discover the interconnectedness of all things that binds us and the cosmos together, and creates the web of infinite circumstances, places, and people that allows me to walk the warrior’s path.
You know what? I am excited about all this enlightened thinking that seems to have taken over my psyche. However, whatever wisdom or enlightenment I have suddenly gained access to is more than a little bit complicated and confusing for an ordinary Englishman such as I.
I know that this is a positive and strong time of decisive action for me, and I need to harness all the determination I can muster. I firmly believe that, in the next few days I will need to take some action that is critical to the shape of my future. The snag is, right now I have no idea what that action is supposed to be. I’ve got no idea what I most need to do, except that it’s going to be a balancing act between passion and practicality.
So, I’m already working on my general health and fitness ~ walking everywhere, breathing plenty of clean and fresh sea air, and detoxifying my life of crap and negative influences.
I have a feeling that I also need to work on better friendships and more meaningful and mindful connections. I need to give more attention to particular special people in my life. I should build greater self-worth through more integrity, more confidence, better and more authentic interpersonal relationships.
I should be shrewder in my choices of friends and the type of friendships I want, need, and desire. But, being a shrewd operator does not mean that I would ever be underhand or less than utterly honest about how I nurture my friends and friendships, or be dishonest in how I choose the people I wish to associate with.
Some say that communication skills is an art we go on learning throughout our life. And, that interpersonal relationships never stop being a work in progress. All I know is that sometimes we only say to others what we ourselves need to hear.
Sometimes a man just has to howl at the moon.
~
jack collier
jackcollier7@talktalk.net
just remember, interpersonal relationships can be dark….. and as deep and strange as still waters.
And, choices rule your life.
Crete ~ another vacation
Socrates and Plato took a house on Crete in the summer months.
Another month, and another vacation planned.
This time I’m going to Chania on Crete, a spectacular island in the blue, blue Mediterranean sea. I fly out to Crete on Tuesday September 4th for a week, and I’ll be staying at a small, family run hotel, the Pella Steve II, which is exclusively for the more adult single traveller.
Chania is the most beautiful, interesting, and evocative town on Crete ~ from the Venetian Harbour to the narrow shopping streets and waterfront restaurants. Chania also has it’s own international airport, which is very cool when it comes to transfer times.
I’m fully expecting the weather, hotel, sightseeing, shopping, entertainment, food, drink, and company to be brilliant.
These singles holidays are something different and exclusive. Always in a smaller hotel, everyone has their own double room, everyone is open and friendly, and there always seems to be a lot going on among ‘the group’. These singles vacations are not just sitting by the pool and reading. In my experience these singles vacations are fun from waking in the morning to getting off to bed early the following morning. Luckily, these days I never touch booze and get by with a few hours sleep.
In my experience you don’t need to worry about not knowing anyone before you get there ~ on this kind of vacation, new and very interesting friends are made pretty quickly. Anyhow, on this type of vacation everyone hangs out with anyone they wish to ~ starting at the hotel bar.
However, I was thinking that it would be cool to have a travelling companion to share the experience with, not as a couple, but as friends who travel together. Being a guy, of course I’d be the one spending all the money. That’s what guys of my generation do.
You never know, I may find a cool travelling companion yet. And, after this holiday on Crete, there will be another vacation coming along soon.
My email is always at the end of these blog posts.
~
jack collier
email: jsckcollier7@talktalk.net
Crete is a very beautiful island
Follow Your Dreams
The future is not something we enter.
The future is something we create.
My dreams have always been the fuel for my success. Without my dreams there could never have been any meaningful and lasting success in my life. And, some say I have been very successful ~ depending on how you measure success.
I firmly believe that behind every successful person there is a dream fulfilled. That all enlightened people have come to their enhanced state of happiness through achieving at least one of their dreams. There must always be something in your life that motivates, drives, excites, and captivates you, otherwise you are not living, you are just existing. Or, you may as well be living in a doorway on a sheet of cardboard.
The will to win, the desire to succeed, the urge to reach your full potential….. these are the keys that will unlock the door to personal excellence. ~ Confucius
My dreams became the goals that pushed me to believe in the impossible, to make interesting and unexpected changes in my life, to get out of my comfort zone and take unimagined risks.
Sometimes we choose to ignore or forget what it is that we really love, want, need, and desire. We let ourselves be guided and driven by other people’s’ expectations. We think my parents will never support my ideas, and, my wife will never allow me to do this…..
A dream doesn’t become reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination, courage, and hard work. Colin Powell
Really successful people never forget what they love to do, what they want, what they need, what they desire and lust after. Fortunate men and women learn to follow their own path and make the right choices ~ no matter how crazy or unpopular those choices might appear to others, especially parents and partners.
Think about this; If money was not an issue, what kind of life and work would you choose to have. Would you choose to live, or would you choose to just exist? If you aim to be perfect, if you aim to please everyone all of the time, then you will be very disappointed.
Some say that behind every successful person there is a dream fulfilled. And, that we should create plans, solutions, and strategies to achieve our wildest dreams. All I know is that today I live an enlightened life that others don’t even dare to dream about.
Sometimes, the Magic happens.
~
jack collier
email: jackcollier7@talktalk.net
last night, the England soccer team were not truly following their dream
Enlightenment
Inner tranquility ~ freedom from anger, anxiety, and fear.
There was something weird about my short stay in Turkey. Was it the place, or the people, or the blue, blue sky? Was it getting enough good sleep, good food, staying sober, staying calm? Or, was it the long, meaningful, and mindful conversations I enjoyed? Or was it some inner spirituality that was awoken in me? I suspect all of these things and more combined to wrought a significant change in my psyche.
For me this was a jumping-off point. I lost some things, I lost negativity, I lost the way I was used to seeing the world, I lost judgmentalism, I lost my mistrust of others, I lost my fear and anger, and I learned how to fly…..
Last night I lost the world, and gained the universe. ~ C. JoyBell C.
I had not been there long before I knew a radical freedom that allowed me to seek acceptance, humility, integrity, mindfulness, and understanding of myself, of those around me, and of those I care for. I was encouraged to take a new control and responsibility for my own life ~ I believe that most of us, (up to and including me), are not in control of our own lives. Rather most of us drift aimlessly through life, so that today is pretty much like yesterday, and tomorrow will be pretty much like today.
That isn’t really living, it’s just existing, and that’s no way to explore true happiness and well-being. To know true happiness and well-being we perhaps should strive to improve and enhance our own lives, the lives of those we care for, and society as a whole.
Within the real meaning of human happiness and enhanced existence, within our aims, significance, and overall purpose, we all have the freedom to choose what to do, to be who we want to be. Sadly so many of us never even try to grow into an enlightened being.
After a couple of days in the mindfulness of my Turkish vacation I began to seek to understand things, to understand the interconnectedness of all things, and the ways to find the significance of my own life among the chaos.
The real meaning of enlightenment is to gaze with undimmed eyes on all darkness. ~ Nikos Kazantzakis
I realised that each of us is what we take ourselves to be. But to live in an authentic, caring, and mindful way, we each have to take each situation as it comes and show our true nature through what we do, and not what we say. Talk is cheap.
I was always frightened to show my true nature. I was a shadow man, the man in the mirror, I was always conforming to what others expected of me, putting on masks that fitted the roles I was expected to play. I saw the world through a winter mirror, darkly.
After just one week in a small Turkish hotel, under blue, blue skies, among a group of friendly and supportive people, I was able to throw away the masks, stop playing a role, eschew the man in the mirror, and really take charge of my own life.
Knowing others is wisdom, knowing yourself is Enlightenment. ~ Lao Tzu
Today, back in the garret, I am self-analytical, self-aware, self-confident, and filled with real self-control, and self-discipline.
Now I need to act in a way that reflects my new self-awareness, and the awareness of my own complete freedom. This is what I am, this is what I choose to be, this is the real me, and I will never again dodge responsibility for being true to myself.
I do not pretend to understand how this enlightenment came about. Probably it was a unique set of serendipitous circumstances, a synchronicity that has energised me physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.
Some say that once in a lifetime your chance comes along, that once in a lifetime fate deals you the perfect winning hand. And, that we each have to be courageous enough to take that chance, to throw everything we have behind our one great opportunity in Life. All I know is that today I feel better than I have ever felt before in my entire existence.
My short stay in Turkey was the kindling of a flame.
~
jack collier
jack collier7@talktalk.net
each man is an island unto himself
The Law of Attraction
All that we see is the result of what we thought.
The things that I thought were the things I desired, and the things that I saw were created by my own wants, needs, and desires.
To see beyond my own expectations is to begin to realise that not everyone thinks as I do ~ not even my enemy or my closest friend.
After the past few days I realise that attraction does not work like a bludgeon that ensures that what you want you will get. Rather, attraction works through feelings, focus, imagination, patience, and magic.
But then, I’m only an Englishman, so what do I know?
Sometimes, just sometimes, the magic happens.
~
jack collier
jackcollier7@talktalk.net
a man cannot find the friendship of a Goddess by chasing her
one has to await the magic
Dunkirk ~ Escape to Victory
On the 26th of May 1940 Operation Dynamo commenced ~ the Miracle of Dunkirk
History provides many examples of the British Army being asked to operate under appalling handicaps by the politicians responsible for British policy….. Major General Mason-MacFarlane 15 May 1940
In six weeks from May 10th 1940 the Germans invaded western Europe, defeated the then allied, armies and conquered Belgium, France, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands. This was the Battle of France.
Because of the supine performance of the Belgians, and subsequent pathetic surrender of most of the French, the British Expeditionary Force, (BEF), found itself beleaguered and cut off from its supply routes, then pushed back into a pocket around the French port of Dunkirk.
The campaign in France and Flanders was lost in Whitehall and in Paris before it ever began….. ~ Montgomery
In stark contrast to the craven Belgian and French generals, who were prone to bursting into tears at times of crisis, the British behaved with courage, fortitude, and stoicism during that most difficult of military operations, a fighting withdrawal while still in contact with a superior enemy.
One cannot belittle the steadfastness of the soldiers of the BEF, their discipline and morale under the most testing circumstances ~ of retreat, uncertainty, and the ever present scourge of the Luftwaffe. ~ Julian Thompson
The BEF fought on as a fantastic plan was hatched to evacuate as much of the army as possible back to England. This evacuation from Dunkirk was given the code name Operation Dynamo.
With the support of the RAF, (Royal Air Force); the Royal Navy, the Merchant Navy, and the immortal Little Ships, the bulk of the men and women of the BEF were lifted from the shores of defeated France and brought safely home to England.
All in all, 338,226 British and Allied troops were landed in England from Dunkirk between 27th May and 4 June 1940. 239,555 were lifted from Dunkirk harbour, and 98,671 were plucked directly from the beaches.
Almost all of their equipment was lost, but the men and women of the BEF were rescued, and that allowed Great Britain to fight on, alone against the Nazi scourge.
On June 4th 1940, after it was all over, Sir Winston Churchill said, (as part of a much longer speech given to Parliament):
We shall go on to the end….. we shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and the streets, we shall fight in the hills, we shall never surrender….. Churchill
The Army would not return to France in force for another 4 years and 2 days. Without the Miracle of Dunkirk, Britain would have been defeated by the Nazis, and then D-Day ~ Operation Overlord could not have happened on June 6th 1944, and all of Continental Europe would have spent decades under the sadistic boot of Hitler, and then, after Herr Hitler’s inevitable demise, Europe would have suffered that even worse monstrous dictator, Stalin.
This only proves that English determination, steadfastness, stoicism, and sheer bloody-mindedness are better than Gallic passion ~ on a any day of the week.
An Englishman, a Briton, will never surrender to tyranny from Europe.
~
jack collier
jackcollier7@talktalk.net
Coronia, previously HMS Watchful, one of the Little Ships at Dunkirk, currently undergoing restoration in the marina at my home town
Answered Prayers
My muse as always, is Aphrodite. ~ Shakespeare in Love
my goddess of love, sorceress, divine spirit,
you were there when I needed you most,
when I was lonely, miserable and lost,
drifting aimlessly from pillar to post,
you visited in dreams as a ghost,
and as a goddess lifted me up,
for that I shall you worship,
forever, no matter what,
you live in my heart.
~
jack collier
jackcollier7@talktalk.net
Aphrodite, Goddess of Grace and lascivious love of Ares ~ eternally unrequited
Scenes on Sunday ~ York
Now is the winter of our discontent
Made glorious summer by this son of York;
These days ancient English City of York is full of bicycles, churches, tourists, and pubs ~ mostly pubs. And mostly not a lot of Shakespeare.
~
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~
jack collier
jackcollier7@talktalknet
unless you are a very attractive American woman, don’t ask to taste a load of different beers before you buy a pint.
The Dark Night of the Soul
Only out of suffering emerges the strongest souls.
inner torment
jealousy and doubt
the demon soul eaters
visit in the blackest night
darkness lonely frightfulness
another run around nightmares
of lying half-truths dishonest deceit
she was a dark witch circling the firelight
she made it so very easy, and my soul was lost
~
jack collier
jackcollier7@talktalk.net
not all women are witches
but all witches are enchanted women
never accept a kiss from a witch at midnight
