Songs on Saturday ~ Shape of My Heart
only the world can keep us apart
It was always in the cards that the world would conspire to keep me apart from she I care for, but that distance is not the shape of my heart. This track from Sting comes some way to expressing how I feel.
A real man, a man who shows and honest and open face to the world can only ever love one woman. And, I don’t own a dog.
~
jack collier
jackcollier7@talktalk.net
but then, real men don’t play cards
Mindfulness
we must live in the present and not dwell on the past
Arise early to enjoy the dawn.
Live with intention.
Walk to the edge.
Listen hard.
Practice mindfulness and wellness.
Live with no regrets of the past.
Do what you love and not what others want.
Live as if today is all there is.
~
jack collier
jackcollier7@talktalk.net
Dream spiritually
Take time to smell the flowers
Tunes on Tuesday ~ Dog Days Are Over
the dog days of spring afflict us all from time to time
Last Weekend I had some really bad dog days, this track from Florence + The Machine reminds me how bad things can get.
This is a reprise, I hope you like it.
~
jack collier
jackcollier7@talktalk.net
anxiety, clinical depression, alcohol
Tunes on Tuesday ~ Lifted
first, find the peace within yourself
Not that anyone would believe it, but The Lighthouse Family are an English band, from Newcastle upon Tyne. That’s not why I chose this song, it’s because I feel the need to be lifted from the slough of despond I’ve been suffering.
I believe that I’ve driven that road, just out of Death Valley, California.
Probably in a Mustang Convertible.
~
jack collier
jackcollier7@talktalk.net
sometimes, only a Mustang convertible will do
Being Apart
absence makes the heart grow fonder
jealousy is also destructive
It’s Day 346 of a very strict lockdown here in England, and for me that means that I haven’t been able to see my dearest friend for over a year. I had plans to meet with her, and that hasn’t worked out. I know that there are millions of people kept apart because of the coronavirus travel restrictions ~ so I’m not alone in suffering unhappy frustration. Thanks to the miracle of the internet it’s possible to keep in touch with friends and loved ones, but even a video conversation is no substitute for the real thing. There is nothing like the touch of a human hand.
I don’t know about other people, but I find that long-distance conversations tend to drift into unsatisfactory banal and emotionless platitudes. It’s hard to say what one really feels, (fuck it’s hard to know what oneself really feels), when you can’t look into another person’s eyes and read their body language close to. It occurs to me that things could have been worse, but degrees of unhappiness still equal despondency however one measures it.
Absence sharpens love, presence strengthens it. ~ Thomas Fuller
There is no easy way to say this, but I believe that only very special friendships and love can survive long periods of being apart. I do not believe that absence makes the heart grow fonder. I believe that absence just creates a longing that only being together can satisfy. And, that when two friends and lovers can finally be together after a long time apart, they will be lucky if their relationship survives much beyond the meeting.
What has occurred while they have been apart may only serve to twist the knife.
I do hope your separation from your friends and loved ones will make your hearts grow fonder. I hope, dream and pray that I can survive being apart from my friends, and that it will not result in bitterness and some personal heartbreak.
~
jack collier
jackcollier7@talktalk.net
one day there will be air travel again
no one knows when that might be
Tunes on Tuesday ~ White Rabbit
I’m late, I’m late, for a very important date
In the 60’s and 70s we English were not listening to Californian music, so I have never heard this track from Jefferson Airplane before. Woodstock passed us by with barely a murmur The reason I’m playing it now is that we English greet or friends with; ‘white rabbits’ on the first of the month, which was yesterday. (Of course there has to be an R in the month.)
Convoluted I know, and on first hearing I’m not certain I like Californian surfer-dude bands anyhow.
But hey, I like Jefferson Starship, so I’m certain that Jefferson Airplane will grow on me, like a weed.
This track probably sounds better if you’re high.
~
jack collier
jackcollier7@talktalk.net
To we English California is still
Alice through the looking glass
Lent 2021 ~ 17th February to 3rd of April
nothing great is ever achieved without much enduring
~
Lent is a time for abstinence, for giving up something that’s important to you. In my case I have given up on something that used to be important, and I will stay away from toxic relationships all through Lent and beyond.
The other two things I am giving up are alcohol and candy. For one thing booze is definitely not good for me, and neither is too much sugar. People who suddenly become sober tend to eat a lot of candy to make up for the sugar they’re not getting in booze. I have been scoffing quite a lot of candy this year.
So the three things I am giving up for Lent, and beyond are:
- Dysfunctional and toxic relationships.
- Alcohol in all its forms. (I have not had an alcoholic drink since Christmas 2020)
- Candy, chocolate, and what we English call sweets.
Instead of all that I am going to work hard at being fitter and healthier.
Please wish me luck.
~
jack collier
jackcollier7@talktalk.net
women who drink to excess are no longer a part of my life.
Tunes on Tuesday ~ Billy Preston
sometimes, praying is the best thing you can do
Right now, things are petty bad here in England. A prayer can only help.
This is old fashioned soul music.
Words and music by George Harrison.
~
jack collier
jackcollier7@talktalk.net
lets hope this is the start of a new day
Happy Valentines Day
I hope you all have a wonderful day
~
jack collier
jackcollier7@talktalk.net
a red rose just for you
Songs on Saturday ~ Harry Connick Jr.
so many want to change the one they first fell for
I’ve been lost, I’ve been alone, I’ve despaired, and I’ve drank. Now I know that there is someone out there for me, I never need to walk alone. I know that when I find her I’ll care for her for who she is, not for who I want her to be.
I never need to walk alone, unless that’s what Fate decrees.
And Fate had better watch out.
~
jack collier
jackcollier7@talktalk.net
she’s not the one
she never was
